North Carolina and N.C. State have played each other 285 times in baseball, but they met for their first College World Series matchup Sunday with the Wolfpack coming out on top.
This marks the sixth time in eight years the Tar Heels have earned a trip to Omaha. As the top-seeded team in the championship, the only thing missing from their point of view is a national championship.
One obstacle was a familiar foe, N.C. State. Wolfpack fans enjoyed this one. A four-run rally in the third inning provided pitcher Carlos Rodon, a sophomore from Holly Springs, all the support he needed. The Wolfpack scored an 8-1 victory over the Heels.
"Any time you're facing Carlos Rodon, as good as he is, getting behind is one of the worst things you can do," said UNC coach Mike Fox.
In the last two years, ACC Tournament games between the Heels and Wolfpack set records in North Carolina for attendance at a college baseball game, but the rivalry went to another level in front of more than 22,000 in Omaha.
The Tar Heels play an elimination game Tuesday afternoon against LSU. The Wolfpack plays Tuesday night against UCLA.