“Tonight was all about Hobbs,” Coach Fox said. “It was an incredible performance. We really needed it.”
Johnson gave up five hits and no runs over eight and a third innings while striking out six.
“He threw 130 pitches, all fast balls, not one breaking ball,” Coach Fox said. “I’ve never heard of that before.”
Johnson, from Rocky Mount, hadn’t pitched in 10 days but his last outing wasn’t a good one as he gave up five runs to South Carolina in a loss. “The key to his game is pounding the strike zone to get ahead in the count early,” Coach Fox said.
While he planned to throw a lot of fast balls, the fact that the stadium is a pitcher’s park and the wind was blowing in on hitters, it made it even more important to not give up walks and get the batters to put the ball in play.
Carolina hitters hoped to get the ball in play themselves as they were matched up against Rodon again, just four days after the All-America pitcher had stifled the Tar Heels’ bats.
Rodon, from Holly Springs, wasn’t the scheduled starter but he lobbied Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent and, with their backs against the wall in the elimination game, State decided to start their ace.
“I appreciate his effort and wanting the ball,” Coach Avent said. “Carlos told me yesterday he could go if we needed him, and I wanted to make sure he was thinking with his head and not his heart.”
Coach Avent said he even thought about using Rodon in relief but that he had only pitched in relief once in his entire life. Still, he thought Rodon, who had six strikeouts and only one walk in five innings, did well enough for the Wolfpack to win. “I thought we’d have chance to come back at the end.”
In the fourth inning, the Tar Heels were able to scratch off Rodon as UNC’s Michael Russell hit a sacrifice fly to right that scored Brian Holberton on a close play at the plate. Rodon, who had committed a throwing error earlier in the inning, argued the call as did Coach Avent, but Holberton got his hand on the plate prior to the tag.
The Heels pushed across a second run off Rodon in the fifth. With two outs, Colin Moran, who had three hits on the night, singled in Parks Jordan on Rodon’s 75th pitch.
Rodon was on an 80-pitch count and exited the game. Avent said he thought even with the Pack trailing 2-0, that they could come back late in the game.
But, with Johnson breezing on the mound, the Tar Heels fared better against Wolfpack relief pitchers, tacking on four runs in the eighth and one in the ninth.
North Carolina’s middle infielders, who were solid defensively, were the offensive stars of eighth inning. UNC’s shortstop Michael Russell singled up the middle to drive in two runs to give the Heels a 4-0 cushion.
UNC second baseman Mike Zolk doubled down the line in right to drive in two more to break it open at 6-0.
Moran drove in Jordan for Carolina’s seventh run in the ninth.
A lot of the talk coming into the game was the fact that Carlos Rodon was the “surprise” starter for the Wolfpack. But the real story was Hobbs Johnson. ”He’s a great pitcher,” Johnson said of Rodon. “We made him throw a lot of pitches early, got a couple of runs and were able to tack on some runs later.”
Coach Fox said Johnson’s command was key, walking only two batters. “That’s the best he’s thrown and he’s thrown well for us all year,” Fox said.
The Tar Heels face a UCLA team known for its pitching in yet another elimination game Friday at 8 p.m. EDT.
Heel Notes: During an in-game interview on ESPN, UNC coach Mike Fox joked that he knew Rodon, who was on just a three-day rest, was going to start. “I know Elliott better than all of you,” he said with a laugh.
Chaz Frank singled to lead off the game. It took five innings for the Heels to get a hit off Rodon Sunday.
UNC reliever Chris McCue, who got the final two outs on a line-drive 9-3 double play, threw one changeup and it was supposed to be a fastball. That was the only off-speed pitch State saw the entire game.
Of the 10 College World Series games this year, nine of them have been won by the team designated as the visiting team.
The official attendance for the game was 25,742 and the game lasted 3:32.