GAME RECAP: Carpentier’s First Career Grand Slam Ignites USC Explosion in 9-5 Game 1 Win Over North Carolina, Trojans 1 Win Away from Omaha

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Dean Carpentier picked the perfect moment to deliver his first career grand slam. With the Trojans trailing by three and two outs in the sixth, the Huntington Beach native stepped up and changed everything in one swing, powering USC to a 9-5 victory over North Carolina in Game 1 of the Super Regional on Friday night at Bryson Field at Boshamer Stadium.

The win puts the Trojans one victory away from Omaha. Now it’s on to Game 2 today at 11 a.m. Pacific on ESPN, with everything still to play for in this best-of-three series.

USC (48-16) fell behind early against a tough Tar Heel squad that came out swinging in front of their home crowd. North Carolina jumped on starter Mason Edwards for two runs in the second and added two more in the third, including an Andrew Lamb homer for USC that got one back before the hosts pushed it to 4-1 on an unearned run. Colin Hynek’s RBI double in the fifth made it 5-1, and things were looking rough for the visitors.

But this USC team doesn’t quit. They scratched across a one in the sixth to make it 5-2, then loaded the bases with two outs. That’s when Carpentier, batting ninth and playing the role of “sniper” as his coach likes to call the bottom of the order, unloaded. His grand slam to left field cleared the bases and flipped the script completely, giving the Trojans a 6-5 lead they would never relinquish.

The offense kept rolling in the seventh. Adrian Lopez and Augie Lopez set the table, Kevin Takeuchi delivered an RBI single, and Isaac Cadena, Jack Basser, and Andrew Lamb all chipped in to push the lead to 9-5. It was the kind of relentless, timely attack that’s defined this group all season.

On the mound, Chase Herrell came in and stabilized things, earning the win (6-4) after tossing two innings of one-run ball. Ben Cushnie and Andrew Johnson took care of the rest, with Johnson locking down the final 3.2 innings for his first save of the postseason. The bullpen did exactly what it needed to do once the bats woke up.

Takeuchi had a huge day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a walk, a run scored, and an RBI. The Lopez duo each collected two hits and scored twice. Carpentier finished with two hits and those four massive RBI. Lamb added a homer and two RBI of his own. USC racked up 11 hits total while playing clean baseball aside from one error.

North Carolina (48-12-1) got solid contributions from Hynek and Erik Paulsen but couldn’t keep the momentum after USC’s big sixth. Walker McDuffie took the loss after the grand slam blew things open.

This one had all the drama you could ask for in a Super Regional opener. Down big on the road, facing elimination pressure, and the Trojans found a way. Carpentier’s heroics will be talked about for a long time around the program, especially coming from a guy who’s been grinding in that lower spot in the lineup.

Now it’s back to work today in Chapel Hill. One more win and USC is going to Omaha for the first time in 25 years. The Tar Heels will throw everything they’ve got at them, but after what we saw Friday night, you get the feeling this group is built for these moments.