How to Watch: LSU Baseball vs. North Carolina (NCAA Regional Final)

LSU remains alive in Chapel Hill with a winner-take-all showdown against North Carolina on the horizon.

The reigning National Champion LSU Tigers displayed poise and confidence once again in Chapel Hill in another "win or go home" game against the North Carolina Tar Heels on Sunday night.

Now, with the key victory in the rearview mirror, the Tigers will square off against the Tar Heels on Monday in a "win or go home" showdown in Boshamer Stadium.

For the Tigers, they received a heroic performance from veteran pitcher Thatcher Hurd in Sunday's contest, propelling the Tigers to the NCAA Regional Final.

It'll be LSU vs. North Carolina Part III in the Chapel Hill Regional Championship with both programs looking to punch their ticket to Super Regionals.

North Carolina came out with the win on Saturday, and with LSU evening the playing field on Sunday with a win, all focus shifts to Monday.

The winner of Monday night's winner-take-all will host the West Virginia Mountaineers in Super Regional play.

Here's how to watch, the scouting report on the Tar Heels and a dive into LSU's pitching appraoch:

DATE/TIME
• Monday, June 3 at 5 p.m. CT (ESPN2)
STADIUM
• Boshamer Stadium – Chapel Hill, N.C. (5,000)
RADIO
• LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
• Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com
TV/ONLINE
• Monday's game will be televised by ESPN2; the game will also be streamed on ESPN+

The North Carolina Scouting Report:

The ACC regular season champions earned the No. 4 overall seed in this year's NCAA Tournament with the chance to carry its success into postseason ball.

A program that provides a balanced attack in all facets of the game, their pitching is a piece that gives them that extra boost led by aces Jason DeCaro and Shea Sprague.

Get to Know Pitching Rotation

The Tar Heels rank No. 14 in ERA, No. 35 in WHIP, No. 52 in hits allowed per nine innings and have two shutouts on the season, but their one-two punch on the mound has helped in a big way this season.

DeCaro... The true freshman righty comes into the NCAA Tournament with a 3.80 ERA in 14 starts with 64 strikeouts and 34 walks in Year 1 with the Tar Heels.

Sprague... The veteran in the North Carolina pitching rotation came in from Elon during the offseason and burst on the scene fast. A right-handed pitcher, Sprague started 12 games during the 2024 season with a 4.02 ERA. The walk to strikeout ratio is impressive for Sprague with just 14 walks on the year to 55 strikeouts.

The trio of DeCaro, Sprague and Aidan Haugh have pitched this weekend with the Tar Heels turning attention to their bullpen for Monday's contest.

The Sluggers: Casey Cooks and Vance Honeycutt

The Tar Heels are a program that doesn't provide flare at the plate, but their patience is what has allowed them to be successful. After ranking Top 25 in home runs and batting average, they're impressive at getting on base at an efficient rate while utilizing a touch of power at times.

Their two power hitters come in Casey Cooks and Vance Honeycutt. The tandem was named to the All-ACC first team with slugging percentages of .688 and .699, respectively.

🔨🔨🔨@GavinGuidry5 | #ThePowerhouse pic.twitter.com/xYaUCTMw5o

— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) June 3, 2024

LSU's Pitching Approach:

LSU utilized Gage Jump and Luke Holman as starters on Friday and Saturday with Griffin Herring carrying the load on Sunday against Wofford.

From there, Thatcher Hurd got the ball on Sunday against the Tar Heels in the second elimination game of the day.

Now, with Jump, Holman, Herring, Hurd and likely Kade Anderson (46 total pitches on Sunday) utilized, the Tigers will turn attention to their bullpen on Monday.

The Likely Starting Options: Javen Coleman and Nate Ackenhausen

Many believe Coleman will be handed the ball on Monday in the winner-take-all contest, but it'll be a night where the bullpen is used in a myriad of ways.

Coleman has started seven games on the season while also coming in as a relief pitcher in four separate games. He's totaled 24.2 innings of work with a 3-1 record. Coleman has a 5.47 ERA, 27 strikeouts, 19 walks, and four home runs allowed.

For Ackenhausen, he struggled on Sunday, but his arm is still available after tossing just 27 pitches against Wofford.

The Bullpen Options: Fidel Ulloa, Gavin Guidry, Sam Dutton, Justin Loer, Aiden Moffett and Will Hellmers

Ulloa has asserted himself as an X-factor for the Tigers after coming up in a big way on Sunday night against the Tar Heels. After throwing just 22 pitches, he's available on Monday with Johnson clearly trusting his veteran.

Ullua has made 19 appearances on the season with 23.1 innings pitched. In those innings, he has 26 strikeouts with 11 walks and a 4.63 ERA.

For Guidry, the confident, swagger-filled sophomore came in to close things out for the Tigers on Sunday night. There's a question mark when looking at his availability on Monday night. He threw 40 pitches with his status up in the air.

Loer, Hellmers and Moffett pitched on Saturday against thee Tar Heels but nobody exceeded 10 pitches on the day. They'll be available to come in as relievers.

The final arm LSU could go to is veteran Sam Dutton. Dutton has made 19 appearances on the season with a 5.2 ERA and 29 strikeouts to just six walks.

Other LSU News:

Staying Alive: LSU Defeats North Carolina 8-4 to Remain Alive in Chapel Hill

The Recap: LSU Takes Down Wofford in Pivotal Elimination Game

The Bracket: The Updated Chapel Hill Regional Bracket

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Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Country: @LSUCountry_FN for all coverage surrounding the LSU program.