Ole Miss won’t just be facing North Carolina on Friday night. The Rebels will be facing a pitching plan that has no brakes.
UNC coach Scott Forbes made that clear before the Tar Heels even boarded the bus to Omaha. If Ole Miss thought the Tar Heels might hold back an arm or try to map out the weekend, Forbes shut that down immediately.
“You’re literally just thinking, ‘Hey, we’re going to beat Ole Miss and nothing else,’” he said. “Whatever it takes.”
That’s the mindset Ole Miss is up against. UNC isn’t pacing itself. They’re not saving their No. 2 starter for Sunday. They’re not worried about the long view of a double elimination bracket. They’re treating Friday like a standalone fight, and they’re willing to throw every arm they trust to win it.
Forbes even laid out the possibilities.
“If that means Jason DeCaro and then Ryan Lynch and start Glauber on Sunday, or Jason DeCaro and Glauber and Rose and start Lynch, we’re going to use whoever we need to.”
That’s not a coach bluffing. That’s a coach who understands the CWS format and knows the day off changes everything. With a full rest day built in, UNC can be aggressive without worrying about burning out their bullpen.
“For instance, a guy like Glauber can go out there and throw 60 pitches, have a full day and be OK to throw two more on Sunday,” Forbes said.
So what does that mean for Ole Miss?
It means the Rebels should expect a quick hook. It means they should expect matchups. It means they should expect Forbes to treat every high leverage moment like it might decide the game. It means they won’t see UNC saving bullets for later.
And it fits the personality of this UNC team. They’ve been player led all year. They’ve handled pressure. They’ve survived the kind of swings that usually break teams. When USC hit a grand slam in Game 1 of the Super Regional, UNC didn’t fold. They came back and won the next two.
That’s the group Ole Miss is facing. A team that doesn’t panic, doesn’t ration innings, and doesn’t wait around for the weekend to unfold.
If the Rebels want to advance, they’ll have to beat a pitching staff that’s coming at them with everything it has, right from the first pitch.
UNC isn’t saving arms. They’re not saving strategy. They’re not saving anything.
