So UNC came into the bottom of the ninth trailing 10-8. ECU brought in closer Shane Matthews, who has 14 saves on the season. Matthews struggled to find his control early on. Pinch hitter Mike Cavasinni led off with a walk, and Seth Williams followed with another free pass. Garrett Gore then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third. Matthews then uncorked a wild pitch that went behind leadoff hitter Reid Fronk, allowing Cavasinni to score to make it 10-9.

After an extended at-bat in which he fouled off several 3-2 pitches, Fronk drilled a hard ground ball that bounced off the glove of diving second baseman Ryan Wood. Williams scored on the play to tie the game, and Tim Fedroff followed with a single to put runners at first and second. With Matthews still pitching, freshman Dustin Ackley lined a single up the middle to score Fronk all the way from second base, giving UNC an exciting 11-10 victory.

The win puts UNC in the enviable position of having to win only one more game to take the regional. Following the heartbreaking loss, East Carolina will have to face Western Carolina tomorrow (weather permitting) in an elimination game. The winner of that game will then have to beat UNC twice.

The craziness didn't end with the game, however. After Fronk slid head first across home plate with the winning run, he was mobbed by his teammates, who dog-piled on him at home plate. In the meelee, Fronk sustained a laceration to the back of his head, a wound that required five stitches to close. Pitcher Rob Wooten, who was credited with the victory, had a tooth broken in the celebration, presumably on the back of Fronk's head. Both are expected to play without problems tomorrow.