OMAHA–One of our keys to victory for North Carolina was getting some timely hitting. It’s worth noting that the Tar Heels are 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position through four innings. Part of that is a testament to the poise of Oregon State freshman Jorge Reyes, who has made good pitches with runners on base. His fastball has shown good life early on, and he’s commanding it well. But UNC should be encouraged by the generally solid start for its own freshman righthander, Alex White. He’s made a couple of mistakes, and Oregon State has built a 3-0 lead, but he’s already lasted longer than he did in his first CWS start last weekend.

One other note: the wind is blowing in pretty strongly right now, which could neutralize the long ball–we’ve already seen a couple of hard-hit balls get knocked down by the wind. Of course, North Carolina hardly needs to hit home runs to score, as evidenced by its run through most of the postseason without the benefit of a single homer. The Tar Heels can string hits together and put runs on the board in a hurry. This game is still wide open.