OMAHA–After giving up a run in the first inning, North Carolina starter Matt Harvey has settled down nicely, retiring seven in a row. He seems to have command of all three of his pitches, and he’s done a good job pounding the strike zone and letting his defense do its job in the last two innings (though he did end the second with back-to-back strikeouts using his offspeed stuff).

Fresno State starter Justin Wilson, meanwhile, has yet to allow a hit through two innings, but he also has struggled against UNC’s righthanded hitters, walking four of the six righties he’s faced the first time through the batting order. Wilson lacks a changeup to use against those righties, and they’re doing a good job forcing him to throw strikes instead of chasing breaking balls out of the zone. Wilson is very tough on lefties, and he struck out Tim Fedroff and Kyle Seager in the first. But Dustin Ackley opened the third with an infield single on a high chopper up the middle. Leave it to Ackley to get the Tar Heels into the hit column.

NCAA Blog Central.