OMAHA, Neb. — Taylor Hill and Corey Williams combined on four-hitter, Connor Harrell and Curt Casali homered, and Vanderbilt eliminated North Carolina from the College World Series with a 5-1 victory Wednesday night.
Vanderbilt (54-11) beat the Tar Heels for the second time in the CWS and plays Southeastern Conference rival Florida on Friday. The Commodores are in Omaha for the first time and would need to beat the Gators twice to reach next week's best-of-three finals.
The Commodores have to face a Florida team that has beaten them in four of five meetings this season, including 3-1 at the CWS.
North Carolina (51-16) left 34 runners on base in its three CWS games and was just 7-for-39 with runners in scoring position.
Hill outdueled Greg Holt in a matchup of Washington Nationals draft picks.
Hill, taken in the sixth round, allowed a run and four hits in seven innings.
Holt, an eighth-rounder who was making his second start of the season, lasted 22⁄3 innings. He gave up five runs and four hits, leaving after Casali's homer made it 5-0.
The Tar Heels couldn't advance a runner past first base after they scored in the fifth.
Harrell's three-run homer put Vanderbilt up 4-0 in the second inning.
