news-record.com

OMAHA, Neb. -- North Carolina was left to ponder missed chances after its 7-3 loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday in the opening game of baseball's College World Series.

The Tar Heels left 16 runners on base -- the CWS single-game record is 17 -- and that included men stranded at third in the fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth innings.

"That's pretty much the tale of the game for us, offensively," Tar Heels coach Mike Fox said. "Out here, it's how well you play from the first pitch to the last and getting big two-out hits.

"And they got them and we didn't."

Connor Harrell hit the first CWS home run at the new TD Ameritrade Park to break a sixth-inning tie, and three relievers held Carolina scoreless on three hits in five innings.

"I think they buckled down, especially when (we) had runners on base, when they had two outs, and I think their crowd got them into it," said Tar Heels outfielder Chaz Frank. "They just made good pitches and we weren't able to get timely hitting like we've been doing all year.

"We've been riding our pitching and defense all year. And we've been able to get timely hitting and we weren't able to get it today."

Vanderbilt didn't play like the College World Series newcomer that it is.

After first baseman Aaron Westlake made a diving stop of Frank's hard grounder and touched the bag for the final out, there were just the usual handshakes and backslaps behind the pitcher's mound.

The Commodores will save the dogpile for, they hope, the NCAA championship game in about 10 days.

"That was a big victory for us," Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin said. "You never know how you're going to react the first time."

Vanderbilt played as it has for most of the season -- including its knack for scoring big runs with two outs. Carolina, in addition to its problem of stranding runners, got a so-so start from Patrick Johnson.

Johnson (13-2), who had given up three earned runs in his previous 45 innings, was tagged for four earned -- five total -- in six innings.

"I definitely didn't have my best stuff," the Tar Heels' starter said. "They're such a good hitting team. You can't leave balls over the middle of the plate. I did that a couple times today, and they made me pay. But I wasn't as sharp as I've been."

Conrad Gregor tied it with two outs in the sixth inning with a double off the top of the wall, and Harrell followed with his two-run homer. Two-out singles by Tony Kemp and Anthony Gomez produced two insurance runs for the Commodores in the eighth.

Vanderbilt (53-10), the No. 6 national seed, advanced to a Bracket 1 game Monday night against Florida, which beat Texas 8-4. Third-seeded North Carolina (50-15) plays Texas on Monday afternoon in an elimination game.

The 24,500-seat TD Ameritrade Park opened to much fanfare, but the crowd of 22,745 was well short of a sellout on a warm, humid afternoon. The $131 million ballpark replaces Rosenblatt Stadium, which had been home to the CWS from 1950-2010.

Former President George W. Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch after his father, former President George H.W. Bush, delivered a video message declaring a new era for college baseball at the stadium. The elder Bush played for Yale in the first CWS in 1947 in Kalamazoo, Mich.