In what was a pitcher's duel, North Carolina defeated Virginia 3-2 in walk-off fashion in the first game of the College World Series on Friday in Omaha, Nebraska.

Outfielder Vance Honeycutt once again became the hero for the Tar Heels hitting an RBI single to left field in the bottom of the ninth inning to give North Carolina the victory.

The Tar Heels will face Tennessee, which defeated Florida State with a walk-off of its own, on Sunday.

The Tar Heels (48-14) started freshman pitcher Jason DeCaro against the Cavaliers on Friday, and he had trouble in the first inning, throwing 30 pitches, but finished strong after walking two batters and loading up the bases. In total, DeCaro pitched four innings, recorded six strikeouts with four walks, four hits and one run allowed on 89 pitches in his first College World Series start.

Then North Carolina started the scoring.

After a lead off with a single by outfielder Casey Cook and then a double by first baseman Parks Harber, Tar Heels outfielder Anthony Donofrio hit an RBI groundout to give North Carolina a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning.

The Cavaliers replied in the third inning with an RBI to tie the game at one.

There was no scoring until the sixth inning when the Cavaliers took a 2-1 lead on a sacrifice fly to center field. After going down in the sixth inning, Tar Heels outfielder Casey Cook singled to left field, which brought in a run to tie the game back up at 2-2 in the seventh inning for his third hit of the game.

Honeycutt, one of the nation's top outfielders and a projected top-20 selection in the 2024 MLB Draft in July, failed to record a single hit until it mattered the most for the Tar Heels with an RBI single to left field in the bottom of the ninth inning to give them the win.

Honeycutt, who ranks second in the ACC in home runs with 26, went 0-for-4 against the Cavaliers on Friday and failed to get on base before the game-winning hit.

North Carolina will need more from Honeycutt the rest of the World Series but another walk off shows the value he brings to the team.

Tennessee 12, Florida State 11

OMAHA, Neb. − Tennessee trailed by two with two outs and Christian Moore was down to his final strike. But the Vols were not done yet.

Moore doubled to the left-field corner and Blake Burke delivered an at-bat for the Tennessee history books, battling through a seven-pitch at-bat before delivering a two-run single as the longstanding Vols postseason magic finally reached the College World Series.

Dylan Dreiling delivered the decisive drive, a single to lift the Vols to a 12-11 walk-off win in their CWS opener against Florida State at Charles Schwab Field.

UT (56-12) will face North Carolina on Sunday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Charles Schwab Field. UNC beat Virginia 3-2 in the opener Friday.

Tennessee hadn't won a game it didn't lead after eight innings this season until Friday. UT trailed by three entering the ninth.

Christian Moore made College World Series history with cycle

Moore roped a triple into the right-center gap in the first inning for his first triple of the year. He doubled in the second and singled in the fourth.

The junior made history in the seventh when he hit a 440-foot homer to center. It was the second cycle in CWS history and the first since 1956.

Moore's cycle was the sixth in Tennessee history. — Mike Wilson, Knoxville News Sentinel

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: College World Series: North Carolina, Tennessee get walk-off wins