Colin Hynek's Homer Flips Script, Sparks Tar Heel Comeback Over ECU

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Scott Forbes called timeout. With two on and one out in the fourth inning and North Carolina trailing 3-0, the Tar Heels’ skipper made his way from the third-base coaching box toward home plate to meet Colin Hynek, who had just swung over the top of a first-pitch changeup from East Carolina left-hander Luke Payne.

“He just told me to stay short, hit something in the gap, and that he believed in me,” Hynek said of Forbes’ words of advice. “He said if he was betting, he was going to bet on me.”

Hynek dug back into the right-handed batter’s box. And on the very next pitch, he launched Payne’s two-seam fastball 415 feet into the batter’s eye at Boshamer Stadium — a “Weaver” — tying Saturday’s all-important winners’ bracket game at 3-3.

“I just reminded him to stay short to whatever was coming and not let himself get long,” Forbes said. “He fights that sometimes.

“My gut was, being a pitching coach for all those years, I know what I probably would have called. I’d have thrown the first-pitch changeup and then probably gone fastball — try to go at the top. I’m glad he got the fastball. But he did it, so all credit to him.”

Up until Hynek’s blast, Payne had, for the most part, successfully navigated the Tar Heels’ lineup. Through the first three innings, the ECU southpaw allowed traffic on the bases but repeatedly pitched out of trouble.

In the first inning, Payne struck out Cooper Nicholson to escape a bases-loaded jam. An inning later, after Tyler Howe moved into scoring position with nobody out, Payne worked around the threat by retiring Hynek on a flyout, striking out Carter French, and inducing a groundout from Jake Schaffner.

Then, in the third, a strike-’em-out, throw-’em-out double play of Macon Winslow and Owen Hull sent North Carolina back to the dugout scoreless through three innings, with the Pirates holding all the momentum as well as a three-run lead. 

“It was the swing of the game,” Forbes said. “That’s what makes this game so awesome. A guy can be out there throwing the ball really, really well. And (Payne) has good stuff, too. We knew if he was in the zone, it was going to be tough, and he was filling it up.”

Not only did Hynek’s blast erase ECU’s three-run lead, it also prompted Pirate head coach Cliff Godwin to go to the bullpen — a move North Carolina pounced on by scoring four more runs across the fifth and sixth innings to build a 7-3 advantage on its way to the 7-5 victory.

“I just felt like after that our guys settled in,” Forbes said. “They were really excited today about this game — in a good way. So my job the whole time was trying to get them to breathe a little bit and have fun.”

After failing to reach the NCAA Tournament during his three seasons at Georgia State, part of Hynek’s decision to transfer to North Carolina was for moments exactly like the one he delivered Saturday night at Boshamer Stadium, sparking seven unanswered Tar Heel runs and moving UNC within one win of a third consecutive super regional appearance.

“To be in moments like this and be able to come through, that was pretty special,” Hynek said. “It’s something I’ll remember forever.”