OMAHA, Neb. — Tennessee baseball won its College World Series opening game for just the second time ever on Friday night, using a ninth inning rally to defeat Florida State 12-11. The Vols are looking to stay in the winner’s bracket when they face North Carolina on Sunday night at Charles Schwab Field.

Like Tennessee, the Tar Heels advanced to the winner’s bracket thanks to a ninth inning walk off single. But that’s where the similarities in the two games stop, the Tar Heels won 3-2 and used just three pitchers in the game. In comparison, the Vols used six different pitchers to get past Florida State.

So what does each team’s pitching staff look like entering the matchup?

Tennessee hasn’t announced its starting pitcher but it would be a major shock if it wasn’t Drew Beam. After three straight shaky starts, the Vols need a longer outing from Beam due to how heavily they taxed their bullpen against the Seminoles.

Beam enters his second career College World Series start with an 8-2 record and 4.44 ERA on the season. But the right-handed pitcher has struggled so far in the postseason. In his last three starts, Beam has allowed 14 earned runs in 13 innings pitched (9.69 ERA).

The odd part about Beam’s struggles over his last three starts is that he’s mostly cruised into the middle innings. But that’s where things have imploded on him. Beam allowed five runs in the fifth inning against Mississippi State, four runs in the third and fourth inning against Indiana and three in the fourth inning against Evansville.

Who is available for Tennessee behind Beam? Aaron Combs (60 pitches in 3.1 innings) is probably the only Vol that is completely unavailable after pitching against Florida State.

More From RTI: Everything To Know About North Carolina Baseball

The Vols’ two other top relievers, AJ Causey (43 pitches in 1.2 inning) and Nate Snead (39 pitches in 2.1 innings), are likely both available though they may not be able to pitch extensively after longer outings against the Seminoles.

LHP Kirby Connell feels like a near lock to pitch after throwing 17 pitches in one inning against Florida State. Lefty specialist Andrew Behnke threw just seven pitchers against two batters and will be available. Chris Stamos could also pitch after throwing just eight pitches as Tennessee’s opener on Friday.

Ideally, Tennessee’s pitching against North Carolina is Beam, Connell and one of Causey or Snead. But if Beam struggles, they’ll have to use more arms.

How about North Carolina’s pitching? Like Tennessee, the Tar Heels have not announced their starting pitcher but it will almost certainly be left-handed pitcher Shea Sprague.

The Elon transfer enters the College World Series with a 3-1 record, 4.00 ERA and 1.22 WHIP on the season. It’s been less severe than Beam, but Sprague has also struggled over the last month. In his last five starts, Sprague’s allowed 14 earned runs in 24 innings pitched (5.25 ERA).

Behind Sprague, North Carolina’s whole bullpen is available. Matt Poston threw 23 pitches in 1.2 innings pitched and top reliever Dalton Pence threw just 29 pitches in a perfect 3.1 innings of relief. Both should be available for the Tar Heels, as will the rest of their bullpen, against Tennessee.

First pitch between Tennessee and North Carolina at Charles Schwab Field is at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday night. ESPN is broadcasting the game.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Airplane crashes are considered to be a rare occurrence, however, they do happen, particularly with small aircraft.

On Friday, a small plane crashed near an airport in Siler City. Two people were on board the single-engine Piper PA-28 that crashed in a wooded area about a mile from the Siler City Municipal Airport. Two people were killed.

The crash comes just two weeks after a small plane crashed in Franklin County. The pilot was injured in the crash.

Here are some other crashes that happened this year.

On April 5, a single-engine Lancair 360 took off from Lynchburg, Virginia, with a flight plan that had it landing in Ocean Isle Beach. It crash-landed into two vehicles on US-1 in Chatham County after authorities said the plane had a mechanical failure. no injuries were reported.

On April 16, the pilot of another small plane was able to walk away after he crashed in Rocky Mount while trying to make an emergency landing.

In May, three people were injured when the Piper Warrior aircraft they were in crashed in a wooded area and caught on fire in Cumberland County. Officials have not released the cause of the crash.

At Raleigh-Durham International Airport, the most recent crash happened in May. A small plane made a crash landing after the pilot noticed an issue with its front landing gear, There were four people on the flight from Fayetteville. No injuries were reported.

In April, a UNC Air Operations medical plane crashed at RDU injuring a UNC doctor and the pilot. A preliminary investigation said the crash was caused by a failed landing.

Previous crashes at RDU:

In July 2022, a skydiving airplane with damaged landing gear was diverted to RDU and made a hard landing on one of the runways.

Before that plane landed, 23-year-old co-pilot Charles Hew Crooks fell out of the aircraft. His body landed in a Fuquay-Varina neighborhood.

Despite extensive investigating, the NTSB was never able to determine whether Crooks’ fall was accidental or intentional.

In December 1994, American Eagle Flight 3379 crashed into a wooden area about four miles from RDU.

Fifteen of the 20 people onboard that airplane died.

In February 1988, all 12 people on AV Air flight 3378 died when it crashed just minutes after taking off from RDU.

In October 2019, a Piper PA-32 crashed in a wooded area off Umstead Park while approaching the RDU runway. Both people on that plane died.

In July 2000, a twin-engine plane crashed about two miles from the airport. Bad weather was blamed for causing that crash. Three people were on the plane when it went down; two of them survived.