The reigning National Champion LSU Tigers rallied back on Friday afternoon to come out victorious in their NCAA Tournament opener against Wofford.

With their backs against the wall, the Tigers launched three homers late with Steve Milam coming up as the hero once again.

Milam smacked a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Tigers to a 4-3 victory over the Terriers to get things started in the Chapel Hill Regional.

Now, all attention shifts to the winner’s bracket matchup between LSU and North Carolina.

Here’s a look into the game information for Saturday, how to watch and a scouting report on the Tar Heels:

DATE/TIME
• Saturday, June 1 at 4 p.m. CT (ESPN2)
STADIUM
• Boshamer Stadium – Chapel Hill, N.C. (5,000)
RADIO
• LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
• Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com
TV/ONLINE
• Saturday’s game will be televised by ESPN2; the game will also be streamed on ESPN+

LSU IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• LSU is in the NCAA Tournament for the 12th straight season and for the 36th time overall …. LSU has seven national championships (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2009, 2023), the second-most in NCAA history … the Tigers were an NCAA Tournament Top 8 National Seed for an NCAA-record six straight seasons (2012-17) … LSU was the No. 5 National Seed in 2023 and claimed the school’s seventh CWS title … LSU has the second-highest all-time NCAA Tournament winning percentage (.707, 174-72).

• LSU has played host to 27 NCAA Regionals at Alex Box Stadium, and the Chapel Hill Regional marks the Tigers’ ninth regional on the road: LSU has a 108-27 (.800) all-time record in NCAA Regional games, including an 89-17 (.840) mark in home regional games and a 19-10 (.655) record in regional games on the road … LSU has won its home regional on 23 occasions: 1986, ’90, ’91, ’93, ’94, ’96, ’97, ’98, ’99, 2000, ’01, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’08, ’09, ’12, ’13, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’19, ’23 … the Tigers have won road regionals three times – in 1987 (at New Orleans), 1989 (at Texas A&M) and 2021 (at Oregon).

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• The Tigers won four of their last five SEC regular-season series in 2024, posting a 10-5 mark over the final five weeks of the league schedule … LSU is 18-6 in its last 24 games overall and 14-6 in its last 20 games versus SEC teams … the Tigers have seven of their past eight games; their seven-game win streak was broken with a 4-3 loss to top-ranked Tennessee on Sunday in the SEC Tournament championship game … LSU enters the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional No. 23 in the official NCAA RPI rankings.

• Third baseman Tommy White has 75 career homers – 27 in 2022 at NC State, 24 last season at LSU and 24 this season for the Tigers. He is No. 8 all-time in NCAA history in career home runs. White is just the fourth player in NCAA history to reach the 75-homer mark in three seasons.The others are Pete Incaviglia of Oklahoma State, Frank Fazzini of Florida State and George Canale of Virginia Tech. White is also only the fourth player in NCAA history to hit 20+ homers in three seasons. The others are Incaviglia, Canale and Todd Greene of Georgia Southern.

• Second baseman Steven Milam launched a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning Saturday to lift LSU to a 12-11 win over South Carolina in an SEC Tournament semifinal game at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium last Saturday. LSU, which trailed the Gamecocks, 8-0, heading into the bottom of the fourth inning, recorded its biggest comeback win since May 7, 2016, when the Tigers overcame a 9-1 deficit to defeat Arkansas, 10-9 (10 innings), in Alex Box Stadium … Milam hit .476 (10-for-21) in the SEC Tournament with two doubles, two homers, seven RBI and six runs, and he was voted to the all-tournament team.

• LSU shortstop Michael Braswell III lined a two-out RBI single in the top of the ninth inning Thursday night to break a 10-10 and lift the Tigers to an 11-10 SEC Tournament win over South Carolina. Braswell, who at played South Carolina for two seasons before transferring to LSU last summer, delivered the game-winning hit against his former team as he slapped a single down the left-field line that helped propel LSU into the tournament semifinal round … Braswell hit .381 (8-for-21) for the entire SEC Tournament with two homers, six RBI and eight runs, and he was voted to the all-tournament team.

• LSU right-hander Luke Holman fired six hitless innings last Wednesday, and the Tigers blasted two grand slams in an 11-0 SEC Tournament win over Kentucky … Holman (9-3) blanked the Wildcats through his six-inning outing, allowing no hits with two walks and seven strikeouts … he threw 100 pitches in the outing, 63 for strikes … Holman was voted to the SEC All-Tournament team.

• LSU left-hander Gage Jump limited Georgia to one run on four hits in 7.0 innings last Tuesday, as the Tigers posted a 9-1 win over the Bulldogs in the opening round of the 2024 SEC Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium … Jump (6-1) tied his season high on Tuesday by firing 105 pitches, 75 for strikes … he allowed just one run on four hits in seven innings with one walk and seven strikeouts, and he was voted to the all-tournament team.

The North Carolina Scouting Report:

The ACC regular season champions earned the No. 4 overall seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament with the chance to carry its success into postseason ball.

A program that provides a balanced attack in all facets of the game, their pitching is a piece that gives them that extra boost led by aces Jason DeCaro and Shea Sprague.

Get to Know the Aces: DeCaro and Sprague

The Tar Heels rank No. 14 in ERA, No. 35 in WHIP, No. 52 in hits allowed per nine innings and have two shutouts on the season, but their one-two punch on the mound has helped in a big way this season.

DeCaro… The true freshman righty comes into the NCAA Tournament with a 3.80 ERA in 14 starts with 64 strikeouts and 34 walks in Year 1 with the Tar Heels.

Sprague… The veteran in the North Carolina pitching rotation came in from Elon during the offseason and burst on the scene fast. A right-handed pitcher, Sprague started 12 games during the 2024 season with a 4.02 ERA. The walk to strikeout ratio is impressive for Sprague with just 14 walks on the year to 55 strikeouts.

Sprague will be the starter on Saturday evening for the Tar Heels with LSU’s Luke Holman set to get the nod for the Tigers.

The Sluggers: Casey Cooks and Vance Honeycutt

The Tar Heels are a program that doesn’t provide flare at the plate, but their patience is what has allowed them to be successful. After ranking Top 25 in home runs and batting average, they’re impressive at getting on base at an efficient rate while utilizing a touch of power at times.

Their two power hitters come in Casey Cooks and Vance Honeycutt. The tandem was named to the All-ACC first team with slugging percentages of .688 and .699, respectively.

Other LSU News:

NCAA Tournament Bound: LSU Baseball’s Regional Site Revealed on Monday

The Betting Odds: What are LSU’s Chances of Winning the College World Series?

Join the Community:

Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Country: @LSUCountry_FN for all coverage surrounding the LSU program.

LSU baseball isn’t done with its flair for the dramatics.

Freshman Steven Milam belted a walkoff home run in the opening game of the Chapel Hill Regional Friday to propel the Tigers to the 4-3 victory over Wofford. It was his second walkoff homer in LSU’s last four games.

LSU (41-21) has now won 19 of its last 25 games and in the last four games, it has rallied from behind to win.

No. 1 North Carolina (44-12), who is the No. 4 overall national seed, had to rally itself in the bottom of the ninth inning against No. 4 Long Island Friday night to advance in the winners bracket.

LIU led 8-5 heading into the bottom half of the ninth and freshman Gavin Gallaher hit a walkoff grand slam to lift the Heels in their opening NCAA Tournament game, 11-8.

REQUIRED READING LSU baseball’s Steven Milam belts walkoff home run to down Wofford in Chapel Hill Regional

LSU baseball vs North Carolina channel today in Chapel Hill Regional: Time, TV schedule

• TV: ESPN+/SEC Network+
• Start time: 4 p.m. CT

LSU baseball plays North Carolina at 4 p.m. at Boshamer Stadium at UNC in the fourth game at the Chapel Hill Regional in the 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament. The game can be seen on ESPN+/SEC Network+.

LSU baseball vs North Carolina livestream in NCAA Tournament 2024

The NCAA Tournament game between LSU baseball and North Carolina can be livestreamed on the ESPN app as well as FUBO, which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.

LSU baseball schedule in Chapel Hill Regional

• Game 1, Friday May 31: (2) LSU vs (3) Wofford, 11 a.m. CT; TV: ESPNU, Stream: Watch ESPN, FUBO (free trial)
• Game 2, Friday, May 31: (1) North Carolina vs (4) Long Island; TV: ESPN+, Stream: Watch ESPN, FUBO (free trial)
• Game 3, Saturday, June 1: Loser of Game 1 vs Loser of Game 2, 11 a.m. CT; Stream: Watch ESPN, FUBO (free trial)
• Game 4, Saturday, June 1: Winner of Game 1 vs Winner of Game 2, 4 p.m. CT; Stream: Watch ESPN, FUBO (free trial)
• Game 5, Sunday June 2: Loser of Game 4 vs Winner of Game 3; Stream: Watch ESPN, FUBO (free trial)
• Game 6, Sunday June 2: Winner of Game 4 vs Winner of Game 5; Stream: Watch ESPN, FUBO (free trial)
• Game 7, Monday June 3 (If necessary): Winner of Game 6 vs Loser of Game 6; Stream: Watch ESPN, FUBO (free trial)

MAGIC MOMENTS ‘Magic Moment’: Why LSU baseball’s Jay Johnson commemorates turning-point moments in wins

CHAPEL HILL REGIONAL TICKETS LSU baseball tickets in Chapel Hill Regional: Best options for NCAA Tournament 2024

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

Unsustainable rates of growth in government spending is a problem at the federal and state levels. Lawmakers in most states, both blue and red, are growing government spending at an unsustainable rate, more rapidly than population growth and inflation. Yet a number of states have demonstrated over the past decade that fiscal restraint and conservative budgeting is an achievable goal.

In the decade from 2014 to 2023, total state outlays (both state funds and federal transfer funds) in six states (Alaska, Colorado, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming) grew at a slower pace than the rate of population growth plus inflation, also referred to as the fiscally sustainable growth rate (SGR). In another six states (Louisiana, Massachusetts, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island), state spending (state funds only, not including federal transfers) grew at a slower pace than the SGR. Yet even in states where lawmakers have practiced sustainable budgeting, runaway spending by local governments remains a challenge.

North Carolina is one of the states where lawmakers kept growth of state spending over the past decade below the rate of population growth plus inflation. While state legislators in Raleigh, led by Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R) and Speaker Tim Moore (R), are practicing budgetary restraint, local officials in Raleigh are not.

Take the new FY 2025 city budget recently proposed by the Raleigh City Council, which totals $1.44 billion. That represents a nearly 12% increase from the current budget.

If the Raleigh City Council were to craft a new spending plan that instead grew city spending in line with the rate of inflation and population growth, which is 6.56%, they would need to enact a budget that spends $1.36 billion next year, not the proposed $1.43 billion. A new city budget that grew in line with population growth plus inflation, which the General Assembly down the street has demonstrated is attainable for more than a decade, would save Raleigh taxpayers more than $66 million next year.

Basic math demonstrates that Raleigh officials could provide signifiant relief to taxpayers through more sustainable budgeting. As Senator Berger, Speaker Moore, and their colleagues have demonstrated for years, meaningful taxpayer savings doesn’t not necessitate drastic spending cuts or a slashing of services, but more modest rates of growth.

By keeping growth in state spending below the rate of population growth plus inflation, North Carolina has realized repeated budget surpluses at the same time lawmakers have returned billions to taxpayers through rate-reducing income tax reform that has brought the state’s top income tax rate from 7.75% down to 4.5% in the matter of a decade. Thanks to this fiscal restraint on the part of the North Carolina General Assembly, state government is much trimmer in size than was the case a decade ago.

“For several decades – from the mid-1970’s up until the Republican takeover of the General Assembly in 2011 – North Carolina’s state budget hovered between 6% and 7% of the state’s economy,” the NC Budget Center, a progressive outfit, reported in 2021. “Thanks to big tax and spending cuts enacted by the General Assembly, state outlays began to plummet, reaching their nadir during the current fiscal year at around 4.54% of the state’s economy.”

The NC Budget Center and other progressive organizations bemoan the fact that, relative to the size of the North Carolina economy, state government is now much leaner than it was prior to the 2010 GOP takeover of the state legislature. Yet, proving the adage that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, many others, including most North Carolina legislators, view that same trend as one to brag about, particularly on the campaign trail.