When Luca Dalatri was cleared to resume pitching again in May, he knew he probably had three starts left, at a minimum: One to close out the regular season, and one each in the ACC and NCAA tournaments.
With North Carolina advancing to the College World Series, Dalatri could end up making that many starts in Omaha alone. All told, since returning from a stress reaction in his throwing elbow that, at one point, he worried could be a career-threatening ligament issue, Dalatri could end up starting seven games down the stretch – not what he hoped coming into the season, but more than enough to justify his return.