All three games will be streamed on ACC Network Extra, with Friday night’s series premiere scheduled for 6 p.m. Games 2 and 3 begin Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Tar Heels sit atop the Coastal Division standings with a 15-6 record, two games behind second-place Duke (13-8) and ahead of Virginia (12-9). They are three games behind Virginia Tech (12-9). .
UNC (31-10) enters the series with back-to-back wins over Gardner-Webb and North Carolina State. The Hokies (26-12) head into the series with a 24-5 win over George Mason on Tuesday.
Virginia Tech has a record of 9-5 this season with three wins over Boston College, two wins over the University of Louisville and the University of Pittsburgh, and one win over Georgia Tech and Radford University. Carolina will be 24-1 at Boshamer Stadium in 2024.
UNC won two of three games from the Hokies in Blacksburg last season and led the series 82-32-1.
Pitcher showdown
virginia tech scout
As a team, the Hokies have a .321 batting average and a .997 OPS. He hit five against George Mason on Tuesday and led the ACC in home runs with 78. Virginia Tech ranks fifth in the conference in earned run average (4.88) and opponent batting average (.254).
final timeout
UNC rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the fifth inning to beat Gardner-Webb 5-2 on Tuesday. alex madera After UNC tied the score at two in the fifth inning, a sacrifice fly gave them the go-ahead run in the sixth inning. anthony donofrio He scored on a wild pitch in the 7th inning, Parks Harbor Had an RBI single. Gavin Gallaher He reached base three times, going 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, a baserunner, and an RBI. Connor Bobair Earned his first win with two shutout innings. dalton pence He recorded his fourth save.
power and speed
North Carolina is one of only three Power Five schools with at least 70 home runs (76) and 60 stolen bases (64). The University of Tennessee has hit 115 home runs, leading all NCAA Division I teams, and has also stolen 62 bases. Virginia has 76 home runs and 61 bases.
3-digit dinger pace
With more than 15 games left in the NCAA Tournament, the Tar Heels are on track to hit over 100 home runs for the third time in program history. The 2002 Tar Heels recorded his 108 dingers, and the 2022 team moved him 101 times through the bases. UNC is currently on pace for 103 home runs.
Home run record tracking
junior vance honeycutt He is five home runs away from setting a program career record. Debbie Bell hit 57 home runs in 205 games from 1984 to 1987. Honeycutt hit 53 home runs in the first 155 games of his career.
run the producer
Carolina ranks third in the ACC in RBIs (326) behind Virginia (384) and Florida State (329). Casey Cook He had a career-best 56 RBIs, second most in the conference.Cook, Honeycutt (43) and Alberto Osuna (42) Ranks in the top 15 in the conference in RBIs. Carolina and Virginia are the only two schools with three players in the top 15 in RBI.
bobert answers the bell
and Aidan Ho Bovea, who was part of the weekend rotation, has seen an increased role over the past week. He pitched 4.1 scoreless innings in two games against North Carolina State, striking out six, allowing one hit, and no walks. He also pitched two shutout innings against Gardner-Webb.
league leader
2nd grade matthew mattheis He leads the NCAA in wins (11) and has the most pitches (24) of any ACC hurler.left handed shea sprague He has the fewest walks of any pitcher in the conference (7) and the fewest walks per inning (1.44). D’Onofrio is tied for the ACC lead in triples (5) and Honeycutt is averaging a conference-best 1.40 points per game.