By R.L. Bynum

DURHAM — When the day comes that UNC coach Scott Forbes can’t write junior Mac Horvath’s name on his lineup card, that will be a tough reality for the third-year head coach.

Forbes’ juniors, including catcher Tomas Frick and others, hold a special place for the coach since they were freshmen during his first season when they all had to deal with the challenges of COVID-19 restrictions.

“These guys had to deal with a lot, too. COVID was tough,” said Forbes, whose No. 7-seed Tar Heels (34–21) face No. 12-ranked No. 2-seed Virginia at 3 p.m. Thursday for a berth in the ACC tournament semifinals.

The cornerstone of that group is Horvath, and Forbes admits that he’s not ready to deal with coaching a team that doesn’t include a player with his versatility and leadership.

“Hard work is the key to whatever you’re doing, and Mac is one of those kids that … I try not to cry,” Forbes said. “But when he leaves, I’m probably going to be crying by myself somewhere because these guys, man, they work, and they lead by example. When you do that, you always have a chance to have a pretty solid team.”

Horvath could have made good money signing a professional contract after last season, but decided to return for another season.

Horvath somehow only made second-team All-ACC despite being the only player in the league with at least 20 home runs (22) and steals (tied for the lead with 23).

He is among the league leaders in runs (third), total bases (fourth), RBI (fifth) and slugging percentage (sixth). He has hit two home runs in four games this season and is one of UNC’s best defenders, whether it’s showing his range at third base or using his speed and good arm to excel in right field or center field.

“He didn’t roll on campus like Dustin Ackley, where he just was going to get 100 hits every year,” Forbes said. “He’s made himself into who he is. There’s no secret sauce. Hard work is the key and whatever you’re doing.”

The Rochester, Minn., native went from hitting .227 with five homers and no steals as a freshman, to .268 with 18 homers and 19 steals last season, to hitting .314 with a .723 slugging percentage this season.

Horvath has shown leadership on and off the field. He called a player’s-only meeting when Boston College was sweeping the Tar Heels, and he noticed that many of his teammates weren’t as upset about losing as he was.

His home run off the building behind the Blue Monster in left field sparked Carolina’s 11–5 victory Tuesday in the Tar Heels’ ACC tournament opener. The ball bounced off the wall of the building and back onto the Durham Bulls Athletic Park field, a feat that has happened about a dozen times in Durham Bulls games in the last 28 years, according to longtime PA announcer Tony Rigsbee.

“Offensively, me and Frick both, and other guys being leaders, sometimes you just you gotta hit a big hit to get everyone going,” Horvath said. “And once you get that hit, everyone starts feeling more confident and comfortable at the plate. I don’t know why it works that way. But it’s just, as a team, everyone collectively comes together and starts putting better at-bats together.”

It was important for the coaches and the leaders on the team to help everyone reset after Clemson swept the regular-season-ending series that gave the Tar Heels four consecutive losses.

“I just feel like we really came together, especially when we talked the other day,” Frick said. “We’re like, all right, it’s a new season; we forgot about Clemson. New season. We’re going to come out, we’re gonna get after it. We’re not going to worry about the results. We’re just going to play hard.”

That work continues Thursday against Virginia.

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ACC tournament

At Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Pool play
All games on ACC Network
Tuesday’s results
No. 6-seed Boston College 11, No. 10 Virginia Tech 7
No. 7 North Carolina 11, No. 11 Georgia Tech 5
No. 9 N.C. State 8, No. 5 Duke 7, 11 innings
Wednesday’s results
No. 12 Pittsburgh 9, No. 8 Notre Dame 5
No. 2 Virginia 15, No. 11 Georgia Tech 1, 7 innings
No. 3 Clemson 14, No. 10 Virginia Tech 5
Thursday’s results
No. 1 Wake Forest 10, No. 12 Pittsburgh 2
No. 7 North Carolina 10, No. 2 Virginia 2
No. 4 Miami 4, No. 9 N.C. State 2
Friday’s results
No. 3 Clemson 4, No. 6 Boston College 1
No. 4 Miami 7, No. 5 Duke 6
No. 1 Wake Forest 7, No. 8 Notre Dame 5
Saturday’s semifinals
No. 3 Clemson 10, No. 7 North Carolina 4
No. 4 Miami 7, No. 1 Wake Forest 2
Sunday’s championship at Durham Bulls Athletic Park
No. 3 Clemson 11, No. 4 Miami 5
FINAL POOL PLAY STANDINGS
Pool A
Wake Forest 2–0
Pittsburgh 1–1
Notre Dame 0–2
Pool B
North Carolina 2–0
Virginia 1–1
Georgia Tech 0–2
Pool C
Clemson 2–0
Boston College 1–1
Virginia Tech 0–2
Pool D
Miami 2–0
N.C. State 1–1
Duke 0–2

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UNC statistics

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Date	Month/day	Score	Opponent (current rank)	Location	Record
	Feb.
17	Friday	10–8 L	Seton Hall	Home	0–1
18	Saturday	11–2 W	Seton Hall	Home	1–1
19	Sunday	4–2 W	Seton Hall	Home	2–1
21	Tuesday	14–2 W	Radford	Home	3–1
22	Wed.	10–0 W	Longwood	Home	4–1
24	Friday	6–5 L	No. 15 East Carolina	Greenville	4–2
26	Sunday	6–5 L	No. 15 East Carolina	Home	4–3
28	Tuesday	10–4 W	VCU	Home	5–3
	March
1	Wed.	14–10 W	VCU	Home	6–3
3	Friday	3–2 W 11 innings	Stony Brook	Home	7–3
4	Saturday	7–5 W	Stony Brook	Home	8–3
5	Sunday	15–4 W	Stony Brook	Home	9–3
7	Tuesday	8–4 W, 5 innings	Western Carolina	Home	10–3
8	Wed.	15–5 W	Penn State	Home	11–3
10	Friday	7–3 L	No. 11 Virginia	Home	11–4, 0–1 ACC
11	Saturday	8–4 L	No. 11 Virginia	Home	11–5, 0–2 ACC
11	Saturday	6–0 W	No. 11 Virginia	Home	12–5, 1–2 ACC
14	Tuesday	16–3 W	Charlotte	Charlotte	13–5
15	Wed.	16–2 W	High Point	Home	14–5
17, 18	Friday, Saturday	17–7 W	Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh	15–5, 2–2 ACC
21	Tuesday	6–4 W	N.C. A&T	Home	16–5
23	Thursday	6–3 W	Duke	Home	17–5, 3–2 ACC
24	Friday	8–5 L	Duke	Home	17–6, 3–3 ACC
25	Saturday	5–3 W	Duke	Home	18–6, 4–3 ACC
28	Tuesday	12–7 L	No. 9 Coastal Carolina	Home	18–7
31	Friday	10–8 W	Notre Dame	South Bend, Ind.	19–7, 5–3 ACC
	April
2	Sunday	5–2 W	Notre Dame	South Bend, Ind.	20–7, 6–3 ACC
2	Sunday	9–1 L	Notre Dame	South Bend, Ind	20–8, 6–4 ACC
4	Tuesday	5–0 L	South Carolina	Charlotte	20–9
6	Thursday	8–1 W	Georgia Tech	Atlanta	21–9, 7–4 ACC
7	Friday	10–6 W	Georgia Tech	Atlanta	22–9, 8–4 ACC
7	Friday	8–4 L	Georgia Tech	Atlanta	22–10, 8–5 ACC
11	Tuesday	10–6 W	Queens	Home	23–10
13	Thursday	5–4 L	No. 8 Miami	Home	23–11, 8–6 ACC
14/15	Friday, Saturday	9–8 W, 11 inn.	No. 8 Miami	Home	24–11, 9–6 ACC
15	Saturday	4–3 L	No. 8 Miami	Home	24–12, 9–7 ACC
18	Tuesday	5–3 W	Charlotte	Home	25–12
21	Friday	9–8 L, 10 inn.	Boston College	Home	25–13, 9–8 ACC
22	Saturday	9–4 L	Boston College	Home	25–14, 9–9 ACC
23	Sunday	6–2 L	Boston College	Home	25–15, 9–10 ACC
25	Tuesday	18–2 W	UNCW	Home	26–15
28	Friday	7–0 L	Virginia Tech	Blacksburg, Va.	26–16, 9–11 ACC
29	Saturday	12–8 W	Virginia Tech	Blacksburg, Va.	27–16, 10–11 ACC
29	Saturday	13–7 W	Virginia Tech	Blacksburg, Va.	28–16, 11–11 ACC
	May
2	Tuesday	6–5 L	No. 11 Campbell	Home	28–17
3	Wed.	2–1 W	No. 15 East Carolina	Greenville	29–17
9	Tuesday	5–4 W	Gardner-Webb	Home	30–17
11	Thursday	9–8 W	N.C. State	Home	31–17, 12–11 ACC
12	Friday	9–3 W	N.C. State	Home	32–17, 13–11 ACC
13	Saturday	12–2 W	N.C. State	Home	33–17, 14–11 ACC
16	Tuesday	8–6 L	No. 9 Coastal Carolina	Conway, S.C.	33–18
18	Thursday	14–7 L	No. 3 Clemson	Clemson, S.C.	33–19, 14–12 ACC
19	Friday	5–4 L	No. 3 Clemson	Clemson, S.C.	33–20, 14–13 ACC
20	Saturday	3–1 L	No. 3 Clemson	Clemson, S.C.	33–21, 14–14 ACC
			ACC tournament
23	Tuesday	11–5 W	Georgia Tech	Durham	34–21
25	Thursday	10–2 W	No. 11 Virginia	Durham	35–21
27	Saturday	10–4 L	Semifinal vs. No. 3 Clemson	Durham	35–22
	June		NCAA tournament
			Terre Haute Regional
2	Friday	5–4 L	Iowa	Terre Haute, Ind.	35–23
3	Saturday	5–0 W	Wright State	Terre Haute, Ind.	36–23
4	Sunday	6–5 L, 13 innings	Iowa	Terre Haute, Ind.	36–24

Photo by Jaylynn Nash/ACC