By R.L. Bynum
How good are No. 15 North Carolina’s young pitchers? It won’t take long to get an idea.
With Jake Knapp, originally expected to be the ace, out for the season, fourth-year UNC coach Scott Forbes will open the season at 4 p.m. Friday against Wagner with Folger Boaz on the mound, the first of two freshmen who will sandwich senior right-hander Ben Peterson (top photo) as starters for the opening weekend.
Boaz went 9–1 as a senior at East Surry High School, with a 1.15 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 54⅔ innings. The 6–2, 190-pound left-hander — who throws a fastball, slider, and changeup — could sling it from the mound and on the football field, where he is 10th all-time in state history with 129 career touchdown passes.
His batterymate will also be a freshman: 6–1, 200-pound catcher Luke Stevenson, who hit .529 with 17 home runs and 58 RBI as a Wake Forest High School senior.
Carolina went 36–24 last season and earned an NCAA tournament berth, while Wagner went 32–24.
Opposing Boaz on Friday will be Wagner junior right-hander Frankie Wright (5–3, 2.90 ERA last season).
After Peterson (3–0, 5.40 ERA), top photo, starts in Saturday’s noon game, opposed by Wagner junior right-hander Connor Hayden (9–1, 3.93 ERA), another freshman goes in the finale.
For the 1 p.m. Sunday contest, the UNC starter will be 6–6, 220-pound right-hander Olin Johnson. Originally from Bellingham, Wash., Johnson played his last two seasons at McCallie School in Tennessee, leading his team to the 2022 state title. Wagner hasn’t named a Sunday starter.
Another freshman, second baseman Gavin Gallagher from Apex, is expected to be in the opening-day lineup. He was ranked as the No. 10 overall prospect in North Carolina.
The rest of the lineup for the opening series is expected to feature senior Georgia transfer Parks Harber at first base, graduate transfer Alex Madera at shortstop, senior Jackson Van De Brake at third base, redshirt sophomore junior Casey Cook in left field, Vance Honeycutt in center field and graduate Quinnipiac transfer Anthony Donofrio in right field.
Redshirt sophomore left-hander Dalton Pence (4–3, two saves, 3.33 ERA) is expected to be the closer. On Thursday, he and senior right-hander Matt Poston (4–3, five saves, 1.90 ERA) made the preseason watchlist for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, given to the top relief pitcher.
Wagner opened last season by getting swept at N.C. State 14–1, 3–2 and 9–0.
It’s the first time UNC and Wagner have played in baseball and the first time the Tar Heels have faced a Northeast Conference team in the regular season since meeting St. Francis in 2004. UNC met Mount St. Mary’s in the 2008 Cary Regional.
It’s the sixth consecutive opener at home for UNC, which has won 13 of 16 home openers since returning to the renovated Boshamer Stadium in 2009.
UNC scores
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Times | Opponent (current rank) |
|---|---|---|---|
| February | |||
| 13–15 | Fri.-Sat. | 4, noon, 1 | vs. Indiana |
| 17 | Tuesday | 4 p.m. | vs. Richmond |
| 18 | Wednesday | 4 p.m. | vs. Longwood |
| 20–22 | Fri.-Sun. | 4 (Greenville), 2 (DBAP), 2 (CH) | vs. East Carolina |
| 24 | Tuesday | 4 p.m. | vs. N.C. A&T |
| 25 | Wednesday | 4 p.m. | vs. VCU |
| 27–28 | Fri., Sat. | 4 p.m., 2 p.m. | vs. Le Moyne |
| March | |||
| 1 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Le Moyne |
| 3 | Tuesday | 4 p.m. | vs. Elon |
| 6–8 | Fri.-Sun. | 4, 2, 1 | vs. Virginia |
| 10 | Tuesday | 4 p.m. | vs. Bucknell |
| 13–15 | Fri.-Sun. | 9, 5, 4 | at California |
| 18 | Wednesday | 4 p.m. | vs. UNCG |
| 20–22 | Fri.-Sun. | 8, 2, 1 | vs. No. 8 Louisville |
| 24 | Tuesday | 6:30 | vs. South Carolina in Charlotte |
| 27–29 | Fri.-Sun. | 6:30, 3, 1 | at Notre Dame |
| 31 | Tuesday | 8 p.m. | vs. Campbell |
| April | |||
| 2–4 | Thur.-Sat. | 6, 6, 2 | vs. Boston College |
| 7 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Charlotte |
| 10–12 | Fri.-Sun. | 6, 2, 12:30 | at No. 19 Clemson |
| 14 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | vs. UNCW |
| 17–19 | Fri-Sun. | 6, noon, 1 | vs. No. 5 Georgia Tech |
| 21 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | vs. High Point |
| 23–25 | Fri.-Sun. | 7, 6, 3 | at Duke |
| 28 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 6 Coastal Carolina |
| 29 | Wednesday | 6 p.m. | vs. Queens |
| May | |||
| 3 | Sunday | 2 p.m. (non-conference game) | vs. Duke |
| 6 | Wednesday | 6 p.m. | vs. Winthrop |
| 8–10 | Fri.-Sun. | 6, noon, 1 | vs. Pittsburgh |
| 12 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | at UNCW |
| 14–16 | Thurs.-Sat. | 7, 6, 1 | at No. 17 N.C. State |
| 19–24 | Tues.-Sun. | ACC tournament | Charlotte |
| 29–31 | Fri.-Sun. | NCAA Regionals | Campus sites |
| June | |||
| 5–7 | Fri.-Sun. | NCAA Super Regionals | Campus sites |
| 12–22 | Fri.-Mon | College World Series | Omaha, Neb. |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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