By R.L. Bynum
With three ACC series left, all five NCAA tournament projections have No. 15 North Carolina as a regional host.
Four of those project the Tar Heels (31–10, 15–6 ACC) as a top-eight seed, meaning they would also host a Super Regional should they win in the regional round.
UNC leads the ACC Coastal Division by two games, has the best ACC record and is No. 7 in the RPI. Atlantic Division-leading and No. 5-ranked Clemson (32–8, 13–5) is No. 5 in the RPI.
After this weekend’s home series against Virginia Tech (26–12, 12–9; unranked and No. 39 in the RPI), beginning at 6 p.m. Friday (ESPN3), UNC is at home May 10–12 against Louisville (24–16, 9–9; unranked and No. 80 in the RPI) and at No. 6 Duke (29–12, 13–8; No. 21 in the RPI) May 16–18.
Wins in two of those three series, particularly if the Heels win the series with the Blue Devils, should secure a top-eight seed.
The NCAA will announce the field at noon on May 27, the day after the ACC tournament championship game at Charlotte’s Truist Field. The College World Series in Omaha begins June 14.
With an RPI of No. 33 last season, the NCAA sent the Tar Heels to Terre Haute, Ind., for the regionals, where they went 1–2 and finished the season 36–24.
Of the five projections, Baseball America has Carolina as the highest at No. 6 seed, hosting with Mississippi State, Utah and Bryant.
D1 Baseball and College Sports Madness each have UNC as a No. 7 seed, the former projecting the regional to include Alabama, Northeastern and Niagara and the latter projecting the field to include Texas Tech, UConn and Sacred Heart.
On3.com has Carolina as a No. 8 seed, hosting West Virginia, Utah and Navy.
DRatings is the only one that doesn’t project UNC as a top-eight seed. It has the Heels as a No. 12 seed, hosting Alabama, Kennesaw State and Rider.
Matthijs, Pence on watch list
UNC relievers Matthew Matthijs and Dalton Pence (top photo) are on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List.
Matthijs (11–3, 3.29 ERA), a sophomore right-hander, leads all Division I pitchers in wins, and has an ACC-leading 24 appearances, which is third nationally. He has 40 strikeouts and nine walks in 38⅓ innings, and 11 scoreless appearances of an inning or more.
Pence (2–1, 1.65 ERA), a redshirt sophomore left-hander, has four saves in 22 appearances, with opponents only hitting .165. He has 40 strikeouts in 32⅔ innings and is tied for third in the ACC in appearances and fourth in saves.
The only other schools with two pitchers on the list are Arkansas, Lamar, Louisiana and Oregon.
NOTES — In Friday’s 6 p.m. opener UNC right-hander Jason DeCaro (2–1, 4.41 ERA) will oppose Hokies left-hander Jeremy Neff (0–0, 7.04 ERA). On Saturday at 2 p.m., Carolina left-hander Shea Sprague (2–1, 3.71 ERA) opposes Virginia Tech right-hander Brett Renfrow (5–1, 3.50 ERA). UNC right-hander Aidan Haugh (3–0, 3.06 ERA) takes on Hokies right-hander Griffin Stieg (3–2, 4.79 ERA) in Sunday’s 1 p.m. series finale. … The Tar Heels, who won two of three games at Virginia Tech last season, lead the all-time series 81–32–3, including 47–16–2 in Chapel Hill, and have won four of the last five games. … Virginia Tech leads the ACC in home runs with 78, and Carolina is tied for third with 76. … … Nearly two dozen former players and staffers from the 1984 ACC championship team will be at a 40-year anniversary celebration Saturday, including Olympians Scott Bankhead and All-ACC picks Jeff Hubbard and Todd Wilkinson. Former head coach Mike Robers will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
ACC standings
| League | GB | Overall | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 16 Georgia Tech | 19–11 | — | 39–16 |
| No. 6 Florida State | 17–10 | ½ | 37–13 |
| No. 3 North Carolina | 18–11 | ½ | 39–12 |
| No. 22 N.C. State | 17–11 | 1 | 33–18 |
| No. 14 Clemson | 18–12 | 1 | 41–15 |
| Virginia | 16–11 | 1½ | 32–17 |
| Duke | 17–13 | 2 | 36–18 |
| Wake Forest | 16–14 | 3 | 36–19 |
| Miami | 15–14 | 3½ | 31–23 |
| No. 21 Louisville | 15–15 | 4 | 35–20 |
| Notre Dame | 14–16 | 5 | 32–20 |
| Virginia Tech | 12–18 | 7 | 30–24 |
| Boston College | 11–19 | 8 | 26–28 |
| Stanford | 11–19 | 8 | 27–24 |
| Pittsburgh | 10–20 | 9 | 27–26 |
| California | 9–21 | 10½ | 22–30 |
Thursday-Saturday series
No. 16 Georgia Tech at Duke: Thursday: GT 7–6; Friday: Duke 14–4 (7 innings); Saturday: GT 8–2
No. 14 Clemson at Pittsburgh: Clemson swept 6–1, 11–2 and 13–6
Virginia at Virginia Tech: Thursday: Va. 12–2; Friday: VT 5–4; Saturday: Va. 3–1
Stanford at No. 22 N.C. State: Thursday: State 7–2: Friday: Stanford 4–3, 10 innings; Saturday: Stanford 6–3
Wake Forest at Louisville: Thursday: WF 14–4; Friday: WF 5–4; Saturday: UL 14–9
No. 3 North Carolina at No. 6 Florida State: Thursday: UNC 8–3: Friday: UNC 11–1, 7 innings; Saturday: FSU 5–4
Notre Dame at Miami: Thursday: ND 3–2; Friday: Miami 15–1, 7 innings: Saturday: ND 12–2
Boston College at California: Thursday: Cal 8–6; Friday: BC 10–9; Saturday: Cal 4–3, 10 innings
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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