By R.L. Bynum
After a pair of blowout nonconference victories last week, North Carolina moved up one spot to No. 11 in the D1 Baseball Top 25.
The Tar Heels (35–11, 17–7 ACC), who didn’t play a league game last week because of the final exams break, enter the home stretch of the regular season leading the ACC Coastal Division by three games and sharing the best league record with No. 2 Clemson (36–10, 17–7), which moved up two spots in the poll.
The team with the best league record will earn the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament, which is set for May 21–26 at Charlotte’s Truist Field. Carolina owns the tiebreaker entering this week’s games because it swept Georgia Tech on March 22–24, while the Tigers only won two of three against the Yellow Jackets last weekend.
UNC is No. 8 (down one spot) in the Baseball America Top 25 and No. 12 in the Perfect Game Top 25.
Last week, UNC earned a pair of 6½-inning, 10-run-rule wins, beating Charlotte 13–1 on Tuesday and William & Mary 19–2 on Wednesday.
The Tar Heels, No. 6 in the RPI, return from a six-day break at 6 p.m. Tuesday night at Boshamer Stadium against slumping Campbell (27–19), which has lost six consecutive games after getting swept last weekend at UNCW. UNC plays host to Louisville (29–18, 13–11) this weekend beginning at 6 p.m. Friday. The Cardinals have won four straight games after a weekend sweep at Boston College.
Other ACC teams in the D1 Baseball poll are No. 8 Florida State (35–10, 14–9; down one spot), No. 9 Duke (32–14, 14–10; up one spot), No. 10 Virginia (35–12, 14–10; up one spot), No. 12 Wake Forest (32–16, 12–12; up one spot) and No. 13 N.C. State (26–18, 13–10; dropped three spots after a 1–2 week).
UNC has played 10 games against teams in the top 13, losing two of three to No. 6 East Carolina (37–9; down one spot) and Virginia, sweeping a three-game series at Wake Forest and losing a game in Charlotte to No. 13 South Carolina (31–15; up two spots).
D1 Baseball Top 25
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tennessee | 39–9 | 3 |
| 2 | Clemson | 36–10 | 4 |
| 3 | Texas A&M | 40–8 | 1 |
| 4 | Kentucky | 35–10 | 8 |
| 5 | Arkansas | 40–9 | 2 |
| 6 | East Carolina | 37–9 | 5 |
| 7 | Oregon State | 35–12 | 6 |
| 8 | Florida State | 35–10 | 7 |
| 9 | Duke | 32–14 | 10 |
| 10 | Virginia | 35–12 | 11 |
| 11 | North Carolina | 35–11 | 12 |
| 12 | Wake Forest | 32–16 | 13 |
| 13 | South Carolina | 32–15 | 15 |
| 14 | Mississippi State | 32–16 | 16 |
| 15 | Georgia | 35–12 | 19 |
| 16 | UC Irvine | 34–10 | 9 |
| 17 | Arizona | 29–17 | 21 |
| 18 | Oklahoma | 29–17 | 22 |
| 19 | Oklahoma State | 32–16 | 14 |
| 20 | Indiana State | 34–10 | 24 |
| 21 | Troy | 34–15 | NR |
| 22 | Louisiana | 34–15 | 18 |
| 23 | N.C. State | 26–18 | 20 |
| 24 | Oregon | 32–15 | NR |
| 25 | UC Santa Barbara | 31–12 | NR |
Dropped out: Vanderbilt, Alabama and Utah
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 schedule
| 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; ESPN+), 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 Friday on ACCN | 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., ACCN | vs. Campbell |
| April | |||
| 2–4 | Thur.-Sat. | 6, 6, 2 | vs. Boston College |
| 7 | Tuesday | 7 p.m., ACCN | vs. Charlotte |
| 10–12 | Fri.-Sun. | 6, 2, 12:30 (Sunday on ACCN) | at No. 19 Clemson |
| 14 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | vs. UNCW |
| 17–19 | Fri-Sun. | 6, noon, 1 (Saturday, Sunday on ACCN) | vs. No. 5 Georgia Tech |
| 21 | Tuesday | 6 p.m. | vs. High Point |
| 23–25 | Thu.-Sat. | 7, 6, 3 (Thursday on ACCN) | at Duke |
| 28 | Tuesday | 7 p.m., ACCN | vs. No. 6 Coastal Carolina |
| 29 | Wednesday | 6 p.m. | vs. Queens |
| May | |||
| 3 | Sunday | 2 p.m., ACCN (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 (Thursday on ACCN) | at No. 17 N.C. State |
| 19–24 | Tues.-Sun. | ACC tournament (ACCN, ESPN2 for final) | 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 by Ainsley Fauth; graphic via @ACCBaseball
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