By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina jumped four spots in the D1 Baseball Top 25 to a season-best No. 7 after going 4–0 and clinching the ACC Coastal Division title.
It’s the Tar Heels’ highest ranking in that poll since they were No. 3 on March 3, 2019. UNC is No. 4 in the Baseball America poll, No. 5 in the NCBWA and USA Today polls and No. 6 in the Perfect Game poll.
The Tar Heels (39–11, 20–7 ACC), who were No. 15 in the preseason D1 Baseball poll and fell to No. 20 in mid-March, have won six straight games and 10 of their last 11 after becoming the first team this season to sweep Louisville in a series. They’ve clinched no worse than a tie for the best record in the league with Clemson (37–13, 17–10).
UNC’s previous best ranking this season was No. 10 after sweeping a three-game series March 29–31 at Wake Forest.
Carolina, No. 5 in the RPI and No. 2 in the Diamond Sports Ranking, won a program-record 14 home ACC games and finished the regular season 32–2 at Boshamer Stadium, the most home wins since the 2019 team went 31–6 and hosted the Super Regionals.
UNC leads the ACC in run differential for league games at +74, including a conference-high +87 in home league games. The Tar Heels’ run differential in league games is more than double Duke’s, which is the next-highest at +39.
Carolina is tied for second in home runs in the ACC with Duke at 96, second in steals with 78 and leads the league in ERA at 4.17.
The Tar Heels are a lock to host the NCAA tournament regionals and a good bet to be a top-eight seed, which would also mean hosting the Super Regionals if they advance that far.
UNC, with the 16th-best schedule strength, is 6–7 in Quad 1 games/games against teams 25 or better in the RPI, 6–3 in Quad 2 games/teams 26 to 50, 15–1 in Quad 3 games/teams 101 to 200 and 12–0 in Quad 4 games/teams 201 or lower.
UNC tries to keep the momentum going with the final regular-season series this weekend at Duke after Tuesday’s scheduled game at UNCW was canceled because of heavy rain in the forecast.
The Blue Devils (36–16, 15–12) dropped three spots to No. 11 after losing two of three at Georgia Tech. The series opener is at 7 p.m. Thursday (ACC Network). Unlike recent seasons, Duke plays all of its home games on campus at Jack Coombs Field.
Duke will be without its best pitcher, Johnathan Santucci (6–1, 3.54 ERA), who suffered a rib injury on Friday and will miss one or two weeks.
The Blue Devils are one of four ACC teams ahead of UNC in last week’s poll that didn’t fare so well over the weekend.
Clemson fell two spots to No. 4 after getting swept in a weekend series at Wake Forest (36–16, 15–12), which jumped four spots to No. 8. Florida State (37–12, 15–11) dropped two spots to No. 10 after losing two of three at Pittsburgh.
Of the 10 teams ahead of the Tar Heels in last week’s poll, only one (Oregon State, which moved up one spot to No. 6) matched UNC’s 4–0 week.
East Carolina (37–13) was the only team in last week’s Top 25 to go 0–4, and fell six spots to No. 13 after losing to Duke and getting swept in a weekend series at Tulane.
N.C. State (29–19, 15–11) leaped six spots to No. 17 after a 4–0 week, including a three-game sweep at Virginia (37–14, 15–12), which fell eight spots to No. 18.
In addition to East Carolina, UNC has faced a second currently ranked non-conference team in No. 24 South Carolina (33–18).
D1 Baseball Top 25
| Rank | Team | Record | Last week | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tennessee | 42–10 | 3–1 | 1 |
| 2 | Kentucky | 37–11 | 2–1 | 4 |
| 3 | Arkansas | 42–10 | 2–1 | 5 |
| 4 | Clemson | 37–13 | 1–3 | 2 |
| 5 | Texas A&M | 42–10 | 2–2 | 3 |
| 6 | Oregon State | 39–12 | 4–0 | 7 |
| 7 | North Carolina | 39–11 | 4–0 | 11 |
| 8 | Wake Forest | 36–16 | 4–0 | 12 |
| 9 | Georgia | 38–12 | 3–0 | 15 |
| 10 | Florida State | 37–12 | 2–2 | 8 |
| 11 | Duke | 34–16 | 2–2 | 9 |
| 12 | Oklahoma | 32–17 | 3–0 | 18 |
| 13 | East Carolina | 37–13 | 0–4 | 6 |
| 14 | Arizona | 32–18 | 3–1 | 17 |
| 15 | UC Irvine | 38–10 | 4–0 | 16 |
| 16 | Mississippi State | 33–18 | 1–2 | 14 |
| 17 | N.C. State | 29–19 | 3–1 | 23 |
| 18 | Virginia | 37–14 | 2–2 | 10 |
| 19 | Oklahoma State | 34–16 | 2–0 | 19 |
| 20 | Indiana State | 36–11 | 2–1 | 20 |
| 21 | Louisiana | 38–15 | 4–0 | 22 |
| 22 | UC Santa Barbara | 35–12 | 4–0 | 25 |
| 23 | Oregon | 34–16 | 2–1 | 24 |
| 24 | South Carolina | 33–18 | 1–3 | 13 |
| 25 | Texas | 32–20 | 2–1 | NR |
Dropped out: Troy
UNC’s D1 Baseball rankings this season
Preseason — 15
Week 1 — 15
Week 2 — 17
Week 3 — 16
Week 4 — 15
Week 5 — 20
Week 6 — 14
Week 7 — 10
Week 8 — 13
Week 9 — 11
Week 10 — 15
Week 11 — 12
Week 12 — 11
Week 13 — 7
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 by Ainsley Fauth
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