By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — For No. 7-ranked North Carolina, the path to the College World Series goes through Boshamer Stadium, where the Tar Heels are 32–2 this season.
The Tar Heels (42–13) are the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, meaning if they win this week’s Chapel Hill Regional, they will play host to a Super Regional the following weekend against the winner of the Tucson Regional, where No. 13 Arizona (36–21) is the No. 1 seed. The Wildcats are ranked No. 18.
Reigning NCAA champion LSU (40–21), Wofford (41–18) and Long Island (33–23) will join UNC in the Chapel Hill Regional.
“It’s fitting, No. 1 for this team, because not many people have talked a lot about our team throughout the season,” UNC coach Scott Forbes said. “We’ve dealt with the best teams in the country.
In the double-elimination event, UNC will face Long Island on Friday at 6 p.m. (ESPN+) in the first meeting between the schools, with LSU facing Wofford at noon (ESPNU). The Friday losers play at noon Saturday in an elimination game and the winners play at 5 p.m. There will be games Sunday and, if necessary, Monday.
“But again, you got to beat great teams,” he said. “I think it’s awesome. LSU coming here will bring out the best from everybody that’s here. They’re not the only team here and I have to remind our guys that we’ve got to play really good against Long Island to play Wofford or LSU.”
The unranked Tigers, who feature former N.C. State slugger Tommy White, were the runner-up last weekend at the SEC tournament. They took an epic 11–10 Saturday victory over South Carolina before losing to Tennessee 4–3 on Sunday.
“We’re all excited,” first baseman Parks Harber said. “We’re all competitors. So, who wouldn’t want the reigning national champions in your region.”
When LSU’s name came up, the crowd of season-ticket holders at Boshamer Stadium watching the selection show on the scoreboard screen let out a collective groan.
“Doesn’t really matter who you’re playing,” shortstop Colby Wilkerson said. “Everyone wants to get to the same place, and we’re not really worried about the outcomes [of the brackets]. We’re just gonna practice today and keep going with that process.”
Forbes said that he hasn’t decided who his starting pitcher will be Friday and Saturday, but said that center fielder Vance Honeycutt is feeling good after dealing with back spasms last week.
Long Island, which lost two of three at Miami in February, won the Northeast Conference tournament Sunday with an 11–6 win over Sacred Heart.
Wofford won the Southern Conference tournament out of the loser’s bracket, beating Samford 10–9 and 15–9 on Sunday.
The top three seeds are all from the SEC: No. 1 Tennessee (50–11), No. 2 Kentucky (40–13) and No.3 Texas A&M (44–13).
No. 6 Clemson (41–14) and No. 8 Florida State (42–15) are also top-eight seeds and regional hosts. Also hosting are No. 12 Virginia (41–15) and No. 10 N.C. State (33–20).
Wake Forest (38–20) will play in the Greenville Regional, where No. 9-ranked East Carolina is the No. 1 seed. Duke (39–18) will play in Norman, Okla., where No. 8-ranked Oklahoma is the No. 1 seed. Georgia Tech (31–23) will play in the Athens Regional, where No. 11-ranked Georgia is the top seed, and CAA champion UNCW (38–19) is the No. 2 seed.
East Carolina is a host, and with UNC, N.C. State, Wake Forest, Duke, UNCW and High Point in the field, the state of North Carolina leads the country in NCAA teams (7) and host teams (3).
It’s the 13th time UNC has been a regional host and the 12th since 2006. Carolina is 33–8 all-time in regional home games and has advanced to the Super Regionals nine times since the current format was implemented in 1999.
UNC was a regional host in 2022 and advanced to host a Super Regional against Arkansas, but the Razorbacks swept the Heels in two games.
All-session ticket packages go on sale to the public at noon Wednesday for $90, with single-game tickets on sale at noon Thursday for $20. UNC students can buy tickets for the Tar Heels’ games for $5.
Chapel Hill Regional
At Boshamer Stadium
Friday’s results
No. 1 North Carolina 4, Holy Cross 0
No. 2 Oklahoma 7, No. 3 Nebraska 4
Saturday’s results
Nebraska 4, Holy Cross 1; Holy Cross eliminated
North Carolina 11, Oklahoma 5
Sunday’s results
Oklahoma 17, Nebraska 1; Nebraska eliminated
Oklahoma 9, North Carolina 5
Monday’s result
North Carolina 14, Oklahoma 4
UNC (45–13) advances to Super Regional against No. 21-ranked Arizona (42–18), which won the Eugene Regional on Sunday night with a 14–0 win over Cal Poly. Game 1 of the best-of-3 series is Friday at Boshamer Stadium.
Regions for other ACC teams
Friday’s games
Athens Regional
No. 1 Georgia (39–15) vs. No. 4 Army (31–21), 1 p.m., ESPN+
No. 2 UNCW (39–19) vs. No. 3 Georgia Tech (31–23), 7 p.m., ESPN+
Charlottesville Regional
No. 1 Virginia (41–15) vs. No. 4 Penn (24–23), noon, ESPN+
No. 2 Mississippi St. (38-21) vs. No. 3 St. John’s (NY) (37-16-1), 7 p.m., ESPN+
Clemson Regional
No. 2 Vanderbilt (38–21) vs. No. 3 Coastal Carolina (34–23), noon, ESPN2
No. 1 Clemson (41–14) vs. No. 4 High Point (34–25), 7 p.m., ACCN
Greenville Regional
No. 1 East Carolina (43–15) vs. No. 4 Evansville (35–23), 1 p.m., ESPN+
No. 2 Wake Forest (38–20) vs. No. 3 VCU (37–21), 6 p.m., ESPN+
Norman Regional
No. 1 Oklahoma (37–19) vs. No. 4 Oral Roberts (27–30–1), 1 p.m., ESPN+
No. 2 Duke (39–18) vs. No. 3 UConn (32–23), 7 p.m., ESPN+
Raleigh Regional
No. 2 South Carolina (36–23) vs. No. 3 James Madison (34–23), 2 p.m., ESPN+
No. 1 N.C. State (33–20) vs. No. 4 Bryant (36–19), 7 p.m, ESPN+
Tallahassee Regional
No. 1 Florida St. (42–15) vs. No. 4 Stetson (40–20), noon, ACCN
No. 2 Alabama (33–22) vs. No. 3 UCF (35–19), 6 p.m., ESPN+
NCAA tournament bracket
UNC scores
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Scores | Opponent (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | ||||
| 14–15 | Fri.-Sat. | W, 5–1; W, 8–3; W, 4–2 | vs. Texas Tech | 3–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 12–9 | vs. Kansas State | 4–0 |
| 22–24 | Sat.-Mon. | W, 2–0; W, 11–6; W, 6–4 | vs. East Carolina (DBAP, CH, G’ville) | 7–0 |
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 7–4 | vs. VCU | 8–0 |
| 26 | Wednesday | W, 13–4 | vs. N.C. A&T | 9–0 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 16–2 | vs. Stony Brook | 10–0 |
| March | ||||
| 1–2 | Sat.-Sun. | W, 6–1; W, 9–5 | vs. Stony Brook | 12–0 |
| 4 | Tuesday | W, 6–4 (11) | vs. No. 11 Coastal Carolina | 13–0 |
| 7–9 | Fri.-Sun. | L, 13–9; W, 11–1 (7); L, 7–0 | vs. Stanford | 14–2, 1–2 ACC |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 7–3 (10) | at UNCW | 15–2 |
| 14, 16 | Fri., Sun. | L, 8–7; W, 6–4; L, 5–0 | at Louisville | 16–4, 2–4 |
| 19 | Wednesday | L, 5–1 | vs. UConn | 16–5 |
| 21–23 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 5–1; L, 3–2; W, 10–0 (7) | at Boston College | 18–6, 4–5 |
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 13–8 | vs. South Carolina in Charlotte | 19–7 |
| 28–30 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 2–0; W, 4–2; L, 4–2 | vs. Miami | 21–7, 6–6 |
| April | ||||
| 1 | Tuesday | W, 11–1 (7) | vs. Gardner-Webb | 22–7 |
| 3–5 | Thur.-Sat. | W, 4–3; L, 9–5; W, 8–7 (14) | vs. Duke | 24–8, 8–7 |
| 8 | Tuesday | W, 12–10 | at Elon | 25–8 |
| 11–13 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 11–1 (7); W, 17–1 (7); W, 3–2 | vs. Wake Forest | 28–8, 11–7 |
| 15 | Tuesday | W, 14–4 (8) | vs. Charlotte | 29–8 |
| 18–20 | Fri-Sun. | W, 9–6; L, 10–6: W, 7–5 | at Virginia Tech | 31–9, 13–8 |
| 25–27 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 15–5; L, 4–2; W, 6–0 | at Pittsburgh | 33–10, 15–9 |
| 29 | Tuesday | W, 13–4 | vs. George Mason | 34–10 |
| 30 | Wednesday | W, 14–3 | vs. Queens | 35–10 |
| May | ||||
| 6 | Tuesday | W, 10–1 | vs. Campbell | 36–10 |
| 8–9 | Thurs.-Fri. | W, 8–1; L, 8–5 | vs. N.C. State | 37–11, 16–10 |
| 15–17 | Thurs.-Sat. | W, 8–3; W, 11–1 (7); L, 5–4 | at No. 7 Florida State | 39–12, 18–11 |
| ACC tournament | Durham | |||
| 23 | Friday | Quarterfinal: W, 7–3 | Boston College | 40–12 |
| 24 | Saturday | Semifinal: W, 7–5 | No. 7 Florida State | 41–12 |
| 25 | Sunday | Final: W, 14–4 | No. 14 Clemson | 42–12 |
| Chapel Hill Regional | ||||
| 30 | Friday | W, 4–0 | Holy Cross | 43–12 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 11–5 | Oklahoma | 44–12 |
| June | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | L, 9–5 | Oklahoma | 44–13 |
| 2 | Monday | W, 14–4 | Oklahoma | 45–13 |
| Chapel Hill Super Regional | Best-of-3 series | |||
| 6 | Friday | W, 18–2 | No. 21 Arizona | 46–13 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 10–8 | No. 21 Arizona | 46–14 |
| 8 | Sunday | L, 4–3 | No. 21 Arizona | 46–15 |
Photo courtesy of the ACC by Nell Redmond
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