By R.L. Bynum
The Men’s College World Series, with a field made up entirely of ACC and SEC teams — four from each league — will open with a battle of longtime ACC rivals.
No. 4-seed North Carolina (47–14) plays No. 12 Virginia (45–15) at 2 p.m. EDT Friday (ESPN) at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in the first game of this edition of the storied event. The Tar Heels seek their first national championship in their 12th trip to Omaha.
In the 7 p.m. game Friday (ESPN), No. 1 Tennessee (55–12) faces No. 8 Florida State (47–15). The winners of the two Friday Bracket 1 games play at 7 p.m. Sunday, with the losers battling in an elimination game at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Play opens in Bracket 2 on Saturday, when No. 2 Kentucky (45–14) meets No. 10 N.C. State (38–21) at 2 p.m. and unseeded Florida (43–28) takes on No. 3 Texas A&M (49–13) at 7 p.m. The Wolfpack earned the final Omaha spot Monday night with an 8–5 Game 3 victory at Georgia.
UNC has split two College World Series games with N.C. State, both of which were in 2013. The Wolfpack won two of three games in a mid-April series against UNC in Raleigh. Carolina and State could only meet in the CWS Championship Series.
It’s the first time in the eight-team format that began in 1950 that two leagues have filled the CWS field. Both leagues tied the College World Series record for most teams, with this the sixth time the SEC has advanced four teams and the second time the ACC has advanced four teams after also doing it in 2006.
Carolina will practice at the stadium for 50 minutes at 10:10 a.m. ET Thursday (which is open to the public), and meet with the media at 11:15 a.m.
Carolina had just swept three games at Wake Forest and finished March with a nine-game winning streak when it started April by losing two of three games at Virginia, which lost both games at last season’s College World Series. The Cavaliers won the opener 14–11 on April 4 and beat the Tar Heels 7–2 on April 5 before UNC beat Virginia in the series finale 12–7 on April 6.
It will be the first NCAA tournament meeting between the Heels and the Cavaliers.
UNC holds a 5–2 edge all-time against Tennessee, with the Tar Heels winning the last meeting 5–2 to win the 2019 Chapel Hill Regional in the schools’ only NCAA tournament meeting. The Tar Heels won the first four meetings, including a pair of wins (6–4 and 10–0) in 1900, a 5–4 eight-inning victory in 1983 and a 6–4 win in 1989. The Vols’ only two wins came in a two-game series sweep in 1990 (3–2 and 12–11 in 10 innings).
Two of the three NCAA tournament meetings between UNC and Florida State came in the 1966 District III Regional in Gastonia. The Tar Heels rebounded from a 6–5 loss to the Seminoles with a 6–4 victory to advance to the College World Series, where UNC was eliminated in two games.
Florida State beat UNC 4–3 in the 1989 College World Series when the Tar Heels were eliminated in two games. Vance Honeycutt’s father, Bobby, was on that UNC team.
Men’s College World Series
At Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Neb.
Bracket 1
No. 1 Tennessee (3–0), No. 8 Florida State (2–2), No. 4 North Carolina (1–2), No. 12 Virginia (0–2)
Bracket 2
No. 3 Texas A&M (3–0), Florida (2–2), No. 2 Kentucky (1–2), No. 10 N.C. State (0–2)
Pool play
(All listed times are EDT)
Friday’s results
Game 1: No. 4 North Carolina 3, No. 12 Virginia 2
Game 2: No. 1 Tennessee 12, No. 8 Florida State 11
Saturday’s results
Game 3: No. 2 Kentucky 5, No. 10 N.C. State 4, 10 innings
Game 4: No. 3 Texas A&M 3, Florida 2
Sunday’s results
Game 5: No. 8 Florida State 7, No. 12 Virginia 3; Virginia eliminated
Game 6: No. 1 Tennessee 6, No. 4 North Carolina 1
Monday’s results
Game 7: Florida 5, No. 10 N.C. State 4; N.C. State eliminated
Game 8: No. 3 Texas A&M 5, No. 2 Kentucky 1
Tuesday’s result
Game 9: No. 8 Florida State 9, No. 4 North Carolina 5; North Carolina eliminated
Wednesday’s results
Game 10: Florida 15, No. 2 Kentucky 4; Kentucky eliminated
Game 11: No. 1 Tennessee 7, No. 8 Florida State 2; Florida State eliminated
Game 12: No. 3 Texas A&M 6, Florida 0; Florida eliminated
MCWS Finals
(Best-of-3 series)
No. 1 Tennessee (60–13) vs. No. 3 Texas A&M (53–15)
Game 1: Texas A&M 9, Tennessee 5
Game 2 Tennessee, 4, Texas A&M 1
Game 3: Tennessee 6, Texas A&M 5; Tennessee wins national champinship
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 NCAA
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