By R.L. Bynum
No. 4-ranked North Carolina starts play in the ACC tournament Friday, hoping that it will be just like any other regular-season weekend, with games on Saturday and Sunday.
The tournament at Durham Bulls Athletic Park begins Tuesday, but the Tar Heels will be one of the last two teams to play.
No. 3-seed UNC (39–12, 18–11 ACC), which took two of three games at No. 2-ranked Florida State, will play at 7 p.m. Friday in the last quarterfinal game against either No. 6-seed Virginia (32–17, 16–11) — which has a bye into the second round — No. 11 Notre Dame (32–20, 14–16) or No. 14 seed Boston College (26–28, 11–19).
Notre Dame plays BC at 9 p.m. Tuesday for the right to face Virginia in the second round at 9 p.m. Wednesday. UNC didn’t play Virginia or Notre Dame during the regular season, but took two of three games from Boston College in a road series in March. UNC won the opener 5–1, lost the second game 3–2 and run-ruled the Eagles 10–0 in seven innings in the series finale.
Carolina’s Friday opponent will have a day off after winning a 9 p.m. Wednesday second-round game.
This is the first season of the single-elimination format in which all 16 baseball-playing schools make the tournament. From 2006 to 2024, only 12 teams made the tournament, and the winners of four round-robin pools advanced to the semifinals. It’s the 14th time the event has been in Durham and the ninth time since 2009.
The tournament starts with four first-round games on Tuesday and four second-round games on Wednesday. Two quarterfinal games are on Thursday and two on Friday. As with the previous format, the semifinals are at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday, with the championship game at noon on Sunday.
The championship game is on ESPN2, with the rest of the tournament on ACC Network.
Play starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday, when No. 9 Miami (31–23, 15–14) faces No. 16 California (22–30). At 1 p.m., No. 12 Virginia Tech (30–24, 12–18) battles No. 13 Stanford (27–24, 11–19), followed by No. 10 Louisville (35–20, 15–15) against No. 15 Pitt (27–26, 10–20) at 5 p.m. before the Notre Dame-BC game ends the first day of action.
Wednesday’s play begins with No. 8-seed Wake Forest (31–23, 16–14) facing the Miami-Cal winner at 9 a.m. No. 5-seed Clemson (41–15, 18–12) then plays the Virginia Tech-Stanford winner at 1 p.m. No. 7-seed Duke (17–13, 36–18) matches up with the Louisville-Pitt winner at 5 p.m. ET, with Virginia’s game against Notre Dame or BC the nightcap.
In the quarterfinals on Thursday, top-seeded Georgia Tech (39–16, 19–11) plays the winner of the 9 a.m. Wednesday game at 3 p.m., then No. 4-seed N.C. State (33–18, 17–11) faces the 1 p.m. Wednesday winner at 7 p.m.
No. 2-seed Florida State (37–13, 17–10) plays the first Friday quarterfinal at 3 p.m. ahead of UNC’s game.
The Tar Heels, No. 2-ranked Florida State, unranked Georgia Tech and No. 13 N.C. State each went into the final day of the regular season with a shot at the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed.
The Yellow Jackets emerged with that prize after beating Duke 8–2. N.C. State gave them the opportunity by losing earlier Saturday to Stanford 6–3, and the Wolfpack had to settle for the No. 4 seed, with the Seminoles snagging the No. 2 seed.
Georgia Tech finished a half-game ahead of UNC and FSU, with N.C. State and No. 15-ranked Clemson each finishing one game back. It’s the final season for Georgia Tech coach Danny Hall.
The Yellow Jackets never played the other three top-four seeds (Florida State, UNC and N.C. State).
ACC tournament
At Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Buy tickets at durhambulls.com or theacc.com/tickets
Tuesday’s first round
No. 16 California 12, No. 9 Miami 2, 8 innings
No. 12 Virginia Tech 7, No. 13 Stanford 4
No. 15 Pittsburgh 13, No. 10 Louisville 11
No. 14 Boston College 5, No. 11 Notre Dame 4, 10 innings
Wednesday’s second round
California 14, No. 8 seed Wake Forest 12
No. 5 Clemson 6, Virginia Tech 1
No. 7 Duke 4, Pittsburgh 3
Boston College 12, No. 6 Virginia 8
Quarterfinals
Thursday’s results
No. 1 seed Georgia Tech 10, California 3
Clemson 7, No. 4 seed N.C. State 6
Friday’s results
No. 2 seed Florida State 14, Duke 7
No. 3 seed North Carolina 7, Boston College 2
Saturday’s semifinals
Clemson 9, Georgia Tech 4
North Carolina 7, Florida State 5
Sunday’s championship
North Carolina 14, Clemson 4
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 the ACC
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