By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina is No. 1 in the latest D1 Baseball Top 25 after winning the ACC championship last weekend, the Tar Heels’ highest ranking in the history of that poll.
The Tar Heels (42–16) jumped two spots while Vanderbilt (42–16), the No. 1 overall NCAA tournament seed, shot up seven spots to No. 2 after winning the SEC title.
UNC, the No. 5 overall seed, is also No. 1 in the USA Today coaches poll. The Tar Heels open Chapel Hill Regional play at noon Friday (ACC Network) against Holy Cross.
LSU (43–14) fell from No. 1 to No. 3 in the D1 Baseball poll and is the No. 6 overall seed. No. 4-ranked Texas (42–12; down two spots) is the No. 2 overall seed, and No. 5-ranked Oregon (42–14; down one spot) is the No. 12 overall seed.
Florida State (38–14), which the Tar Heels defeated 7–5 in the ACC tournament semifinals on Saturday, dropped one spot to No. 7. Clemson (44–16), which lost to UNC 14–4 in the ACC tournament championship game, remained at No. 14.
The only other ACC team in the poll is Georgia Tech (40–17), which fell two spots to No. 18. N.C. State was No. 22 last week but fell out of the poll.
D1 Baseball Top 25
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina | 42–12 | 3 |
| 2 | Vanderbilt | 42–16 | 9 |
| 3 | LSU | 43–14 | 1 |
| 4 | Texas | 42–12 | 2 |
| 5 | Oregon | 42–14 | 4 |
| 6 | Arkansas | 43–13 | 5 |
| 7 | Florida State | 38–14 | 6 |
| 8 | Oregon State | 41–12–1 | 7 |
| 9 | Auburn | 38–18 | 8 |
| 10 | Georgia | 42–15 | 10 |
| 11 | Coastal Carolina | 48–11 | 11 |
| 12 | Southern Miss | 44–14 | 12 |
| 13 | UCLA | 42–16 | 13 |
| 14 | Clemson | 44–16 | 14 |
| 15 | Ole Miss | 40–19 | 17 |
| 16 | Tennessee | 43–16 | 21 |
| 17 | Florida | 38–20 | 15 |
| 18 | Georgia Tech | 40–17 | 16 |
| 19 | Northeastern | 48–9 | 19 |
| 20 | Dallas Baptist | 40–16 | 18 |
| 21 | Arizona | 39–18 | NR |
| 22 | TCU | 39–18 | 24 |
| 23 | UC Irvine | 41–15 | 20 |
| 24 | Alabama | 41–16 | 23 |
| 25 | Kansas | 43–15 | 25 |
Chapel Hill Regional
At Boshamer Stadium
Friday’s results
No. 3 seed East Carolina 7, No. 3 seed (No. 23-ranked) Tennessee 3, 14 innings
No. 1 seed (and No. 4-ranked) North Carolina 8, No. 4 seed VCU 0
Saturday’s results
VCU 5, Tennessee 4; Tennessee eliminated
North Carolina 7, East Carolina 5
Sunday’s results
East Carolina 10, VCU 0; VCU eliminated
North Carolina 9, East Carolina 3; UNC wins regional
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Times/ scores | Opponent (current rank) | Record/ TV * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | ||||
| 13–14 | Fri., Sat. | W, 9–4; W, 12–2 (7); W, 4–3 (11) | vs. Indiana | 3–0 |
| 17 | Tuesday | W, 10–0 (7) | vs. Richmond | 4–0 |
| 18 | Wednesday | W, 5–3 | vs. Longwood | 5–0 |
| 20–22 | Fri.-Sun | W, 10–0 (8); L, 10–3; T, 3–3 | vs. East Carolina | 6–1–1 |
| 24 | Tuesday | W, 9–1 | vs. N.C. A&T | 7–1–1 |
| 25 | Wednesday | W, 13–3 (7) | vs. VCU | 8–1–1 |
| 27–28 | Fri., Sat. | W, 16–3 (7); W, 12–2 (7) | vs. Le Moyne | 10–1–1 |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | W, 21–1 (7) | vs. Le Moyne | 11–1–1 |
| 3 | Tuesday | W, 5–1 | vs. Elon | 12–1–1 |
| 6–7 | Fri., Sat | L, 13–3 (7); L, 9–2; W, 8–7 (12) | vs. Virginia | 13–3–1, 1–2 ACC |
| 10 | Tuesday | W, 13–3 (7) | vs. Bucknell | 14–3–1 |
| 13–15 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 8–1; W, 6–2; W, 10–2 | at California | 17–3–1, 4–2 |
| 18 | Wednesday | W, 8–2 | vs. UNCG | 18–3–1 |
| 20–22 | Fri.–Sun. | W, 11–1 (8); L, 2–0; W, 7–6 | vs. Louisville | 20–4–1, 6–3 |
| 24 | Tuesday | W, 9–1 | vs. South Carolina in Charlotte | 21–4–1 |
| 28, 29 | Sat., Sun | W, 6–5; W, 13–7; W, 15–10 | at Notre Dame | 24–4–1, 9–3 |
| 31 | Tuesday | W, 5–4 (14) | vs. Campbell | 25–4–1 |
| April | ||||
| 2–4 | Thur.-Sat. | L, 6–1; W, 5–2; W, 8–7 | vs. Boston College | 27–5–1, 11–4 |
| 7 | Tuesday | W, 8–4 | vs. Charlotte | 28–5–1 |
| 10–12 | Fri.–Sun. | L, 9–5; W, 6–4 (14); W, 12–5 | at Clemson | 30–6–1, 13–5 |
| 14 | Tuesday | W, 14–5 | vs. UNCW | 31–6–1 |
| 17–19 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 5–2; W, 14–4 (8); L, 5–2 | vs. No. 2 Georgia Tech | 33–7–1, 15–6 |
| 21 | Tuesday | W, 9–2 | vs. High Point | 34–7–1 |
| 23–25 | Thur.–Sat. | W, 3–1; L, 3–1; W, 22–5 (7) | at Duke | 36–8–1, 17–7 |
| 28 | Tuesday | L, 12–2 | vs. Coastal Carolina | 36–9–1 |
| May | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | W, 13–0 (7) (non-conference game) | vs. Duke | 37–9–1 |
| 8–10 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 4–1; W, 12–2 (8); W, 7–3 | vs. Pittsburgh | 40–9–1, 20–7 |
| 12 | Tuesday | W, 13–7 | at UNCW | 41–9–1 |
| 14–16 | Thur.-Sat. | W, 9–4; W, 17–7 (8); L, 7–2 | at N.C. State | 43–10–1, 22–8 |
| ACC tournament | Charlotte | |||
| 22 | Friday | W, 10–4 | Quarterfinal vs. Virginia Tech | 44–10–1 |
| 23 | Saturday | W, 13–5 | Semifinal vs. Pittsburgh | 45–10–1 |
| 24 | Sunday | L, 13–6 | Championship vs. No. 2 Ga. Tech | 45–11–1 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| Chapel Hill Regional | ||||
| 29 | Friday | W, 8–0 | VCU | 46–11–1 |
| 30–31 | Sat.–Sun. | W, 7–5, W, 9–3 | East Carolina | 48–11–1 |
| June | ||||
| Chapel Hill Super Regionals | ||||
| 5–7 | Fri.–Sun. | L, 9–5, W, 4–0, W, 4–3 | Southern Cal | 50–12–1 |
| College World Series | Omaha, Neb. | |||
| 12 | Friday | W, 6–2 | No. 18 Ole Miss | 51–12–1 |
| 14 | Sunday | W, 5–2 | No. 9 West Virginia | 52–12–1 |
| 17 | Wednesday | 2:07 p.m. | No. 9 West Virginia | ESPN |
| 18 | Thursday | 2:07 or 7:06 | No. 9 West Virginia (if UNC loses Wed.) | ESPN |
| 20–22 | Sat.-Mon | 8:07, 1:37, 8:07 (if needed) | CWS Finals (if UNC wins Wed. or Thursday) | ESPN, ABC, ESPN |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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