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CHAPEL HILL — No. 12 North Carolina continued a productive early pattern of impressive pitching from newcomers and mixed in a power surge. Junior transfer right-hander Jake Knapp delivered the latest outstanding pitching debut, yielding two hits and striking out four in 5⅔ shutout innings in UNC’s fourth consecutive victory.
CHAPEL HILL — Carolina’s young pitchers continue to be impressive in the first few games of the season, and the offense keeps piling up the runs. Freshman left-hander Kyle Percival threw together the Tar Heels’ best start of the young season as No. 12 UNC blew out Radford 14–2 Tuesday at Boshamer Stadium on a beautiful spring-like day.
UNC coach Courtney Banghart said after the No. 22 Tar Heels’ win Sunday over Wake Forest that Alyssa Ustby was “day to day or even minute to minute maybe,” suggesting that the junior wing was nearing a return. Ustby posted a powerful suggestion on Instagram on Monday night — a photo of her in uniform and the words “tell a friend to tell a friend …” Officially, she still is listed as day-to-day, but her post seems to indicate that she will play this week.
It’s a big week for Carolina baseball with five games in six days, including a three-game weekend series against No. 11 East Carolina. The No. 12 Tar Heels (2–1) won two of three games in the opening series against Seton Hall.
North Carolina fell three spots to No. 22 in the AP Top 25 women’s poll heading into a challenging week that could go a long way toward determining if the Tar Heels will be first- and second-round hosts in the NCAA tournament.
Carolina coach Hubert Davis talks about where the season stands heading into Wednesday’s game at Notre Dame.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. In desperate need of a Quad 1 win, UNC builds a second-half lead only to fall apart down the stretch and fumble away yet another opportunity for a quality win in a season where opportunities are quickly running out. For the sixth time in nine Quad 1 games this season, the Tar Heels led in the final 20 minutes and, for the sixth time, Carolina was unable to finish the game and hold on for a victory.
CHAPEL HILL — The offense kept coming for No. 12 North Carolina, and freshman right-hander Cameron Padgett gave the Tar Heels the pitching performance they were missing in their opening-game loss. Padgett threw 4⅓ shutout innings in relief, giving up only two hits with three strikeouts, as UNC (1–1) rebounded with an impressive 11–2 win Saturday over Seton Hall at Boshamer Stadium to even the season-opening series.
CHAPEL HILL — Top-ranked North Carolina’s biggest early test early in the women’s lacrosse season just showed more evidence that the Tar Heels are again one of the best teams in the country. After UNC (2–0) blanked No. 7 Florida in the first half, the Gators’ first scoreless half since their inaugural season 13 years ago, the contrast between the teams was evident.
CHAPEL HILL — No. 12 Carolina has its deepest pitching in several years but a huge offensive day wasn’t enough to overcome the staff’s tough start. Junior third baseman Mac Horvath’s hitting kept the Tar Heels in the game, but Seton Hall stunned them 10–8 Friday at Boshamer Stadium on a chilly Opening Day.
Caleb Love and Hubert Davis give their thoughts on the loss to Miami and Sunday’s crucial game at N.C. State..
CHAPEL HILL — Even after losing six multiple-year All-Americans from last season’s undefeated national champions, the No. 1 North Carolina’s women’s lacrosse team doesn’t look any less dominant. With the type of leadership junior attacker Caitlyn Wurzberger gave the Tar Heels on Wednesday, they look hard to beat again.
North Carolina’s men’s team hasn’t done much of late to help its NCAA resume, and factors that the Tar Heels can’t control are making it look even worse. There are now two wins that, on game day, were Quad 1 that are now Quad 2. For the second consecutive season, UNC is on the bubble in mid-February.
With five games left in the regular season, Siena is in a battle for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title, thanks to another big performance Sunday from Andrew Platek. Platek scored 18 points and four 3-pointers, with four rebounds and three assists, as the Saints earned a 73–65 home victory over Marist. It was Platek’s sixth game this season with at least 18 points and seventh with three or more assists. Platek was +19 in 29 minutes.
Well, that didn’t last long. After arguably their best performance of the season on Saturday against Clemson, UNC came out and gave 19th-ranked Miami a great run for a half, before the old bugaboos made a return, and the Tar Heels missed a big chance to put a good win on the resume, falling 80-72 to the Hurricanes at the Smith Center.
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