Friday, April 26
Chapel Hill
6 p.m.
North Carolina
vs
Virginia Tech
Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
Diamond Heels Host Virginia Tech For Weekend Series
April 25, 2024 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Following a non-conference win over Gardner-Webb on Tuesday, No. 15 North Carolina returns to conference play this weekend against ACC Coastal Division foe Virginia Tech at Boshamer Stadium.
All three games will stream on ACC Network Extra with Friday night's series premiere scheduled for 6 p.m. Games two and three will begin on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Tar Heels sit atop the Coastal Division standings with a record of 15-6, two games in front of second-place Duke (13-8) and three games ahead of Virginia (12-9) and Virginia Tech (12-9).
UNC (31-10) enters the series following back-to-back wins against Gardner-Webb and NC State. The Hokies (26-12) come into the series fresh off a 24-5 victory over George Mason Tuesday.
Virginia Tech is 9-5 on the road this season with three wins over Boston College, two over Louisville and Pittsburgh, and one against Georgia Tech and Radford. Carolina is 24-1 at Boshamer Stadium in 2024.
UNC took two of three from the Hokies in Blacksburg last season and leads the all-time series 82-32-1.
Pitching Matchups
All three games will stream on ACC Network Extra with Friday night's series premiere scheduled for 6 p.m. Games two and three will begin on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Tar Heels sit atop the Coastal Division standings with a record of 15-6, two games in front of second-place Duke (13-8) and three games ahead of Virginia (12-9) and Virginia Tech (12-9).
UNC (31-10) enters the series following back-to-back wins against Gardner-Webb and NC State. The Hokies (26-12) come into the series fresh off a 24-5 victory over George Mason Tuesday.
Virginia Tech is 9-5 on the road this season with three wins over Boston College, two over Louisville and Pittsburgh, and one against Georgia Tech and Radford. Carolina is 24-1 at Boshamer Stadium in 2024.
UNC took two of three from the Hokies in Blacksburg last season and leads the all-time series 82-32-1.
Pitching Matchups
| Friday | 6 ET (ACCNX) | Saturday | 2 ET (ACCNX) | Sunday | 1 ET (ACCNX) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina | RHP Jason DeCaro (2-1, 4.41 ERA) | LHP Shea Sprague (2-1, 3.71 ERA) | RHP Aidan Haugh (3-0, 3.06 ERA) |
| Virginia Tech | LHP Jeremy Neff (0-0, 7.04 ERA) | RHP Brett Renfrow (5-1, 3.50 ERA) | RHP Griffin Stieg (3-2, 4.79 ERA) |
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SCOUTING VIRGINIA TECH
The Hokies are hitting .321 as a team with a .997 OPS. They lead the ACC in home runs with 78 after hitting five against George Mason on Tuesday. Virginia Tech ranks fifth in the conference in ERA (4.88) and opponent's batting average (.254).
LAST TIME OUT
UNC rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the fifth to post a 5-2 win over Gardner-Webb on Tuesday. Alex Madera drove in the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth after UNC tied the game with two runs in the fifth. Anthony Donofrio scored on a wild pitch in the seventh and Parks Harber had an RBI single. Gavin Gallaher reached base three times, going 2-for-3 with a double, walk, run and RBI. Connor Bovair picked up his first win with two shutout innings and Dalton Pence recorded his fourth save.
POWER AND SPEED
North Carolina is one of three Power Five schools to have more than 70 home runs (76) and 60 stolen bases (64). Tennessee leads all NCAA Division I teams with 115 homers and has also stolen 62 bases. Virginia has hit 76 home runs and swiped 61 bases.
TRIPLE DIGIT DINGERS PACE
With a minimum of 15 games remaining before the NCAA Tournament, the Tar Heels are on pace to hit more than 100 home runs for the third time in program history. The 2002 Tar Heels belted 108 dingers and the 2022 squad made 101 trips around the bases. UNC is currently on pace for 103 home runs.
HOME RUN RECORD CHASE
Junior Vance Honeycutt is five home runs away from setting the program career record. Devy Bell hit 57 home runs from 1984-87 in 205 games. Honeycutt has crushed 53 home runs during the first 155 games of his career.
RUN PRODUCERS
Carolina ranks third in the ACC in RBIs (326) behind Virginia (384) and Florida State (329). Casey Cook has driven in a career-best 56 RBIs, second-most in the conference. Cook, Honeycutt (43) and Alberto Osuna (42) rank inside the top 15 in the conference in RBIs. Carolina and Virginia are the only two schools to have three players among the top 15 in RBIs.
BOVAIR ANSWERS THE BELL
With Aidan Haugh being moved into the weekend rotation, Bovair has seen an increased role over the past week. He pitched 4.1 scoreless innings in two games against NC State, and struck out six, allowed one hit and didn't issue a walk. He also pitched two shutout innings against Gardner-Webb.
LEAGUE LEADERS
Sophomore Matthew Matthijs leads the NCAA in wins (11) and has the most pitching appearances (24) of any ACC hurler. Lefty Shea Sprague has the fewest walks (7) of any pitcher in the conference as well as the fewest walks per innings (1.44). Donofrio is tied for the ACC lead in triples (5) and Honeycutt averages a conference-best 1.40 runs per game.
Players Mentioned
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