Baseball Opens ACC Championship Pool Play Against Pitt

Thursday, May 23

Charlotte, N.C.

3 PM

North Carolina

Pittsburgh

Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI

May 22, 2024 | Baseball

By: UNC Athletics Communications

CHARLOTTE – The 2024 postseason gets underway Thursday afternoon for ACC Coastal Division champion North Carolina at the ACC Baseball Championship, where it will face No. 12 seed Pittsburgh.

The Tar Heels enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed after posting a league-best 22-8 record following a series win over 11th-ranked Duke last weekend.

The meeting marks the fourth between the Tar Heels and Panthers this season, as UNC swept Pitt (2-1, 7-4, 6-5 [10]) in Chapel Hill to open conference play. Carolina has won seven straight over the Panthers since UP defeated the Tar Heels 5-3 in the 2021 ACC Baseball Championship.

UNC is 0-2 against the Panthers in the ACC tournament but leads the all-time series 19-11.

Pitching Matchups

	Thursday \| 3 PM (ACCN)
Carolina	RHP Jason DeCaro (4-1, 3.93)
Pitt	RHP Ryan Andrade (2-3, 6.93)
Links	WATCH \| LISTEN \| STATS

POLL POSITION
This week, North Carolina rose to No. 3 in the Baseball America and Perfect Game top 25 polls. The Tar Heels checked in at No. 6 in the NCBWA and USA Today Sports Coaches polls and No. 7 in the D1 Baseball rankings.

LAST TIME OUT
The Tar Heels are coming off a series win at No. 11 Duke, rallying to take the final two games after dropping the series opener (L, 3-5; W, 6-4; W, 14-6). UNC was led by outfielder Casey Cook (5-for-12) and Anthony Donofrio (5-for-11). Cook drove in seven runs and scored five, while Donofrio had four doubles and scored four runs. The bullpen trio of Matthew Matthijs, Dalton Pence and Matt Poston combined for 10 strikeouts in 7.0 innings, allowing just a single run. In the finale, Carolina used a seven-run third inning to secure its fifth straight series win over the Blue Devils.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Pitt enters the tournament with an overall record of 26-27 after it finished 10-20 in the ACC this season. The Panthers ranked ninth in the conference in hitting (.286), 11th in runs (379), and 13th in home runs (72) with a team ERA of 6.02, the fifth highest in the league.

TAR HEELS TOURNAMENT HISTORY
North Carolina has claimed eight ACC Baseball Championship titles, with its most recent title coming at Truist Field in Charlotte two years ago. The Tar Heels are 26-6 all-time as the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament and have reached the championship game six times (4-2), winning titles in 1983, 1990, 2007, and 2013. It's the first time the Tar Heels have been the No. 1 seed since 2018, when they were defeated by No. 12 Pitt in their opening game, 5-4.

CAROLINA REAPS ACC REWARDS
Winners of the ACC Coastal Division and owners of the conference's best record, the UNC baseball team reaped the rewards Monday as junior centerfielder Vance Honeycutt was named ACC Defensive Player of Year, Scott Forbes was voted ACC Coach of the Year, and the Tar Heels landed a school-record 11 players on the All-ACC teams. Honeycutt and fellow outfielder Casey Cook were voted first-team all-conference; first baseman Parks Harber and pitchers Jason DeCaro and Shea Sprague were named second-team; pitchers Matthew Matthijs and Dalton Pence, along with catcher Luke Stevenson, earned third-team honors. DeCaro, Stevenson, and Gavin Gallaher were named to the All-ACC Freshman Team.

GOLDEN SPIKES SEMIFINALIST
Honeycutt Is among the 25 amateur baseball players selected as semifinalists for the 2024 Golden Spikes Award. He is the first Tar Heel to be named a semifinalist for the award since J.B. Bukauskas in 2017 and the ninth different player in program history. Honeycutt is the only 20-20 player in NCAA Division I with 22 home runs and 28 stolen bases. He has the ninth-highest WAR (4.7) among all Division I players and ranks fourth nationally in defensive runs saved (DRS) at 12.07.