Diamond Heels Set To Open 2026 Season Against Indiana

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Diamond Heels kicks off their 136th season of baseball with a weekend showdown against Indiana.

SCHEDULE
Game 1: Friday, Feb. 13 - 4 PM ET
Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 14 - 12 PM ET
Game 3: Saturday, Feb. 14 - 1 HR After Game 2

No. 11 North Carolina Tar Heels (0-0)
Head Coach: Scott Forbes
Record at UNC: 200-104 (6th Season)
Career Record: Same

Indiana Hoosiers (0-0)
Head Coach: Jeff Mercer
Record at IU: 207-149-1 (7th Season)
Career Record: 284-187-1 (9th Season)

FIRST PITCH
➤ It will be the first ever meeting between the two programs. It shrinks an already small list of the "Power 4" teams that the Carolina has yet to face. Baylor, BYU, Oregon, TCU, Utah, and Washington are all that remain.
➤ Like ships passing in the postseason night, the Hoosiers and Heels have been in the same NCAA tournament field eight times in their histories.
➤ Both teams even made it to Omaha at the same time in 2013, but were slotted on opposite sides of the bracket. In 2019 UNC was sent to the Terre Haute Regional, just a quick 1 hour 17 minute trip from Bloomington.
➤ For the second straight season, Carolina will play a Valentine's day doubleheader.

NO PLACE LIKE THE BOSH
➤ The Tar Heels have won 77.0 percent of their home games under Scott Forbes, going 141-43.
➤ The 2025 squad racked up a 29-9 (.763) home record, winning five of seven series.
➤ The Tar Heels boasted a 37-3 record at Boshamer Stadium in 2024, winning a program record 92.5 percent of its games at home.
➤ It was the 13th time in program history the Tar Heels won 30 or more home games.
➤ Originally opened in 1972 before reopening in 2009 after a $26 million renovation, the Bosh has been the site for many magical memories. Since '09, the Heels have hosted 10 regionals and eight supers.

STARTING STRONG
➤ UNC is 89-44-2 all-time on opening day and have won six of the last seven openers.
➤ Especially strong at Boshamer Stadium, Carolina is 45-8 in home openers dating back to the park's opening in 1972.
➤ This will be the eighth straight season the Heels have opened up at home, going 6-1 in those contests.
➤ It will be a second consecutive year facing a power four foe opening weekend, sweeping Texas Tech in 2025 by a combined score of 17-6.
➤ The Tar Heels have won their opening weekend series 11 years in a row, a stretch spanning back to 2015. They are 30-3 in such games.
➤ UNC has won all 16 of their opening series at the Bosh since its renovation in 2009.
➤ The last time Carolina lost its first home series of the year was in 2002 to Seton Hall.
➤ A hot start has been a staple of the Forbes era. The team won six straight to kick off the '21 and '22 seasons, went 4-1 in '23, 5-0 in '24, before rattling off 13 consecutive victories at the beginning of the 2025 season. It was the program's best start to a season since 2013.

NON-CON COMBAT
➤ The Heels have compiled a 101-34 (.748) record in games against non-ACC opponents under Forbes. This season, they are 25-4 against out of conference foes. The 2024 team was 24-6.
➤ Since 2020, UNC has won 11 of its 12 three-game non-conference weekend series with a 29-6 mark in that span.
➤ Forbes is 3-2 in his career as head coach against Big Ten opposition.

RUNNING THE GAUNTLET
➤ Never one to shy away from a challenge, Forbes and company have laid out yet another stacked schedule in front of them.
➤ 17 of the 28 opponents the team is set to face finished 2025 inside the top-100 of the RPI, 12 were inside the top-75.
➤ Seven of the teams made the NCAA postseason, three advanced to the Super Regionals, and two more (Louisville and Coastal Carolina) played in the College World Series.
➤ 22 of those 26 non-con matchups will be played in the friendly confines of Boshamer Stadium.
➤ It's a very favorable schedule for local Diamond Heels fans. 37 home contests with 48 of the team's 56 games being played within the Tar Heel state. And that number doesn't include the ACC tournament, which will once again be held in Charlotte at Truist Field.

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