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Baseball To Wrap Regular Season With Rivalry Road Trip To NC State
May 14, 2026 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Diamond Heels will conclude their regular season run with a cross-town rivalry road trip to face NC State. The historic rivals have faced off 316 times in their history dating back to 1895.
UNC leads the all-time ledger 172-143-1 and the teams are a perfectly balanced 64-64 in games played in the Raleigh leg of the Research Triangle. Under Forbes, Carolina has shared the series spoils with the Wolfpack 2.5 to 2.5 thanks to last year's rubber match getting canceled. The Heels have won both postseason contests though to put his record at 9-7 so far.
SCHEDULE
Game 1: Thursday, May 14 – 7 PM – ACC Network – Live Stats
Game 2: Friday, May 15 – 7 PM - ACC Network – Live Stats
Game 3: Saturday, May 16 – 2 PM - ACCNX – Live Stats
No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels (41-9-1)(20-7 ACC)
Head Coach: Scott Forbes
Record at UNC: 241-113-1
Record vs. NC State: 9-7
NC State Wolfpack (31-19)(13-14 ACC)
Head Coach: Elliot Avent
Record at NC State: 1102-653-2
Record vs. UNC: 43-49
PROJECTED STARTERS
Friday: RHP Jason DeCaro vs. RHP Heath Andrews
Saturday: RHP Ryan Lynch vs. TBA
Sunday: LHP Folger Boaz vs. TBA
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: UNC 174-144-1
Current Streak: L1
Chapel Hill: 95-68-1
Away: 64-64
Neutral Site: 15-12
First Meeting: 1895
HEELS ON HISTORIC PACE
➤ Carolina is officially off to one of its best starts in program history, through 51 games it is the fifth best position they've won for themselves.
➤ The Heels have reached the 40 win mark for the 27th time in program history. It is the third year in a row and the fourth total time under Forbes.
➤ They have also reached 20 ACC wins for the 10th time in program history. UNC is the only school in conference history to hit the double digit mark. Florida State sits second with eight in total.
LOOKED LIKE A BEACH BALL OUT IN WILMINGTON
➤ Carolina wrapped up its final midweek of 2026 with a 13-7 win on the road at UNCW on Tuesday night.
➤ The pair played an explosive affair, combining for eight home runs with six going over 400 feet in the coastal wind. It was a season high four long balls for Carolina, who had topped out at three on five different occasions.
➤ In total, the Carolina offense racked up its 13 runs on 13 hits and six free passes. All nine members of the starting lineup recorded a hit and eight scored. The Heels are now 19-0 when reaching double digit runs.
➤ The long balls came from Gavin Gallaher, Owen Hull, Erik Paulsen, and Colin Hynek. Hull's moon shot went 466 feet, almost 40 feet further than the previous longest home run for Carolina on the year.
➤ UNC deployed five different arms against the Seahawks, combining for 12 strikeouts in the three hour and 52-minute-long contest. Veterans Matthew Matthijs and Tom Chmielewski picked up the win and save respectively. It was the longest outing since returning from injury for Matthijs, who allowed just one run in 3.1 IP.
ROAD DAWGS GOT BITE
➤ You can't put together one of the best records in program history without being road warriors.
➤ The Diamond Heels are off to a 12-2 (.857) road record so far in 2026, chasing one of the best years away from home ever. It is already secured as their best under Forbes, surpassing a 12-6 mark in 2025.
➤ They are unlikely to have enough opportunities to match the win total from the 2008 team that went 17-4, but best road win percentage since World War II (.813, 2017) is certainly attainable.
➤ UNC went 8-0 on the road in 1934.
➤ '17 was also the last time Carolina won all five ACC road series in the same year.
➤ They got to this point in large part thanks to sweeps in their first two ACC series on the road. It was only the second time the program had done that since the three-game series format was adopted in 1990.
➤ Previously, UNC had lost its first true road game of the year in each season from 2018-2024.
ARM TALENT
➤ The strength of this team lies with the Carolina Arm Barn, who have solidified themselves as the best unit in the conference in recent years and 2026 has proved to be no different.
➤ The Heels have led the ACC in ERA each of the last two seasons and are looking to be the first to go three in a row since Louisville's five year stretch from 2015-19. It would be the first time in UNC's history they had the best ERA three years in a row.
➤ Additionally, on an individual level, 2025 ACC and National Pitcher of the Year Jake Knapp led the conference in ERA. With two weekends left, Tar Heels currently occupy the No. 1, 2, and 4 spots as Glauber, DeCaro, and McDuffie battle at the top.
➤ It would be the first time UNC pitchers have gone back-to-back years atop the conference since Robert Woodard and Jonathan Hovis did it in '05/'06.
➤ The dynamic duo of Glauber and McDuffie near the top in a number of conference categories, including batting average against, hits allowed, and runs allowed.
➤ The Heels currently have four arms in the top-15 of ERA in the ACC, Cal has the next most with two.
➤ Glauber has the third best ERA mark in the country and is the only freshman in the top-20.
➤ Coming into the weekend only seven arms in the country were under 2.00 in ERA. Carolina is the only team with two among those seven.
