Advertisement

Why UNC baseball will — and won’t — win the Chapel Hill NCAA Regional

adam smith, times-news
·3 min read

North Carolina baseball has regained a familiar position in the postseason, holding a national seed for the NCAA Tournament and hosting a four-team regional at Boshamer Stadium for the 11th time since 2006.

The streaking Tar Heels, who claimed the ACC Tournament title, are the top-seeded team in the Chapel Hill Regional, which begins Friday. UNC plays fourth-seeded Hofstra at 2 p.m. (ESPN+), followed by second-seeded Georgia meeting third-seeded VCU at 7 p.m. (ESPN+).

Nationally, North Carolina landed the No. 10 overall seed in the 64-team NCAA field.

UNC is 29-7 all-time in regional games at home and has advanced to the super regional round eight times since the NCAA’s current format was implemented in 1999. It’s the first time the Tar Heels are hosting a regional under second-year coach Scott Forbes.

Who’s hotter, UNC or VCU?

North Carolina has won seven straight games and 15 of its last 17 to surge into the NCAAs. The Tar Heels went 4-0 during the ACC Tournament in Charlotte, defeating NCAA Tournament teams Virginia Tech and Notre Dame on the way to the championship.

Regional appeal: UNC baseball’s regional schedule, opponents, national seed in NCAA Tournament field

Going national: ACC champ UNC baseball rewarded with national seed, will host regional in NCAA Tournament

ACC MVP: UNC baseball’s Vance Honeycutt ‘in a zone’ right on time for 2022 NCAA Tournament

ACC champs: Here’s how North Carolina baseball toppled NC State to win 2022 ACC Tournament

UNC (38-19) caught fire at an essential moment across the last month, and finished with 20 victories over teams ranked among the top 50 of the college baseball RPI. Only powerful Tennessee, the No. 1 national seed, owns more top 50 RPI wins. The Tar Heels also are 9-2 in their last 11 games against teams that reached the NCAA Tournament.

North Carolina starter Max Carlson picked up two pitching victories during the Tar Heels’ run to the ACC baseball tournament title. Here, he throws against NC State in the tournament championship game Sunday.
North Carolina starter Max Carlson picked up two pitching victories during the Tar Heels’ run to the ACC baseball tournament title. Here, he throws against NC State in the tournament championship game Sunday.

But VCU (40-18) will arrive in Chapel Hill just as hot, if not hotter.

The Rams have won 15 straight games, 23 of their last 26, and have gone 37-10 since March 8. VCU swept through the Atlantic 10 Tournament, winning all of its four games to claim its second tournament title in as many seasons. First baseman Tyler Locklear earned Most Outstanding Player honors after hitting .818 with three home runs.

Pitching prowess for Heels, Dawgs

The winner of the Chapel Hill Regional could be determined by whose starting pitchers perform well on the mound.

Forbes found himself using a common postgame comment at the ACC Tournament, calling starters Max Carlson and Brandon Schaeffer “the story of the day” after three of North Carolina’s four victories.

Carlson won the ACC Tournament opener and championship game, shutting down Clemson and later quieting rival NC State in the final. In between, Schaeffer delivered a complete-game shutout of ACC regular-season champion Virginia Tech, a first for the Tar Heels in the postseason since June 2011.

Georgia (35-21) was bounced from the SEC Tournament in a one-and-done exit, but the Bulldogs have an elite arm worthy of countering in the appropriately named Jonathan Cannon.

The 6-foot-6 Cannon is 9-3 with a 3.62 ERA in 12 starts. He led the SEC in pitching victories.

NCAA Chapel Hill Regional schedule

Friday’s games

Game 1: No. 1 seed North Carolina (38-19) vs. No. 4 seed Hofstra (30-21), 2 p.m. on ESPN+

Game 2: No. 2 seed Georgia (35-21) vs. No. 3 seed VCU (40-18), 7 p.m. on ESPN+

Saturday’s games

Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser

Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner

Sunday’s games

Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser

Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner

Monday’s game 

If necessary

Big Four and More:  Ready to read more on the ACC and college sports? Join our ‘Big Four and More’ newsletter that’s delivered right to your email

Adam Smith is a sports reporter for the Burlington Times-News and USA TODAY Network. You can reach him by email at asmith@thetimesnews.com or @adam_smithTN on Twitter.

Take advantage of our $1 for 6 months sale on digital subscriptions. For special offers, click here.

This article originally appeared on Times-News: UNC baseball: Why the Tar Heels will — and won’t — win NCAA regional