University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 10 Carolina Hosts No. 11 Oklahoma State In Home Opener
February 25, 2016 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILL ---North Carolina opens its 2016 home schedule with the first of a three-game series with Oklahoma State Friday at 3 p.m. at Boshamer Stadium. The series continues Saturday at 2 p.m. and concludes Sunday at noon. Carolina enters the weekend 2-1 and has risen to as high as No. 10 in the national polls after taking two of three at UCLA. Oklahoma State is 2-2 on the young season after splitting with Stephen A. Austin and UT-Arlington. The Cowboys, who finished 38-20 in 2015, are ranked as high as No. 11 nationally.
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
Friday - $1 peanuts and Cracker Jack for the home opener
Saturday - Full team postgame autograph session
New Concession Items for 2016! - Bojangles' Supremes, chicken sandwiches and cajun fries; bottomless popcorn buckets; Papa John's personal pizzas
Million Meals Challenge Food Drive - The first 200 fans who bring a canned food item to any game this weekend will receive a $5 Harris Teeter gift card. For more information, visit GoHeels.com/MillionMealsChallenge.
AT A GLANCE
Records: North Carolina 2-1, Oklahoma State 2-2
Rankings: North Carolina is ranked in each of the national pools, with a high of No. 10 by D1Baseball. OSU is also ranked in most of the major polls, with a high of No. 11 from Perfect Game.
TV: None.
Audio: All three games will be streamed live on GoHeels.com.
On The Web: GoHeels.com • Twitter: @DiamondHeels | @OSUBaseball
| Carolina Probable Starters | OSU Probable Starters | |
| Friday | RHP Zac Gallen (Jr., 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.78 WHIP) |
RHP Thomas Hatch (So., 0-0, 2.57 ERA, 1.00 WHIP) |
| Saturday | RHP J.B. Bukauskas (So., 0-0, 3.86 ERA, 0.86 WHIP) |
RHP Michael Mertz (Jr., 0-0, 4.50 ERA, 1.00 WHIP) |
| Sunday | RHP Jason Morgan (So., 0-0, 3.18 ERA, 1.06 WHIP) |
RHP Jensen Elliott (Fr., 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.80 WHIP) |
NORTH CAROLINA-OKLAHOMA STATE SERIES HISTORY
• North Carolina is 1-5 all-time against Oklahoma State in a series that has not been contested since 1988.
• Carolina's lone win in the series came in 1978. The Tar Heels beat the Cowboys 3-2 in 12 innings as part of the Palm Valley Tournament in Edinburg, Texas.
• Oklahoma State has twice ended Carolina's season at the College World Series. The Cowboys knocked off the Tar Heels in an elimination game at the CWS in both 1960 and 1966.
• OSU head coach Josh Holliday is in his fourth season in Stillwater. Prior to getting the head job at his alma mater, Holliday spent four seasons in the ACC at North Carolina State (2004) and Georgia Tech (2005-07). UNC was 6-7 against those teams during that stretch.
SEASON OPENERS UNDER FOX
• North Carolina is now 17-1 in season openers since Mike Fox took over as the head coach in 1999 following last Friday's 4-0 win over UCLA.
• Carolina opened the 2015 campaign with a home sweep of Seton Hall that included a 7-1 Opening Day victory. That improved the Tar Heels to 15-2 in home openers under Fox.
• Carolina suffered its first loss in an opener under Fox in 2014 when the Tar Heels dropped a 7-4 decision at the College of Charleston.
• The UCLA series marked the second time in three seasons UNC opened the season away from Chapel Hill and the second time in five years the Tar Heels started the year in California. The 2014 series at Charleston was originally scheduled for Chapel Hill but was moved to South Carolina due to winter weather.
