Chapel Hill Regional Opponent Capsules

For the second straight season, Chapel Hill will host an NCAA regional. Below, a glance at the three teams Carolina will be matched up with this weekend.

No. 2 Purdue
Location: West Lafayette, IN
Record: 37-19, 17-6 Big Ten
Bid: At-large

With its at-large bid following a strong conference performance, Purdue will be playing in just its third-ever NCAA tournament. The last two appearances were in 1987 and 2012. The Boilermakers won seven straight games at the end of the season before falling to Minnesota in the Big Ten Championship Game last weekend. The team went 21-3 in its last 24 games including conference tournament play.

Four members of the Purdue regular starting lineup have averages over .300, including top power bat Jacson McGowan (.302 average, 12 HR, 56 RBI). Friday starter Tanner Andrews is 7-4 with a 2.71 ERA this season through 93 innings pitched.

No. 3 Houston
Location: Houston, TX
Record: 36-23, 16-8 American Athletic
Bid: At-large

This will be Houston's 21^st appearance in the NCAA tournament, most recently making it to the postseason in both 2015 and 2017. The Cougars had a strong showing in conference play, going to the AAC tournament semi-finals before losing to East Carolina to end its run in the double-elimination format. The team beat nine ranked opponents over the course of the year, including a three-game sweep of East Carolina in Greenville in late April.

Starter Aaron Fletcher leads the way for Houston on the mound. He has a 2.43 ERA over 85.1 innings this season, striking out 76 along the way. On offense, Jared Triolo has impressed with a .343 average and a .425 on-base percentage.

No. 4 North Carolina A&T
Location: Greensboro, NC
Record: 32-23, 16-8 MEAC
Bid: Automatic

The Aggies won their conference tournament last weekend courtesy of a win over Bethune-Cookman to earn its second entry into the NCAA tournament. The team won its three games in the MEAC tournament championship, scoring at least 12 runs in each game. Overall, the offense has scored 77 runs over its past five games.

The MEAC champs are hitting .274 as a team over the 2018 season. The Tar Heels and Aggies clashed earlier this season in Chapel Hill with North Carolina picking up a 1-0 win courtesy of a strong complete-game start from Rodney Hutchison.

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