University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Notre Dame
Diamond Heels Open Three-Game Series At Notre Dame
March 31, 2023 | Baseball
Friday's game will be the 20th all-time meeting between the Heels and the Irish with Notre Dame holding an 11-8 advantage. The Tar Heels defeated the Irish 7-2 in the ACC Baseball Championship semifinals last season with Mac Horvath driving in the game-winning run with two outs in the eighth inning. Johnny Castagnozzi drove in two additional runs in the top of the ninth.
The Tar Heels were swept in their last visit to South Bend in 2021 and are just 2-7 in their last three trips to Notre Dame.
| Pitching Matchups | North Carolina | Notre Dame |
|---|---|---|
| Friday | 3 p.m. (ACCNX) | RHP Max Carlson (1-1, 6.11) | RHP Blake Hely (1-1, 3.63) |
| Saturday | 3 p.m. (ACCNX) | RHP Connor Bovair (2-1, 2.59) | RHP Jack Findlay (4-0, 2.57) |
| Sunday | 1 p.m. (ACCNX) | RHP Jake Knapp (3-0, 3.42) | RHP Jackson Dennies (0-2, 3.68) |
SEVEN IN A ROW ON THE ROAD: Following the series against the Fighting Irish, UNC will face South Carolina at Truist Field in Charlotte on Tuesday then trek to Atlanta for a three-game ACC Coastal Division series at Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels have played just three games away from home this season, posting wins at Charlotte and Pittsburgh after suffering a loss at East Carolina.
TAR HEELS IN THE LATEST D1 PLAYER RANKINGS: Junior Mac Horvath leads the list of Tar Heels in the latest D1 Baseball Top 50 Player rankings released this week. Horvath ranks No. 5 among all Division I third basemen, Tomas Frick comes in at No. 9 among catchers, Jackson Van De Brake is ranked No. 24 at second base, Hunter Stokely is No. 42 at first base and Colby Wilkerson is 48th among shortstops.
GETTING OFFENSIVE: Colby Wilkerson went 1-for-3 Tuesday against Coastal Carolina to extend his career-long hitting streak to eight games, batting .448 (13-for-29) with an OPS of 1.210. He has three multi-hit games during the streak, and has raised his batting average 85 points during the streak to .293 after it dropped to .208 at the end of the Virginia series.
Junior Johnny Castagnozzi has been swinging a hot bat over the last two and a half weeks after missing the first two weeks of the season due to a medical condition. He's hit safely in eight of the last nine games (14x35, .400) with five doubles, three home runs and 11 RBIs.
Redshirt freshman Casey Cook has raised his batting average by more than 100 points since the beginning of March. He has hit safely in 13 of 17 games this month, scoring 15 runs and drawing 10 base on balls. Cook has collected multiple hits in four of the last eight games, including three at Pittsburgh.
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