University of North Carolina Athletics
Thursday, May 11
Chapel Hill, N.C.
7 p.m.
North Carolina
vs
NC State
Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
Diamond Heels Close Home Schedule With NC State
May 11, 2023 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – UNC will play its final three regular season home games this weekend as it hosts NC State at Boshamer Stadium, beginning Thursday night.
Thursday and Friday's games will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday's regular-season finale is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday's game will be televised on ACC Network, while ACCNX will stream the first and third games of the series.
Parking is available for fans in the Ram's Deck and Craige Deck with ADA parking available in Ram's Deck. The School of Government, Stadium Drive, South Road and Raleigh Road visitors lots will be closed.
Fans are encouraged to arrive early with the expectation of increased traffic due to commencement ceremonies across campus.
The Boshamer Stadium gates will open one hour prior to game time Thursday and Friday and 90 minutes ahead of Saturday's first pitch. UNC will recognize its 2023 graduates before the series finale.
North Carolina (30-17, 11-11 ACC) is coming off a 5-4 win against Gardner-Webb on Tuesday, while NC State (31-15, 10-13) is taking the field for the first time since posting a 6-1 win at Notre Dame on Saturday.
UNC has won five of its past seven games, including two consecutive one-run games.
Junior Mac Horvath has the longest active hitting streak on the team at seven games, going 14-for-29 (.483) with six home runs, 21 RBIs, and a pair of doubles. Horvath has raised his batting average by 29 points during that stretch.
He ranks second in the ACC in home runs with 20 while leading the conference with 21 stolen bases. Horvath enters the weekend as the only 20-20 player in NCAA Division I.
The Wolfpack has won six of its last seven games after being swept at home by Clemson. LuJames Groover III leads NC State with a .344 average and has driven in 43 runs with 10 home runs. Payton Green has 10 home runs and 42 RBIs while hitting 283.
THE SERIES
The Tar Heels led the all-time series 172-139-1 and took three of four from the Wolfpack last season, capped with a 9-5 victory in the ACC Baseball Championship title game. Vance Honeycutt hit two home runs and drove in five in the championship game and was named tournament MVP. He hit four home runs in four games against NC State last season with a .411 batting average and a 1.967 OPS.
CASEY ON THE BASE
Redshirt freshman Casey Cook has reached base safely in 36 straight games and is one game away from tying the school's freshman record for most consecutive games reaching base set by Colin Moran in 2011. Since his streak began, Cook has hit .362 (46-for-127) with a .491 on-base percentage with 24 bases on balls and nine hit by pitch. He has twice as many hits (46) as he does strikeouts (23) in those games.
AD "VANCE"
Honeycutt has reached base safely in a career-long 32 straight games. During those 32 games, Honeycutt had 29 hits and 36 walks and was hit by a pitch four times. His longest streak as a freshman in 2022 was 11 games.
MASHING UP THE CHARTS
Horvath belted his 20th home run of the season and 43rd of his career on Tuesday night against Gardner-Webb. He currently ranks third on the Tar Heels' career home run list, six behind Chris Cox who hit 49 home runs between 1990 – 93 and currently occupies second place. Horvath is the ninth Tar Heel to hit 20 homers in a season. Honeycutt holds the record with 25.
ONE-RUN GAMES
Each of the Tar Heels' last three games has been decided by one run, with UNC winning the previous two (2-1 at East Carolina; 5-4 vs. Gardner-Webb). North Carolina is 4-6 in one run games this season, with a 1-3 record in ACC play. All three of its games against Miami were decided by a run, with the Hurricanes winning two. Three of its six one run losses were by scores of 5-6 (East Carolina twice, Campbell).
DELIVERING THE MAIL
Junior right-handed pitcher Matt Poston has allowed just one earned run in his last 18.1 innings with 20 strikeouts and nine walks. He has recorded a save in two of UNC's previous five wins and has registered four saves overall in 2023. Poston has stranded 21 of 33 inherited runners (.636).
Thursday and Friday's games will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday's regular-season finale is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday's game will be televised on ACC Network, while ACCNX will stream the first and third games of the series.
Parking is available for fans in the Ram's Deck and Craige Deck with ADA parking available in Ram's Deck. The School of Government, Stadium Drive, South Road and Raleigh Road visitors lots will be closed.
Fans are encouraged to arrive early with the expectation of increased traffic due to commencement ceremonies across campus.
The Boshamer Stadium gates will open one hour prior to game time Thursday and Friday and 90 minutes ahead of Saturday's first pitch. UNC will recognize its 2023 graduates before the series finale.
North Carolina (30-17, 11-11 ACC) is coming off a 5-4 win against Gardner-Webb on Tuesday, while NC State (31-15, 10-13) is taking the field for the first time since posting a 6-1 win at Notre Dame on Saturday.
UNC has won five of its past seven games, including two consecutive one-run games.
Junior Mac Horvath has the longest active hitting streak on the team at seven games, going 14-for-29 (.483) with six home runs, 21 RBIs, and a pair of doubles. Horvath has raised his batting average by 29 points during that stretch.
He ranks second in the ACC in home runs with 20 while leading the conference with 21 stolen bases. Horvath enters the weekend as the only 20-20 player in NCAA Division I.
The Wolfpack has won six of its last seven games after being swept at home by Clemson. LuJames Groover III leads NC State with a .344 average and has driven in 43 runs with 10 home runs. Payton Green has 10 home runs and 42 RBIs while hitting 283.
| Probable Pitching Matchups | North Carolina | NC State |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday | 7 p.m. (ACCNX) | RHP Connor Bovair (4-2, 4.11) | RHP Logan Whitaker (3-3, 4.81) |
| Friday | 7 p.m. (ACCN) | TBA | RHP Matt Willadsen (5-3, 2.74) |
| Saturday | 2 p.m. (ACCNX) | RHP Jake Knapp (3-3, 5.01) | TBA |
THE SERIES
The Tar Heels led the all-time series 172-139-1 and took three of four from the Wolfpack last season, capped with a 9-5 victory in the ACC Baseball Championship title game. Vance Honeycutt hit two home runs and drove in five in the championship game and was named tournament MVP. He hit four home runs in four games against NC State last season with a .411 batting average and a 1.967 OPS.
CASEY ON THE BASE
Redshirt freshman Casey Cook has reached base safely in 36 straight games and is one game away from tying the school's freshman record for most consecutive games reaching base set by Colin Moran in 2011. Since his streak began, Cook has hit .362 (46-for-127) with a .491 on-base percentage with 24 bases on balls and nine hit by pitch. He has twice as many hits (46) as he does strikeouts (23) in those games.
AD "VANCE"
Honeycutt has reached base safely in a career-long 32 straight games. During those 32 games, Honeycutt had 29 hits and 36 walks and was hit by a pitch four times. His longest streak as a freshman in 2022 was 11 games.
MASHING UP THE CHARTS
Horvath belted his 20th home run of the season and 43rd of his career on Tuesday night against Gardner-Webb. He currently ranks third on the Tar Heels' career home run list, six behind Chris Cox who hit 49 home runs between 1990 – 93 and currently occupies second place. Horvath is the ninth Tar Heel to hit 20 homers in a season. Honeycutt holds the record with 25.
ONE-RUN GAMES
Each of the Tar Heels' last three games has been decided by one run, with UNC winning the previous two (2-1 at East Carolina; 5-4 vs. Gardner-Webb). North Carolina is 4-6 in one run games this season, with a 1-3 record in ACC play. All three of its games against Miami were decided by a run, with the Hurricanes winning two. Three of its six one run losses were by scores of 5-6 (East Carolina twice, Campbell).
DELIVERING THE MAIL
Junior right-handed pitcher Matt Poston has allowed just one earned run in his last 18.1 innings with 20 strikeouts and nine walks. He has recorded a save in two of UNC's previous five wins and has registered four saves overall in 2023. Poston has stranded 21 of 33 inherited runners (.636).
Players Mentioned
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