Diamond Heels Hit The Road For Rivalry Series With Duke

Thursday, April 23

Durham, N.C.

7 PM

North Carolina

Duke

April 23, 2026 | Baseball

Game Notes

By: William Soulé

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Diamond Heels will pile on the bus for a quick trip eight miles away as the crow flies to face cross-town rivals Duke for another ACC weekend. A Thursday night ACC Network showing will kick things off.

Only three more regular season series remain as UNC sits one game back of Georgia Tech for first place in the conference. The last time Carolina finished with the ACC's best record, they had to secure it with a series win on the road at Duke in 2024.

The Heels have won each of the last six series against the Blue Devils and nine of the last 10 overall.

SCHEDULE
Game 1: Thursday, Apr. 23 – 7 PM – ACC Network – Live Stats
Game 2: Saturday, Apr. 24 – 6 PM - ACCNX – Live Stats
Game 3: Sunday, Apr. 25 – 3 PM - ACCNX – Live Stats

No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels (34-7-1)(15-6 ACC)
Head Coach: Scott Forbes
Record at UNC: 234-111-1
Record vs. Duke: 10-5

Duke Blue Devils (22-21)(8-13 ACC)
Head Coach: Corey Muscara
Record at Duke: 22-21
Record vs. UNC: 0-0

PROJECTED STARTERS
Thursday: RHP Jason DeCaro vs. RHP Aidan Weaver
Friday: RHP Ryan Lynch vs. RHP Peter Lemke
Saturday: TBA vs. RHP Andy Leon

SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: UNC 202-108-2
Current Streak: W1
Chapel Hill: 113-48-1
Away: 79-51-1
Neutral Site: 10-9
First Meeting: 1891

HITTING THE HIGH POINT OF THE SEASON
➤ Carolina used a patient approach to take a 9-2 win over High Point on Tuesday night in Boshamer Stadium.
➤ They put most of their runners on base the free way with 10 walks and three HBPs. Of the nine runs UNC scored, five reached on a free pass.
➤ The Heels' scoring on the day came in bunches, putting up three and six across two different frames.
➤ The first grouping was in their half of the second where they scored three runs on a sequence of walk, walk, walk, wild pitch, walk, fielder's choice RBI, and wild pitch produced the offense.
➤ The next was powered by a bases-clearing double from Colin Hynek and a two-run shot from Cooper Nicholson.
➤ On the mound, it was a seven man platoon that kept a talented High Point team at arm's reach.
➤ Freshman phenom Caden Glauber followed the starter Jackson Rose and picked up the win with an effective if not still eventful 1.2 innings, punching out three to move to 5-0 on the year. His 1.74 ERA on the season leads all qualified pitchers in the ACC.

DYNAMITE BEHIND THE DISH
➤ Carolina's dynamic duo at catcher have been elite offensively and defensively, living up to the billing Coach Forbes gave as one of the best one-two punches behind the plate since Cody Roberts and current undergraduate assistant Brandon Martorano in '17/'18.
➤ Through 42 games, Winslow and Hynek have allowed just 13 steals on 21 attempts. It's the fewest stolen bases surrendered in that amount of games for UNC this century.
➤ Their 21 attempts faced in that stretch is the least since 2012.
➤ And its not like they've faced teams that don't run. Louisville and Boston College, who currently sit 2nd and 3rd in attempts in the ACC with 244 between them, went a combined 1-2 against the Heels.
➤ It was BC's only blank weekend of 2026 and the fewest for Louisville since 2024.
➤ Carolina also leads the ACC in SBA by a wide margin. Louisville has the second fewest allowed with 28.

MADE A STATEMENT ON A NATIONAL STAGE
➤ Over the weekend it was a battle of No. 3 and No. 2 as Carolina hosted Georgia Tech in the highest ranked matchup of the season in college baseball and the highest in Boshamer Stadium history.
➤ The Heels emerged victorious with wins in the first two games to take the monumental series.
➤ A 5-2 victory led things off on Friday as Jason DeCaro and the Carolina bullpen shut down the highest scoring offense in the nation. Three home runs powered the UNC attack to a massive opening night victory.
➤ Saturday it was all Heels as the home team ran away with a loud 14-4 run-rule on ACC Network.
➤ Three more home runs, highlighted by Owen Hull's second inning two-out grand slam, paired with more excellent pitching from Ryan Lynch and Walker McDuffie secured the marquee series.
➤ GT battled back for a Sunday win 5-2, but the damage had already been done. Carolina had claimed its highest ranked home series win since sweeping No. 1 Virginia in 2011.

GOT THE BOSH BUMPIN
➤ It was an electric atmosphere at Boshamer Stadium this weekend as the Heels took on Georgia Tech.
➤ Friday night's crowd of 4,357 was the largest in the regular season in the stadium's history.
➤ Coaches and players alike gave credit to the energy the fans brought to helping them win the series (more in-depth look into that on pg. 3). All three games were sold out and it showed.
➤ The combined attendance of 11,720 across the three days was the program's best over a weekend since 2009 when the stadium reopened after being renovated.
➤ That number came just 11 people shy of the record set in '09 during the a sweep of No. 7 Miami.
➤ On the field, it was the first top-3 series for UNC since 2008 when it had two. No. 2 ranked Carolina won weekends against No. 2 Florida State in Cary and at No. 1 Miami in Coral Gables that year.
➤ With the Heels' '08 contests being played in Cary at the USA Baseball National Training Complex, the series against GT became the highest ranked regular season match up in the Bosh's storied history.