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Carolina Baseball: Tar Heels ready to kick off season vs South Florida

By Bryson Gordon

FORT BRAGG, NC - JULY 03: A detailed view of baseballs prior to the game between the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves on July 3, 2016 in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The Fort Bragg Game marks the first regular season MLB game ever to be played on an active military base. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
FORT BRAGG, NC - JULY 03: A detailed view of baseballs prior to the game between the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves on July 3, 2016 in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The Fort Bragg Game marks the first regular season MLB game ever to be played on an active military base. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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The North Carolina Tar Heels will kick off their 2018 campaign at South Florida this weekend.

After a disappointing end to the 2017 season, the Tar Heels are looking to recover in 2018.

But this season could be a challenging one for North Carolina. Sure, they come in as the favorite to win the ACC Coastal. But after the way last year ended, more pressure will be on this team to succeed than ever before.

The pitching staff will be the hallmark of this Tar Heel team yet again.

Gianluca Dalatri is back to head the rotation and  Josh Hiatt, the sophomore closer, will be the bullpen horse for the Tar Heels.

Hiatt will be a big part of how far the team can go this season.

On offense, it will be a lot of the same for the Diamond Heels. They lost Logan Warmoth and Brian Miller, two of their best offensive players.

ACC rookie of the year Ashton McGee is back and will look to make a big leap into being the best offensive player.

Brandon Riley is also back, coming off of a year in which he started 62 of 63 games, and hit .317 for the Tar Heels. He will hold down right field from day one.

Let’s learn a little bit more about the keys to the opening series of the year!

Keys to the series

The key to the series for the Diamond Heels will be seeing what they can get out of their rotation.

Last season, after JB Bukauskas, it was Gianluca Dalatri who was the workhorse. Dalatri will now step into that ace role for the Tar Heels, in hopes of having a similar year to Bukauskas.

Last year, Dalatri was 7-3 with a 3.34 ERA, which was incredible for a freshman. He will be asked to take another step forward this year.

After Dalatri, it will be Tyler Baum who will take the mound for the Tar Heels.

Baum was every bit as stellar as Dalatri last season, and maybe even better. He was 7-0 last year with a 2.57 ERA.

Baum is regarded as one of the best young pitchers in college baseball.

He is entering his sophomore season as well, and with Dalatri and Baum at the top of the rotation, the future looks bright for the Tar Heels pitching staff.

Pitching matchups

Game one: Gianluca Dalatri (UNC) vs Shane McClanahan (USF)

Two: Tyler Baum (UNC) vs Strzelecki (USF)

Three: UNC (TBD) vs Collin Sullivan (USF)

What to expect

This series will be a good measuring stick to see how UNC will stack up on the road this year.

USF is a very respectable team, and playing them on the road will be a good early season test. USF is a team the Tar Heels could play in the NCAA Tournament on the first weekend.

If the Tar Heels offense brings it like they did last season, there won’t be many teams that can beat them. That includes South Florida.

The pitching from the Tar Heels is good enough to hold most teams to only a few runs. Look out for them if they can get the offense going this season.

Related Story: Tar Heels favored to win ACC coastal

For all updates on the Tar Heels baseball season, stay with Keeping It Heel throughout the season!

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