Keeping It Heel
Fansided

UNC Baseball: Tar Heels open up NCAA Tournament play on Friday

By Blake Cockrum

OMAHA, NE - JUNE 21: The North Carolina Tar Heels battle on offense in the fifth inning against the Rice Owls during the Tar Heels 7-4 win in Game 13 of the NCAA College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium on June 21, 2007 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
OMAHA, NE - JUNE 21: The North Carolina Tar Heels battle on offense in the fifth inning against the Rice Owls during the Tar Heels 7-4 win in Game 13 of the NCAA College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium on June 21, 2007 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Tar Heels draw North Carolina A&T in first round

The North Carolina baseball team will kick off the 2018 NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium, one of three regional sites in the state of North Carolina.

The Tar Heels will first face off with the fourth-seeded Aggies of North Carolina A&T for the right to play the winner of No. 2 Purdue and No. 3 Houston. The winner of each matchup will then play each other in the double-elimination format regional.

The team that advances past the Chapel Hill regional will move on to another double-elimination series in the super regionals for a shot at one of eight spots in the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

More from UNC Baseball

The Tar Heels snagged the No. 6 national seed after a 38-18 season that included winning 30 of their last 41 games and the ACC’s Coastal Division crown. The Aggies finished the season with a 32-23 record after an abysmal 5-10 record to start the season.

The Tar Heels beat the Aggies in their only meeting of the season in a midweek game on March 13th; a 1-0 victory that featured just 10 total hits.

North Carolina’s high-powered offense is anchored by Kyle Datres, Michael Busch and Brandon Riley, each of which hit better than .300 for the season. Datres led the Tar Heels in batting average, hits and total bases, while Busch had team-highs in home runs, RBIs, on-base percentage and slugging.

North Carolina is fueled by its early loss to Davidson at Boshamer Stadium in last year’s NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels were the nation’s No. 2 national seed when they lost to the Wildcats, who were making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history.

UNC posted one of the best home records in the country this season, winning 23-of-29 games in Chapel Hill. They’ll look to continue that trend over the next week, with their eyes set on the super regionals, which begin a week from Friday.

North Carolina will throw out first pitch at 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon.

Next: Tar Heels set to visit Bahamas in 2018

Stick with Keeping It Heel for more on the North Carolina baseball team and their march toward the 2018 College World Series.

Home/UNC Baseball