UNC Baseball begins 2024 season with three-game series against Wagner

Baseball season is officially back!

Scott Forbes and the UNC baseball program will kick off the 2024 season on Friday afternoon as they host Wagner to begin a three-game series at Boshamer Stadium.

Entering his fourth season as the Diamond Heels' head baseball coach, Forbes' team will look different than it did a season ago, but expectations in Chapel Hill are still extremely high.

Vance Honeycutt will be called upon to lead this team, a group that will have plenty of new contributors, especially on the pitching staff. Although they possess a younger group, the goal is to be playing deep into the NCAA Tournament come May and early June.

Their first challenge comes in the form of the Wagner Seahawks, a team coming off a 32-24 season in 2023. They are no stranger to opening up their season in North Carolina, as last year they kicked off their season with a three-game slate in Raleigh against the NC State Wolfpack.

Before we take a look at the Diamond Heels projected rotation for the weekend, here's a breakdown of the three-game series and the important information that goes along with it.

The Diamond Heels will look to show off some of its youth among the pitching staff this weekend, as two freshman are slated to start in the three-game set.

On Opening Day, Forbes will call upon left-hander Folger Boaz to take the ball. Senior Ben Peterson is scheduled to get the nod on Saturday, while freshman Olin Johnson is the probable pitcher for Sunday's action. It's important to note that Jake Knapp, who was projected as the team's Friday starter, will miss the entire 2024 season due to a torn UCL.

With some key contributors leaving the program to pursue careers in Major League Baseball, it will be really interesting to see how this year's squad shapes up. This weekend will be the first example of what to expect, as Forbes and his staff will look for the right recipe for success throughout the entire 2024 campaign.