The North Carolina Tar Heels begin their quest for a ninth ACC Baseball Championship on Thursday, May 23 at 3 p.m. ET against Pitt.
The Panthers, meanwhile, are facing elimination after getting dominated by Wake Forest on Wednesday.
If this matchup seems familiar, it’s because UNC swept Pitt during the regular season – but didn’t dominate in that series. The Diamond Heels won the first and third matchups of each program’s ACC-opening series by one run, including a walk-off on Sunday, March 10 in the 10th inning, two victories that sandwiched a 3-run win that Saturday.
The Panthers began with a ton of promise this season, blasting out to an 8-1 start that included notable wins over Oklahoma and Washington, but finished the regular season at 26-26. They’re 10th in the 14-team ACC (Syracuse does not field varsity baseball) in team batting average (.282) and team earned run average (6.05),
North Carolina is a significantly better hitting team, with its .310 team average ranking 24th nationally. Even with an inconsistent pitching rotation, UNC actually leads the ACC with a 4.19 ERA.
I’ve said this many times before and I’ll say it again – regular season numbers don’t mean anything in the postseason. Pitt could easily start a hitting tear and lockdown the Diamond Heels’ hitters.
How can you watch these two ACC Coastal Division rivals face off tomorrow?
UNC-PITT TV, RADIO, AND STREAMING INFORMATION
WHAT: North Carolina (41-12, 22-8 ACC) vs. Pitt (26-27, 10-20)
WHEN: Thursday, May 23 at 3 p.m. ET
LOCATION: Truist Field in Charlotte, NC
TV: ACC Network (Watch and stream the game live on ESPN)
ANNOUNCERS: Chris Cotter, Mike Ferrin, Dani Wexelman (play-by-play), Devon Travis, Gaby Sanchez (color analysts)
SATELLITE RADIO: SiriusXM (Channel 193)
WEBSITE: WatchESPN
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