Tag: unc baseball

Diamond Heels projected to host NCAA Tournament Regional

Is a strong start enough for the UNC baseball team to host an NCAA Tournament Regional?

Despite watching its record home winning streak stopped Tuesday night against a tough Coastal Carolina squad, the UNC baseball team still ranks amongst the country’s best.

North Carolina (29-8, 14-4), one of the ACC’s seven ranked teams (11th), is leading the ACC Coastal Division. It plays NC State on the road this weekend, in a series which could truly determine how legitimate the Tar Heels are.

UNC’s proven its ability to beat good teams earlier this season, highlighted by a road sweep of Preseason Number One Wake Forest, plus a singular win against East Carolina.

Regardless of how North Carolina ends its season, it’s still projected to host a regional in D1Baseball’s Week 10 Projected Field of 64.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C54IMVBuno8/?img_index=7

Looking at the Chapel Hill Regional right now, the Diamond Heels would face arguably the NCAA Tournament’s toughest group.

Florida has made 13 College World Series appearances, including a 2017 title. Oregon, one of the Pac-12’s better teams of late, is coming off its first-ever conference tournament championship and second Super Regional appearance. Bryant would be looking for its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016.

There is no question about UNC’s bats being able to produce, but it’s the starting pitching that could prevent a deep run. The bullpen has largely carried North Carolina on the mound, but a strong relief performances means nothing if starters continue to play inconsistently.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Vance Honeycutt now second all-time in UNC home runs

If Vance Honeycutt steps to the plate, you can count on him hitting a home run.

It seems like every time UNC baseball is mentioned in the national media, that story somehow involves star center fielder Vance Honeycutt.

Rightfully so.

Honeycutt has done nothing but mash at the plate and make highlight-reel plays in the field, even making an appearance on the SportsCenter Top 10 last year. He’s the reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year, plus a career .280 hitter with 49 home runs and 135 RBIs.

Focusing in on the power department, Honeycutt’s 12 home runs this season are tied for the team lead with Georgia transfer Parks Harber.

Honeycutt tied former teammate Mac Horvath on the Diamond Heels’ all-time home run list earlier this season, but surpassed that mark in Sunday’s 10-3 domination of Notre Dame.

With his second home run of the weekend, his 49th career bomb, Honeycutt moved into a tie with Chris Cox for second on the UNC home run leaderboard.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5wh5nBgSzI/?img_index=1

Honeycutt will surely be an early first-round pick in July’s MLB Draft – unless he decides to come back for his senior campaign. That would be a huge win, but he should advance his career while his draft stock is high.

Honeycutt is just eight round-trippers away from tying Devy Bell (1984-1987) for the North Carolina record.

If Honeycutt manages to stay healthy, I’m confident he can end his Diamond Heel career atop that leaderboard.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Sunday victory sets new program record for consecutive wins at The Bosh

Boshamer Stadium has been the home for UNC baseball since 1972. The Diamond Heels just set a new stadium record on Sunday afternoon.

As we get deeper into college baseball season, we’ll start to see the best teams separate themselves from the rest of their conference opponents.

There are some early-season surprises, such as Wake Forest already reaching double-digit loss totals and Kentucky being ranked third, while programs like Arkansas and East Carolina are ranked Top-10 as expected.

Another team living up to its expectations is North Carolina, which swept Notre Dame over the weekend and maintained its hold atop the ACC Coastal Division. UNC has largely dominated opponents over the season, but particularly at Boshamer Stadium, where it’s 23-0.

With Sunday’s 10-3 victory over the Fighting Irish, the Diamond Heels set a program record with their 27th consecutive home victory, a streak which extends back to last season.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5wadc2yvch/?img_index=2

North Carolina is averaging nearly 10 runs per home game, with its 321 total runs ranking 15th nationally. The 30 runs scored against Notre Dame were UNC’s most since its March 1-3 series against Rutgers.

Vance Honeycutt, the Diamond Heels’ star center-fielder who is projected to be an early first-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, is tied for sixth nationally with 50 runs. He’s one of nine North Carolina players with at least 20 runs.

While UNC’s offense was the story this past weekend, its pitching enjoyed a much-needed rebound, allowing just five runs over three games. It was the Diamond Heels’ best pitching series of the year.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Michael Busch ties Chicago Cubs franchsie record

Michael Busch has tied a Chicago Cubs franchise record with a home run on Monday night.

Former North Carolina Tar Heel Michael Busch is finding his ways in Chicago.

After being traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs this offseason , Busch has found his role with the team. He’s getting the chance to start almost every day at first base and he’s making the most of it.

On Monday night in Arizona, Busch tied a Chicago Cubs franchise record with his home run in the second inning. Busch has now homered in five-straight games which has tied the record for the Cubs.

Check out Busch’s latest home run to give the Cubs a early 1-0 lead in Arizona:

Busch tied Hack Wilson (1928), Ryne Sandberg (1989), Sammy Sosa (1998) and Christopher Morel (2023) as players to homer in five straight games in franchise history.

It’s nice to see Busch get his chance and find a role with his new home. That’s what he struggled with during his time with the Dodgers. Going into Monday’s game, Busch was hitting .327 with five homers and 11 RBI’s on the year. He’s now added to that total with six homers and 12 RBI’s.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Former Diamond Heel JB Bukauskas to IL with lat strain

Former Diamond Heel J.B. Bukauskas is heading to the Injured List after a strong start to his 2024 MLB season.

College baseball has been playing since mid-February, while MLB didn’t celebrate Opening Day until March 28.

It’s too early to pick out the World Series contenders, but there is plenty of excitement already.

The Milwaukee Brewers are one of those teams who’ve created plenty of excitement, thanks to its young offensive core and strong pitching. It’s particularly encouraging to see the Brew Crew succeeding on the mound, as they lost ace Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles in the offseason.

One of many Milwaukee pitchers enjoying a solid opening month is former UNC standout J.B. Bukauskas, who carries a 1.50 earned run average through six appearances. Bukauskas was 21-6 with a 3.18 ERA in three season at North Carolina, including a 9-1 campaign in 2017.

Unfortunately for JB, he’ll be out of baseball for a couple weeks, as he was recently placed on the 15-day Injured List with a lat strain.

Bukauskas, picked 15th overall in the 2017 MLB Draft, has bounced around a bit since making his MLB Debut in 2021.

He won his first two games with the Arizona Diamondbacks that year, making a career-high 21 appearances. Bukauskas played in the minor leagues throughout 2022, then spent five 2023 MLB games between the Brewers and Seattle Mariners.

Hopefully for JB, he doesn’t spend more than the minimum time on the IL.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Weekend sweep boosts Diamond Heels just outside Top 10

Another weekend sweep, another jump in the rankings for the UNC baseball team.

Losing two of three at longtime rival UVA wasn’t ideal for the UNC baseball team.

The Cavaliers snapped the Diamond Heels’ 9-game winning streak on Thursday, April 4, then won the series on Friday

North Carolina was able to salvage the series finale on Saturday, extending its streak without a sweep into the second full month of college baseball. UNC lost last Tuesday against South Carolina, but rebounded over the weekend with a sweep of Notre Dame.

The Diamond Heels scored 30 runs while giving up just five in its three games against the Fighting Irish, including Friday’s 13-0 opener, which North Carolina’s first shutout win since March 19.

As a result of its strong weekend, UNC climbed up to 11th in the latest D1 Baseball Rankings.

Virtually every Diamond Heel contributed offensively throughout the series, starting with Friday’s massive victory, in which Casey Cook, Parks Harber and Luke Stevenson combined for six hits and 10 RBIs. Anthony Donofrio led the charge in Saturday’s 7-2 win, mashing a team-high three hits and driving in two runs, while star center fielder Vance Honeycutt shined with three hits and two RBIs Sunday.

Pitching, which struggled immensely in the UVA series, enjoyed its best series on the season.

Jason DeCaro earned his second win on Friday, pitching six shutout innings while striking out three batters and allowing just three hits. Shea Sprague also nabbed his second win – on Saturday – allowing just two runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings. Aidan Haugh thrived in his first start on Sunday, hurling five shutout innings while striking out six.

North Carolina will try and build on its 3-game winning streak on Tuesday, April 16, as it welcomes 2016 CWS champion Coastal Carolina for a 6 p.m. ET first pitch.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Former Diamond Heel Michael Busch taking advantage of starting opportunity in MLB

Michael Busch, who starred at UNC from 2017-2019, is one of the MLB’s best young hitters this year.

Getting chosen in the MLB Draft is every young baseball player’s dream.

Hundreds of players are selected across 20 rounds, but only a select few progress enough through the plentiful levels of minor league baseball.

One of those select few who rose through the minor leagues is former UNC baseball player Michael Busch, a 2019 first-round selection by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Busch led North Carolina to three NCAA Tournament Appearances, highlighted by a 2018 College World Series berth, by hitting for a .282 career batting average with 32 home runs and 142 RBIs.

Busch spent the 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023 season playing for four separate Dodger affiliates, compiling a .283 average and earning an MLB call-up in 2023. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs in January, as Freddie Freeman made Busch’s path to a starting first base gig significantly tougher.

After hitting under the Mendoza Line (.200 batting average) for the Dodgers last year, Busch is amongst the MLB’s best hitters in the Windy City this year.

Busch enjoyed a strong Sunday to further boost his season stats, going 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs in Chicago’s 3-2 win over the Seattle Mariners. He is now hitting .327 (25th-best in the MLB) with five home runs (sixth-most) and 11 RBIs.

Busch’s home run total and batting average also have him tops on the Cubs (9-6), who are tied for second in a stacked NL Central.

So far this year, Busch is proving he’s Chicago’s first baseman of the future. He’s just 26, so we could see the former Diamond Heel in the Windy City for a long time.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Diamond Heels complete series sweep over Notre Dame

The Diamond Heels had a dominating weekend, completing a series sweep over Notre Dame.

It was a breeze of a weekend for the UNC baseball program, as they finished off the sweeping of Notre Dame Sunday.

After a rocky loss to South Carolina Tuesday, failing to get their offense going, UNC found their swing in the series against Notre Dame. Each game showcased the dominant season the Tar Heels have had, combing for 30 runs to the Fighting Irish’s 5 in the three game series and it all started in game one.

Game 1: UNC 13, Notre Dame 0

The bats were hot in game one, and UNC’s defense matched. The Diamondheels scored a run every inning they took the field except for the fifth, scoring 6 of 13 runs in the 6th inning.

On the flip side, Jason Decaro pitched lights out for UNC, giving up three hits and one walk in six innings pitched. The dominant performance from the mound was the ideal start to the weekend series.

Game 2: UNC 7, Notre Dame 2

Game two echoed game one success, dominating at the plate and securing wins on the mound. UNC finished with seven runs on 11 hits, nearly scoring in every inning outside the third and fourth.

Notre Dame did a better job getting hits, but couldn’t muster runs, finishing with two runs on nine hits. Shea Sprague secured his second win of the year, dishing out four strikeouts in 5.2 innings pitched.

Game 3: UNC 10, Notre Dame 3

Game three put an exclamation point on the statement UNC sent, with another dominating performance on both sides of the ball. Aidan Haugh had a solid outing on the mound with six strikeouts and no runs in five innings pitched.

UNC’s hitting stayed on par with the rest of the weekend, exploding in the fourth inning with five runs scored. [autotag]Vance Honeycutt[/autotag] had three hits, including his 49th career homerun, which moved him second all-time for home runs in UNC history.

It was a perfect series win, adding to their promising season.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Diamond Heels lose tough pitching duel to South Carolina

South Carolina took down the Diamond Heels with a 2-1 win in Charlotte.

The Diamond Heels are coming off a tough series loss to Virginia in which they were able to salvage just one game on Saturday. And next up was another tough game during the week in Charlotte as they faced off against South Carolina.

Tuesday’s battle was a pitching duel with both teams, struggling to plate some runs. But in the end, it was the Gamecocks who got the go-ahead run in the eighth inning for a 2-1 win.

The Gamecocks struck first with a run in the top of the third inning on a ground out. UNC’s bats really struggled to make an impact as Dylan Eskew pitched 3.1 innings and gave up 4 hits.

The Tar Heels did find a way to get a run across the board in the seventh with a Colby Wilkerson RBI double. But South Carolina responded right away with a double in the eighth inning to grab the 2-1 lead and never look back.

UNC only mustered 6 hits on the day while the Gamecocks had 10.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

UNC one of seven ranked ACC baseball teams

The Diamond Heels are making the ACC proud, as they are one of the conference’s seven ranked teams starting the week of Monday, April 8.

Despite UVA (2015) and Miami (2001) being the only ACC programs to win a College World Series in the 21st century, the ACC is one of college baseball’s top conferences.

Several other ACC programs have come close to winning the CWS in recent years, with Wake Forest (2023) and NC State (2021) being the most recent.

Our North Carolina Tar Heels, despite not ever winning a CWS title, have arguably been the ACC’s most consistent program over the last two decades. They lost in the 2006 and 2007 finals to Oregon State, but have made an NCAA Regional 15 times since their first CWS finals appearance.

So far this season, the ACC is staking its claim as a top conference in college baseball with seven ranked teams.

UNC, which is 13th in this week’s D1Baseball Rankings, joins Clemson (second), Duke (seventh), Florida State (10), UVA (11), Wake Forest (14) and Virginia Tech (16).

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5gNVQRMMo-/

The Diamond Heels are coming off a 1-2 weekend at UVA, beating the Cavaliers 12-7 in Saturday’s season finale. They were ranked 10th last week after sweeping Wake Forest, the Preseason Number One team.

There’s a little over month left in college baseball season. Will the ACC be able to maintain its hot play, sending all seven of the above (and more) teams to the NCAA Tournament?

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.