It’s difficult to imagine a collegiate baseball program having more fun than the North Carolina Tar Heels.
UNC (39-11, 20-7) enjoyed a massive weekend against Louisville.
On Friday, star center fielder Vance Honeycutt became North Carolina’s all-time home run leader in a 14-4 Diamond Heels victory. He mashed his 57th career bomb to tie Devy Bell, then his 58th to overtake Bell for the UNC program record.
On Saturday, North Carolina clinched the series with a close, 6-4 win. The Diamond Heels doubled up on Sunday, sweeping the series with a 16-7 domination and clinching the ACC Coastal Division.
With all the success UNC enjoyed over the weekend, it vaulted up into the Top 10 of all the latest college baseball rankings: Baseball America (fourth), NCBWA (fifth), USA Today Sports (fifth), Perfect Game (sixth) and D1Baseball (seventh).
๐๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐๐ pic.twitter.com/VxNl7I9H66
— Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) May 13, 2024
North Carolina plays its final four regular season games on the road: Tuesday, May 14 at UNC-Wilmington (UNC won 11-0 in Chapel Hill on March 19), then its final weekend series at archrival Duke (May 16-18). The Seahawks took two of three from Hofstra over the weekend, while the Blue Devils lost two of three to Georgia Tech.
These high rankings are great for the Diamond Heels, who will likely host an NCAA Tournament Regional at the end of May.
The greater task at hand for North Carolina, however, is how it can capture its inaugural College World Series title. With all the momentum and talent UNC has right now, that’s a very reachable goal.
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