While the ACC consistently fights with the SEC to be recognized as the best baseball conference, the unwieldy size of the conference means that unlike in other sports, some of the top teams don’t face each other during the season. Carolina only had ten conference matchups this year, and they’ve already faced off against ranked teams in Notre Dame, Louisville, and Boston College. Now, though, comes their biggest test of the season: ACC-leading Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets are a 15-3 in the ACC,
and they’re on a stunning ten-game win streak in conference. They haven’t lost a conference series all year, and they have swept three straight teams in NC State, Florida State, and Cal. Mixed in there is a run-rule win over Auburn before they played Cal. They are just rolling right now, and they present a prickly challenge for the Tar Heels.
You just don’t get series like this on your home field too often. Last year the Tar Heels faced a number two team in Florida State, but it was down in Tallahassee. Just being able to play a team of Georgia Tech’s caliber at the Bosh should create a fun environment.
The Tar Heels showed they were focused on the here and now in a pretty easy win over UNC-Wilmington Tuesday Night, 14-5. Carolina jumped up 5-0 early and despite UNCW getting some runs late, the Tar Heels ran away with the game to set up this showdown.
A look at the team numbers for Georgia Tech shows they aren’t just winning, they are demolishing, and they’re going to be playing in ideal hitting conditions this weekend as the weather will be warm in Chapel Hill. The team batting average is a full 50 points better than the second-place squad in Pitt, they’ve scored 80 more runs, have nine more homers, lead in slugging by 70 points, have the most walks, and only the seventh most strike outs. They just mash.
That said, Carolina brings the best pitching in the ACC to the table. The team ERA is .60 better than the Jackets, and notably they have given up the fewest home runs of anyone in the conference. They are tied with Boston College in only allowing 25 homers; the bad news is that the team next team on the list — California and their 26 allowed round-trippers — got whomped by the Yellow Jackets 17-2, 7-2, and 9-3. Preventing home runs isn’t any sort of guarantee that it’ll keep Georgia Tech off the board.
The biggest concern for Carolina might be tomorrow night’s starter Jason DeCaro. He had an off night last week in Clemson, only going 2 1/3 and letting the Tigers get rolling with three runs en route to their only win of the series. This is following a short 2 2/3 inning outing against Boston College the weekend before. He needs a strong start to get back to his Friday-starter form, and a good outing against the Yellow Jackets could be just what he needs to build momentum for the rest of the season.
Georgia Tech comes into the series with two players hitting over .400 and six more hitting over .300. Yes, that means just about every single regular hitter for Georgia Tech hits for over .300. Carolina’s pitchers will have their hands full without a doubt.
We’ll see just how much of a claim Carolina has to being one of the top teams in the country if they can avoid the sting of the Jackets. Bring your sunscreen if you plan to head out to the Bosh, as Friday’s game will start at 6 PM but Saturday will be at noon and Sunday will be at 1 PM. Both of the weekend games will be on the ACC Network, while Friday’s game is streaming only. The expectation is for it to be hot and sunny, so be prepared like you’re watching a game in June, not April.
Hopefully the home fans will be treated to some good baseball.
