NC State baseball (5-9, 1-8 ACC) will continue its five-game road swing this weekend when it travels to Tobacco Road rival No. 11 North Carolina (13-6, 8-4 ACC) for a three-game series. This matchup will mark the Wolfpack's first road series of the year and the fourth-straight top 15 conference opponent it has faced this season.
The teams will play at 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C., and all three games will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra. There will additionally be a free audio stream on WKNC 88.1 and the TuneIn App.
STARTING PITCHERS
Friday RHP Reid Johnston (NCSU) vs. RHP Austin Love (UNC)
Saturday RHP Sam Highfill (NCSU) vs. RHP Max Alba (UNC)
Sunday TBA (NCSU) vs. TBA (UNC)
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA
The Tar Heels are coming off of a midweek win over No. 8 East Carolina and took two of three on the road last weekend against then-No. 21 Boston College.
UNC was picked to finish fifth in the Coastal Division of the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll, but currently ranks second in the division and has the fourth-best win percentage in conference action among the league.
Austin Love and Max Alba have started every weekend this season on the mound for the Heels, as Love leads the staff with a 4-0 record and Alba is 2-1 on the year. Love leads the conference with 32.0 innings pitched and ranks among the top five in the league with 38 strikeouts and a 2.24 earned-run average.
Out of the bullpen, Caden O'Brien, Connor Ollio and Nik Pry all pace the squad with two saves apiece. Meanwhile, five different pitchers have picked up a win in relief.
At the plate UNC is led by Justice Thompson who owns a .356 batting average, 26 hits, 20 runs scored and 10 stolen bases in his 11 attempts. Additionally, Danny Serretti has driven in a team-best 16 runs while nine of Caleb Roberts' 15 RBIs have been from his team-best five home runs.