Our baseball team – currently ranked first in the country, a ridiculous and head scratchingly good 40-9, tied for first in the ACC Coastal and winners of 11 straight games – play their last homestand of the year against 21st ranked UNC this weekend. I still can’t believe this team is this good – winning 40 before losing your tenth is huge. The ACC Coastal race has come down to these last two series of the season, with a perfect ending set up: the ‘Hoos face off with Miami in Coral Gables next weekend. Miami has three games in Atlanta against 39-9 Georgia Tech this weekend, so this weekend presents a golden opportunity to maybe obtain a little breathing room before hitting the road for Coral Gables.

The ‘Heels are a traditional power in college baseball (though who it seems like, between Clemson, UNC, FSU, Georgia Tech & Miami, everyone is a traditional power in this conference) and come to Charlottesville at 34-15. There is both good news and bad hidden in their record. The good? They’ve won nine of their last ten games. The bad? That only three of those ten games came against a good team, and that they’re a miserable 3-9 against the ACC’s power foursome of Georgia Tech, Florida State, Clemson and Miami – and 11-13 in the conference overall.

Carolina is a middle of the pack offensive team: they’re batting .313 (fifth in the ACC), have scored 382 runs (seventh), have drawn 247 walks (fifth), and are sixth in the ACC in stolen bases. They’re led at the dish by the potent trio of junior infielder Dillon Hazlett (.352/.409/.893, 3 HR 47 RBI), speedy sophomore infielder Levi Michael (.349/.482/1.044, 5 HR 42 RBI, 15 SB), and first baseman and power threat Jesse Wierzbicki (.324/.431/.957, 7 HR 46 RBI). The ‘Heels have hit the second fewest home runs in the conference, which should play right into the hands of a Cavalier staff that have allowed just 39 on the year.

On the hill, the ‘Heels are fifth in the ACC with a 4.33 ERA and .257 batting average allowed. They’ve walked the fourth most guys, and have allowed the fifth fewest runs, further penciling them in as a middle of the pack ACC baseball team. The Carolina bullpen has some issues, in the way that one could say Tiger Woods has some issues: eight of 13 guys have ERAs that are over 4.50, and the team has just nine saves. The leaders (with three each) are Greg Holt (2-2, 6.37) and Michael Morin (5-2, 5.51).

The pitching match ups for the weekend look like so:
Friday night: Danny Hultzen (7-1, 2.00) against junior righthander Matt Harvey (6-2, 2.68).
Saturday afternoon: Robert Morey (7-2, 3.60) against freshman righthander Chris Munnelly (2-1, 4.96)
Sunday afternoon: Cody Winiarski (5-0, 4.11) against junior righthander Patrick Johnson (5-3, 3.62)

With Carolina trotting out straight righthanders, it looks like John Barr can take the weekend off – with the lineup featuring Gosselin in left and Keith Werman (.470 on the year and brutalizing righties) at second likely to see more time.

This series marks the scheduled return of Franco Valdes (out most of the month following a knee procedure) for the ‘Hoos. I’ll be glad to see him back behind the plate, though John Hicks’ bat has come out of its season long hibernation with some reps behind the dish: he’s 14-35 (.400) since Franco’s surgery moved him back to part time duty at catcher. As much as Franco brings to the table on the defensive end, I wouldn’t mind seeing him eased back into the lineup – between the resurgent Hicks and the consistent Kenny Swab (.361/.537/.992, 4 HR), we’re not in bad shape at catcher or first base if Franco takes a game or two off this weekend and next. I’d rather have Franco’s clutch bat and solid D at full strength in the NCAA Tournament than at 70% at the end of the regular season.