The Diamond Heels kicked off their ACC Tournament play with a mercy rule win over Boston College on Thursday. Carolina was supposed to get things started against the Eagles on Wednesday before rain forced a delay.
Tiebreaker rules made yesterday’s game meaningless, as Boston College had already been eliminated with their loss to NC State on Tuesday. Tonight’s game has much higher stakes for the Tar Heels. The winner will advance to Saturday’s semi-final to face No. 6 Miami.
Carolina is set up well for must-win games, being able to throw ace J.B. Bukauskas and Luca Dalatri on back-to-back days. Being able to save those guys for this weekend was a huge perk of being such a high seed in the tournament.
The offense was definitely firing on all cylinders in the win over BC. The team scored ten runs in seven innings to end the game via the mercy rule. Carolina beat up on Boston College in every game they played this season, scoring double digit runs in every win.
NC State finished their regular season with 13 wins in their final 15 games. The Wolfpack should definitely be a good test for UNC with strong pitching to back up their offense. Johnny Piedmonte and Joe O’Donnell have been excellent for State on the mound.
Barring any more rain, the game will be televised on FOX Sports South at 7:00 pm or online at ACC Network Extra. Go Heels!