ACC baseball tournament: UNC opens tourney play against Pittsburgh

ACC regular season champions and top-seed UNC baseball will kick off its ACC Tournament play in Charlotte on Thursday, aiming for its second title in three seasons. The Diamond Heels will play No. 12 seed Pittsburgh at 3 p.m. on Thursday and then No. 8 seed Wake Forest on Friday at 7 p.m. — which will decide the Pool A winner.

UNC’s Jason DeCaro (4-1, 3.93 ERA) is expected to earn the start alongside Pitt’s Ryan Andrade (2-3, 6.93 ERA) on Thursday. The game will be available on ACC Network, with radio coverage by Dave Nathan on 97.9 FM and 1360 AM, and streaming on Chapelboro.com.

UNC finished the regular season with a 22-8 record and recently won a series against No. 6 seed Duke, highlighted by strong performances from Casey Cook and Anthony Donofrio, and solid bullpen work. The Tar Heels hope that success carries over against Pitt — a team North Carolina has yet to beat in the ACC tournament.

After UNC-Pitt, Duke and No. 3 seed N.C. State will face off Thursday evening to determine the Pool C winner. The game is set for 7 p.m. and will be televised on ACC Network.

The Wolfpack are coming off a 19-9 routing of Virginia Tech on Wednesday, which saw N.C. State score six runs in the third and eighth innings. The Wolfpack’s 19 runs set a program record for runs scored in an ACC Tournament game.

Thursday’s games

Clemson vs. Miami, 11 a.m.: No. 2 seed Clemson (40-13), the highest seed in Pool B, kicks off ACC Tournament play against No. 11 seed Miami (26-29) on Thursday. The Hurricanes beat No. 7 seed Louisville (32-23) on Tuesday, making this a decisive game for Pool B.

North Carolina vs. Pittsburgh, 3 p.m.: In Pool A, top-seed North Carolina (41-12) needs a win over No. 12 seed Pittsburgh (26-28) to keep pace with No. 8 seed Wake Forest (37-19), who UNC plays on Friday to determine the Pool A winner.

N.C. State vs. Duke, 7 p.m. After topping Virginia Tech (32-22) on Wednesday, the Wolfpack (32-19), the top seed in Pool C, will face No. 6 seed Duke (36-18) to determine the Pool C winner on Thursday evening.

Tournament schedule

Tuesday’s results

Miami 8, Louisville 5

Florida State 12, Georgia Tech 9

Duke 11, Virginia Tech 8

Wednesday’s games

Virginia 13, Georgia Tech 0

Wake Forest 8, Pittsburgh 1

N.C. State 19, Virginia Tech, 9

Thursday’s games

Clemson vs. Miami, 11 a.m. (ACC Network)

North Carolina vs. Pittsburgh, 3 p.m. (ACC Network)

Duke vs. N.C. State, 7 p.m. (ACC Network)

Friday’s games

Florida State vs. Virginia, 11 a.m. (ACC Network)

Clemson vs. Louisville, 3 p.m. (ACC Network)

Wake Forest vs. North Carolina, 7 p.m. (ACC Network)

Saturday’s games

Semifinals, 1 and 5 p.m. (ACC Network)

Sunday’s game

Championship, noon (ESPN2)

Pool standings