It all comes down to this for the UNC baseball team.

Three games in Raleigh against its fiercest rival—the No. 13 NC State Wolfpack—with its season on the line.

Currently sitting ninth in the tight ACC standings—tied with Duke and just one game ahead in the win column over Boston College and Notre Dame—the Tar Heels find themselves in a bit of a tricky position, able to finish anywhere between fifth and 13th.

The top 10 teams make the conference tournament, so if UNC (33-19, 12-15 ACC) was to end up on the outside looking in–its NCAA Tournament chances would likely go up in smoke as well.

Zack Gahagan has been a solid contributor at the plate for UNC this season, but his defense has gotten more attention in recent games. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

Zack Gahagan has been a solid contributor at the plate for UNC this season, but his defense has gotten more attention in recent games. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

Should the Tar Heels advance to postseason play, anything is possible given the unpredictable nature of baseball.

Their head coach, Mike Fox, reiterated that message in an email to his team this past Sunday.

“Everything’s still in play for us,” Fox said. “An ACC Tournament title, an NCAA bid, winning a regional—it’s all still in play for us.

“[The email] was just to remind them–it is what it is ,” the coach added. “We have to win.”

But here’s the thing.

Fox was adamant after Monday’s win over Notre Dame that his players don’t need any extra motivation this weekend—saying it’s always fun playing against the “ornery” Wolfpack and their head coach Elliott Avent, who will be making his return to the field after missing three games due to a copperhead bite.

UNC sophomore infielder Zack Gahagan admitted it can be hard to keep the blinders on at times–in terms of checking out the standings—but said he and his teammates will be up to the challenge.

“It’s the rivalry, so I mean we’re ready to go,” Gahagan said. “We try not to think too much about the standings and stuff like that, but obviously it’s there.

“But it’s NC State, and we’re gonna bring what we got,” he continued. “It’s gonna be hostile, but I think it’ll be a good series.”

NC State has a lineup full of great hitters, including sophomore Joe Dunand--the nephew of New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez. (Backingthepack.com)

NC State has a lineup full of great hitters, including sophomore Joe Dunand–the nephew of New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez. (Backingthepack.com)

To take care of business against the Wolfpack, the Tar Heels will have to stay calm at the plate in order to help their talented pitching staff.

Last Saturday, JB Bukauskas was brilliant on the mound, only for UNC’s offense to back him with just one run on three hits.

UNC freshman third baseman Kyle Datres, who went 3-for-4 with a home run on Monday, also acknowledged that the Tar Heels haven’t exactly given their ace—junior Zac Gallen—the best run support in his series opening starts.

That can’t happen against an NC State squad hitting .303 as a team if the Tar Heels expect to come out on top.

“We know our pitchers,” Datres said. “They’re gonna go out there and give it all they got. Us, as hitters, we just gotta keep doing our thing and our jobs winning at-bats.

“We’ve gotta put hits together. Not one an inning. Try to put a couple hits together. That’s what we did [Monday], and we’ll keep it going I’m pretty sure.”

Anyone who’s seen the video of the dugout dancing routine from Monday can see that the team is feeling loose and gaining confidence at the right time. Fox often says that winning and confidence are closely related, but as for the pressure many of his players have spoken about recently—he’s not buying it as an excuse.

“I believe in confidence,” Fox said. “I’ll be surprised if Kyle Datres doesn’t go over to NC State and have some good at-bats. That’s just the way that it works.

Freshman Kyle Datres reignited the Tar Heel offense on Monday with his 3-for-4 performance in an 8-1 win over Notre Dame. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

Freshman Kyle Datres reignited the Tar Heel offense on Monday with his 3-for-4 performance in an 8-1 win over Notre Dame. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

“I haven’t ever sensed our dugout really being uptight to where I felt like it was affecting our performance,” he continued. “I just don’t think, at times, that we’ve been very good.”

While the Tar Heels may not agree with their coach’s blunt assessment, they certainly realize that it’s in their past.

As far as they’re concerned, their slate is clean and the postseason starts now.

Leave it to Datres, the excitable freshman, to best put it in perspective.

“I mean, it’s State,” he said, matter of factly. “It doesn’t matter. The standings go out the door when we play State.

“We just wanna win.”

Broadcast Information:

All three games in the series will be broadcast on WCHL’s airwaves.

The series is set to begin Thursday at 6:00 p.m. Friday’s game will start at 6:30, while Saturday’s regular season finale is scheduled for 1:00.

Series Notes:

  • UNC has scored just three runs per game in Zac Gallen’s last six starts.
  • NC State (32-17, 13-12 ACC) enters having lost six of its past seven conference games.
  • The Tar Heels won last season’s series at Boshamer Stadium with wins in the first two games.