This weekend, inside the walls of Boshamer Stadium, the heart of the college baseball season is set to begin, as head coach Mike Fox and his Tar Heels welcome their arch-rivals, the NC State Wolfpack, into town for a three-game ACC series with the potential to “make-or-break” the season for both teams.

UNC is currently 20-13, with a 7-8 record in ACC play, while the Wolfpack are 19-12 and 7-7 inside the conference.

This crucial series is a match-up between two rivals who are both underachieving right now, but are also just two seasons removed from their last College World Series appearances. Although records can be thrown out the window any time these teams meet, no matter how similar they are, says UNC head coach Mike Fox.

Tyler Ramirez is 8-14 with seven RBI over the last three games for UNC, all victories. (UNC Athletics)

Tyler Ramirez is 8-14 with seven RBI over the last three games for UNC, all victories. (UNC Athletics)

“It just happens to be us and State [this weekend], and we’ve pretty much had similar seasons so far,” Fox says, “Some good mid-week wins, some bad mid-week losses, a series where [we] thought [we] had it, and [we] didn’t.”

“But it really won’t matter when they come in here, as we’ve seen in the past. None of that matters. It’s a great rivalry.”

In addition, Fox says that he’ll be interested to see if his weekend starting pitchers are able to take advantage of some good match-ups with the heavy hitting NC State line-up.

“They’ve got a lot of right handed hitters,” he says, adding that “I know Palmeiro’s in there [as a lefty], but maybe that helps us a little bit, with all three of our starters being right-handed.”

The man Fox mentioned is NC State sophomore first baseman Preston Palmeiro, the only full-time lefty in the Pack’s batting order, and also the son of former Major League power hitter Rafael Palmeiro. So far in 2015 he’s hit for an impressive .378 average, tacking on three home runs as well.

Famous bloodlines don’t stop there for the Wolfpack, as freshman infielder Joe Dunand, who’s hit four home runs, and started in all but three of NC State’s games this year, is also the nephew of the New York Yankees’ embattled slugger Alex Rodriguez.

But when it comes down to how these games will be won or lost on the field, rivalry match-ups, such as these, typically come down to the final innings, where a crucial play late in the game can make all the difference.

NC State freshman infielder Joe Dunand bears an uncanny resemblance to his uncle, New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez. (GoPack.com)

NC State freshman infielder Joe Dunand bears an uncanny resemblance to his uncle, New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez. (GoPack.com)

And if the Tar Heels find themselves holding on to a slim lead at the end, you can bet your house that you’ll see senior Trevor Kelley head to the mound. The Wilmington native holds a 1.94 ERA, leads the NCAA in relief appearances with 24, and is second on the team in innings pitched (41.2), behind only one starting pitcher (JB Bukauskas with 47.1).

To his credit, Kelley insists that he is in fact, a human, saying that “It’s fairly new to me. I just had a bone spur taken out earlier this year, and I’m still used to [thinking] ‘When’s the day coming where my arm’s gonna hurt?'”

Coach Fox says he credits Kelley’s unique side-winding release with helping his durability, but also adds that he’s not sure when, or if, Kelley’s arm will fall off pitching at this current rate.

“If his arm falls off, you can blame Coach Forbes,” Fox says with a chuckle.

“But Trevor’s in great physical condition, and of course he’s not throwing from that [overhand] arm slot up there, so the key with him is his lat. If his lat gets sore, he can’t get that extension out there and get his slider over the plate, and he gets hit.”

After pitching two more scoreless innings on Wednesday against Liberty, Kelley decided to spill the beans about the real secret to his success.

“Our training staff has these Cherry Bundy drinks, I don’t know it’s like 50 cherries in one drink, and I just crush those,” Kelley says.

“They work for me. It might be a superstition type thing. I’ll take one for the morning and I’ll drink one when I leave the stadium.”

Trevor Kelley's sidearm release has contributed to his durability this year. (UNC Athletics)

Trevor Kelley’s sidearm release has contributed to his durability this year. (UNC Athletics)

As for the Tar Heels top hitter as of late, right-fielder Tyler Ramirez, it seems Coach Fox’s own superstitious side prevents him from being able to say anything about Ramirez, or his recent hot streak.

“I’m not superstitious at all, but I don’t want to talk about Tyler Ramirez,” said the coach after Wednesday’s victory over Liberty.

“I’m not talking about Tyler Ramirez… I’m not gonna talk about Ramirez, because if he’s starting to heat up, I ain’t… I’m sorta kidding, but that’s how Tyler’s been.”

Over the last three games, all Carolina victories, Ramirez has gone a combined 8-14 with seven RBI. He also holds the team lead (or a share of it) in RBI (29), triples (three), home runs (four), and total bases (54), while being one of only two players on the team to start all 33 games (along with shortstop Logan Warmoth).

Crowds at Boshamer Stadium are expected to be the biggest of the year, with Friday and Saturday’s games already sold out. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Zac Gallen (1-2, 3.57 ERA) is the likely starting pitcher for UNC, and right-hander Cory Wilder (2-4, 3.19 ERA) will be on the mound for the Wolfpack.

The Tar Heels are 158-128-1 all-time against NC State, including a 27-22 record under Mike Fox.

Friday’s game will be televised on ESPNU, and all three games will be broadcast live on WCHL’s airwaves.