The UNC baseball team released its 2018 schedule on Friday afternoon, with the Tar Heels slated to face nine teams that participated in last year’s NCAA Tournament.

Head coach Mike Fox and company will take on two of last season’s College World Series participants as well, in ACC opponents Florida State and Louisville.

A road series in Tampa against South Florida (Feb. 16-18) will begin the new season for the Tar Heels, who are coming off an incredible season in which they earned the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament before a disappointing first-round exit.

UNC will then return for its home opener at Boshamer Stadium on Tuesday, Feb. 20 against UNC-Wilmington, before a unique home-neutral-away series against East Carolina.

The Tar Heels and Pirates will play Friday, Feb. 23 in Greenville, Saturday, Feb. 24 at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and Sunday, Feb. 25 in Chapel Hill.

Another highlight of the schedule includes a pair of games at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte.

The first will come on Tuesday, March 27 against the Charlotte 49ers. A week after that, UNC will continue its rivalry with South Carolina at the same venue–the third straight year the teams have played at the home of the Triple-A Charlotte Knights.

A three-game set in Raleigh against NC State (April 27-29) is also on the docket, but the longtime rivals have also scheduled a fourth game this season–a midweek contest on Tuesday, April 17 at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

This year’s ACC Baseball Tournament is also scheduled to make a return to Durham, running from May 22-27.

“Our players are excited about the opportunity to compete against one of the toughest schedules I can remember,” Fox said. “We will be traveling more than ever this season. And, as always, our 30 league games will be very challenging as the ACC will once again be one of the nation’s toughest conferences.
“Playing two games each at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte and Durham Bulls Athletic Park during the regular season is a first but will be a lot of fun for our team,” the coach added. “We look forward to the season.”

For the full 2018 UNC baseball schedule, click here.

 

 

Photo via Wade Payne (TheACC.com)