CHAPEL HILL — Visits from Atlantic Coast Conference foes Louisville, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame as well as a pair of Power 5 non-conference series highlight the 2016 North Carolina baseball schedule as announced Friday by head coach Mike Fox. The Tar Heels, who will host 34 games at Boshamer Stadium, open the campaign at UCLA before returning to Chapel Hill to face Oklahoma State.
Following the program’s first trip to the west coast since 2011, Carolina will open its 2016 home schedule with the first of three against Oklahoma State on Feb. 26. That kicks off an 11-game homestand featuring series with Fairfield (March 4-6) and Pittsburgh (March 11-13) as well as midweek contests against Winthrop (March 2) and Gardner-Webb (March 8).
The Pitt series will mark the third consecutive season with the ACC opener at Boshamer Stadium after starting on the road every year from 2010-13. Other ACC opponents to visit Chapel Hill are Georgia Tech (March 24-26), Virginia Tech (April 8-10), Louisville (May 6-8) and Notre Dame (May 13-14, 16).
Two of the five home ACC series will feature non-traditional schedules. The Georgia Tech series will be played Thursday through Saturday to allow for Easter Sunday off and the Notre Dame series will be Friday, Saturday and Monday, with Sunday available in case of inclement weather.
In addition to 34 home games, fans will be treated to another 12 contests within the boundaries of the Old North State. That total includes ACC road series at Duke (March 18-20 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park), Wake Forest (April 22-24) and NC State (May 19-21) as well as the first of a two-year series with South Carolina in Charlotte (April 12). Familiar in-state foes East Carolina (March 15) and UNCW (May 11) will also host the Tar Heels.
Road trips to ACC Coastal rivals Miami (April 1-3) and Virginia (April 15-17) round out the road slate. Carolina will also host Elon (March 16), Western Carolina (March 22), Davidson (March 29), High Point (April 5), UNC Asheville (April 6), Coastal Carolina (April 19), William & Mary (April 20), UNCW (April 26), Campbell (April 27), VCU (May 3) and East Carolina (May 10).
As always, this year’s schedule is subject to change based on the selection of games by the league’s television partners. Any changes to the dates and times of contests will be announced as soon as possible on GoHeels.com.
The 2016 ACC Baseball Championship will be held at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, N.C., May 24-29. NCAA play begins the following weekend with campus sites hosting regional action June 3-6.
