Tar Heels face ECU in series this weekend
College baseball returns to Segra Stadium in downtown Fayetteville this weekend.
UNC baseball and ECU, a pair of top-15 teams in the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll, play at 2 p.m. Saturday.
The 15th-ranked Tar Heels (4-0) and 12th-ranked Pirates (3-1) start a three-game series Friday at 4 p.m. in Chapel Hill before the series shifts to Fayetteville for Game 2 and Greenville for the final game of the series.
Fans can purchase standing-room tickets at milb.com/fayetteville/ tickets/special-tickets or by visiting the Truist Box Office at Segra Stadium. Tickets are $9 for seniors (60 or older) and children (ages 3-12), and $15 for everyone else.
The first game of the series will be streaming on ACC Network Extra and the third game will stream on ESPN Plus. GoHeels.com and 94.3 FM in Greenville will have radio coverage of Saturday’s game in Fayetteville.
UNC has a 59-32 record against ECU, but the Pirates have won three of the last four in the series.
ECU played at Segra Stadium in 2023, losing 2-1 against Campbell. Here are some things to know about the Tar Heels and Pirates ahead of Saturday’s top-15 showdown at Segra.
ECU’s Parker Byrd has best story in college baseball
ECU’s Parker Byrd provided the best moment of the season in the opening week of the season. Byrd, who had part of his right leg amputated following a boating accident in 2022, made his collegiate debut on Feb. 16 in a 16-2 win against Rider. Believed to be the first NCAA Division I baseball player to play in a game with a prosthetic leg, the Laurinburg native drew a walk.
UNC’s Vance Honeycutt is Tar Heels’ headliner
The sixth-ranked prospect on MLB.com, UNC outfielder Vance Honeycutt is the headliner in Saturday’s game at Segra Stadium. Honeycutt, the reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year, is one of two players in UNC history to reach 40 home runs and 50 steals. The junior from Salisbury had a .296 batting average with 25 homers and 57 RBIs last season.
ECU’s Zach Root, UNC’s Dalton Pence were winning pitchers in opening weekend
ECU left-hander Zach Root was the Saturday starter in the Pirates’ opening series against Rider. Root, a preseason All-AAC selection, pitched 4 2⁄3 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in a 7-0 win on Feb. 17. UNC southpaw Dalton Pence didn’t start in UNC’s 16-5 against Wagner on Feb. 17, but Pence got the win in relief of senior Ben Peterson. Pence, a redshirt sophomore, had five strikeouts in 3 2⁄3 scoreless innings. Any of the three pitchers above could get time on the mound at Segra Stadium.
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.