The North Carolina Tar Heels enjoyed a hard-fought weekend on the baseball diamond, taking two out of three games from archrival Duke inside Boshamer Stadium.
UNC (24-8, 8-7 ACC) barely squeaked by the Blue Devils (21-12, 8-7) on Thursday, 4-3, then struggled in a 9-4 loss Friday. North Carolina blew a 3-run lead in the top of the ninth inning Saturday, but Alex Madera played hero and drove in the winning run five innings later.
The 2025 Diamond Heels may not have the star power of years' past, but they're finding ways to win ballgames. One day it'll be a vintage pitching performance from Jake Knapp, the other day it'll be an offensive explosion from Hunter Stokely.
Thanks to its 3-win week, UNC climbed one spot – to 13th – in the April 7 USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. North Carolina is one spot ahead of 2-time College World Series Champion Vanderbilt, plus one spot behind Auburn.
Arkansas rises to the top of the USA TODAY Sports baseball poll this week.
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) April 7, 2025
The Razorbacks supplant Tennessee at the top spot and are followed by Texas and LSU.
Full rankings ➡ https://t.co/u3Mex7iDPUpic.twitter.com/kQqLeXWVY5
The Diamond Heels only beat Duke twice over the weekend, but previously pitched a no-hitter in an 11-1 win over Gardner-Webb on April 1 (no, that's not an April Fool's joke).
UNC heads just under an hour west on Tuesday, April 8 for a 6 p.m. first pitch with in-state rival Elon, then returns to Boshamer Stadium Thursday for a 3-game weekend series against Wake Forest. North Carolina will be tested by the Demon Deacons (23-10, 9-6), who sit a game ahead in the ACC standings.
Just how far can the
Topics in this Story
