It’s an unusual season for unusual times. And after one nonconference series plus one midweek game, it’s already time for ACC play.

To add to the mix, this series will begin on a Thursday instead of the typical Friday start for a weekend series.

Playing 36 league games instead of 30 (12 series vs 10 series) necessitates beginning the conference season earlier than normal. In the long run, it will make the 2021 season more interesting. But it will also make it more difficult to run up inflated win totals.

Well, maybe that’s not such a bad thing either. The cream will rise to the top.

To begin ACC play, UVA will hit the road for Chapel Hill and rival North Carolina. After an easy win over VMI, the Hoos will hit town with a two-game winning streak. The Tarheels are currently undefeated.

Team Records

Virginia: 3-1 (Overall), 0-0 (ACC)

North Carolina 4-0 (Overall), 0-0 (ACC)

Game Schedule

Thursday, February 25: 4:00 PM

Friday, February 26: 3:30 PM

Saturday, February 27: 2:00 PM

Stat Comparison

The format will be raw stat and then rank in Division 1. Info is as of games played on February 24.

Batting

OBP = On Base Percentage

SLG = Slugging Percentage

Pitching

K/9 = Strikeouts Per 9 Innings

BB/9 = Walks Per 9 Innings

Note that all stats are from NCAA.com.

Projected Starting Pitchers

Thursday

UNC RHP Austin Love (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts) vs UVA LHP Andrew Abbott (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5.2 IP, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts)

Love was a Second Team Freshman All-American at D1 Baseball following the 2019 season. During that season, he posted a 8-4 record and an ERA of 3.09 in 67.0 innings pitched. The 67.0 innings were third on the Tarheels while his ERA was best on the team. Opposing batters only hit .216 against Love that season. He made 36 appearances in 2019, all out of the bullpen.

Despite pitching exclusively out of the bullpen, Love led UNC in wins with 8. His 5 saves were also tops on the Tarheels.

During the abbreviated 2020 season, Love made 8 appearances. Again, all of his appearances were in relief. He posted a 1-0 record and 6.75 ERA in 14.2 innings pitched. In those 14.2 innings, Love struck out 14 batters.

Last weekend, Love made his first career start in UNC’s season opening 8 to 1 win over James Madison.

During the 2019 season, Love made two relief appearances against the Hoos in the series played in Chapel Hill.

During the series opener, a 12 to 5 UVA win, Love was credited with the loss in 0.2 innings pitched. He gave up 2 hits and 3 runs (all unearned) while walking 1, hitting 1 batter, and striking out 1.

In the series finale, a 5 to 4 UNC victory, Love earned the save after 1.2 innings of relief. He gave up 1 hit, no runs, no walks, hit 1 batter, and struck out 1.

Expect Love to make ample use of his changeup as it’s reported to be one of the best in college baseball.

Friday

UNC RHP Max Carlson (1-0, 2.70 ERA, 6.2 IP, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts) vs RHP Griff McGarry (0-0, 4.50 ERA, 4.0 IP, 3 walks, 9 strikeouts)

Carlson is a true freshman from Savage, Minnesota. According to Perfect Game, Carlson was ranked the number 38 recruit in the 2020 class. He’ll feature a low 90s fastball and curve that he’ll try to back door to left handed batters.

This will be Carlson’s first appearance against the Hoos.

Saturday

UNC RHP Max Alba (1-0, 3.60 ERA, 5.0 IP, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts) vs UVA RHP Mike Vasil (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, no walks, 6 strikeouts)

Alba is a redshirt freshman for UNC. He sat out the 2019 season, but was able to squeeze in 10.1 innings of work in 5 appearances during the 2020 season. He made 2 starts and came in for relief 3 times. In those 10.1 innings, Alba posted a 1-0 record and 6.97 ERA. He also struck out 9 batters.

This will be Alba’s first appearance against UVA.

Weather Forecast (Courtesy of Weather.com)

Sunny skies and lower 60s temps should greet both teams to start Thursday’s series opener. Throughout the game, temps will drop into the lower 50s. Winds should not be an issue during the game.

For Friday’s contest, rain is currently in the forecast. At the scheduled start time of 3:30, there’s currently a 43% chance of rain. Temps are projected to be in the mid 40s. Those temps should persist throughout the game. The chance of rain only increases during the game. Winds again are not expected to be a factor.

Saturday’s series finale shows improving weather as Friday’s projected rain tapers off in the morning. Temps will be warmer as well with the forecast showing highs in the lower 60s. Winds should not be a factor here either.

Media Coverage

Each game features streaming via ACC Network Xtra. The stream can be accessed via your favorite ESPN streaming platform. However, it does require that your content provider have ACC Network in its broadcast lineup.

The games on Thursday and Friday will also feature radio coverage via WINA. The radio broadcast is streamed on WINA.com. It can be heard over the air in the Charlottesville market on 98.9 FM or 1070 AM.

Tarheel To Watch

JUCO Bandit Justice Thompson joined the UNC program last year from Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Florida. But this is his first season in competition for the Heels. At 6-4 and 205 pounds, the athletic center fielder profiles as the type of player that would be at home on the UVA roster.

In just four games in Chapel Hill, Thompson has established himself as a leader of the UNC offensive attack. The sophomore leads the Tarheels in hits (7), batting average (.467), on base percentage (tied, .529), doubles (tied, 2), and runs scored (tied, 4). He’s second in slugging percentage (.833), OPS (1.329), and home runs (1, tied).

Justice Thompson joins Caleb Roberts and Tyler Causey in the 2021 @DiamondHeels 400+ ft HR club with this swing from the 5th inning today. Even with a launch angle of just 22 degrees, it still traveled 408 feet ? https://t.co/HjcE3j7Gue pic.twitter.com/1X4cznsEl1

— Jake Oringel (@jakeo_18) February 20, 2021

Other ACC Action

As the league kicks off conference play this weekend, here are the other series scheduled. Louisville and Clemson will be playing out of conference again.

Western Illinois (0-0) at Louisville (4-0)

Georgia Tech (3-1) at NC State (2-1)

Boston College (3-0) at Duke (1-2)

South Carolina (4-0) at Clemson (3-0)

Notre Dame (0-0) at Wake Forest (2-2)

Pitt (3-1) at Florida State (2-1)

Virginia Tech (3-0) at Miami (2-1)

Prediction

This is a transition season for North Carolina baseball, but it’s still one where the Tarheels expect to compete and win each weekend.

The Heels were surprisingly average during the abbreviated 2020 season as they posted a 12-7 record. That included a 0-3 record in ACC play courtesy of an unexpected sweep at the hands of Notre Dame.

The early offseason was not kind to the Tarheels either as star Aaron Sabato took the MLB money after being drafted 27th overall by the Minnesota Twins as a draft eligible sophomore. Sabato received a $2.75 million signing bonus. And no one can realistically blame him for taking that opportunity instead of coming back to school for another year of college baseball.

Then, legendary coach Mike Fox retired in August after 22 seasons at the helm of UNC baseball. Fox guided UNC to 948 wins, 7 College World Series appearances, and College World Series runner up status in 2006 and 2007.

The transition was smooth for UNC, however, as longtime Fox assistant Scott Forbes was named the successor in the same press release that announced Fox’s retirement. Forbes was on the UNC coaching staff for the prior 19 seasons.

The Heels then welcomed a promising recruiting class onto campus to go along with a mix of veterans that are undeniably talented. But do they have the right mix of experience and talent to compete in a brutal ACC? That remains to be seen as evidenced by league coaches picking the Heels to finish 5th in the Coastal and 10th overall in the ACC.

UNC is out to a quick 4-0 start with a weekend sweep of James Madison and a midweek win over Elon. Elon was picked third in the CAA’s South Division and 5th overall in the 9 team conference’s preseason coaches poll. JMU was picked 4th in the CAA’s South Division and 6th overall. But other than the game one win over James Madison, the wins have not been dominant.

UVA, on the other hand, challenged themselves in the season opening series against NCAA tournament regular, and Big East favorite, UCONN. The Huskies are not an elite squad, but they’re clearly a good team that was a worthy challenge for the Hoos.

I think the UCONN challenge likely has UVA ahead of the Heels at this point in the year. And UVA’s experience, especially in the starting rotation, as compared to UNC should make a big difference here.

UVA has not won a series against UNC since a 2015 sweep in Chapel Hill. I believe that ends this weekend. I’m tempted to pick a sweep like I did last weekend, but will be happy with just a series win. And right now, that’s where I’m leaning as the Hoos still have a few kinks to work out as well.

UVA wins the series 2 to 1.