BY UNC ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
PITTSBURGH --- No. 3 North Carolina returns to Atlantic Coast Conference play Friday when the Tar Heels visit Pittsburgh at 6 p.m. for the first of three at Cost Field. Carolina is 29-8 and 14-4 in league competition after taking two of three from NC State last weekend in Chapel Hill. Pitt is 16-18 and 7-11 in the ACC after dropping two of three at home to Miami last weekend.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday • 6 p.m. UNC - RHP J.B. Bukauskas (6-0, 1.40 ERA) PITT - LHP Josh Mitchell (1-3, 3.80 ERA)
Saturday • 3 p.m. UNC - RHP Gianluca Dalatri (4-2, 2.39 ERA) PITT - RHP Josh Falk (3-4, 2.55 ERA)
Sunday • Noon UNC - TBA PITT - RHP Dan Hammer (0-3, 4.04 ERA)
AT A GLANCE
Records: North Carolina 29-8 (14-4 ACC), Pitt 16-18 (7-11 ACC)
Rankings: North Carolina is ranked in all of the national polls, with a high of No. 3. Pitt is unranked.
Video: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Audio: GoHeels.comhttp://es.pn/2nIHYq9?SPID=12960&DB_OEM_ID=3350
On The Web: GoHeels.com • Twitter: @DiamondHeels
NORTH CAROLINA-PITT SERIES HISTORY
• Carolina is 5-4 all-time against Pittsburgh, with all nine games coming in the last three seasons.
• Friday begins just the fourth series between Carolina and Pitt in the two programs’ collective history. The two schools had never met in baseball prior to the 2014 season, Pitt’s first in the ACC.
• UNC took two of three in Chapel Hill last season, the ACC opener for both teams. Carolina won 14-2 and 4-0 before Pitt took the finale 5-0.
• Pitt scored a series win over the Tar Heels the last time the two programs met in Pittsburgh. The Panthers won a slugfest 12-9 in the opener before Carolina took the middle game 3-1. Pitt secured the series win with a 3-2 victory in 10 innings in the Sunday finale.
• Carolina took two of three in 2014 in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels took both games of a doubleheader from the Panthers before Pitt won the series finale 6-4.
QUICK HITS
• Carolina ranks first in the ACC and fourth nationally in pitching with a staff ERA of 2.60.
• With two wins against NC State over the weekend, UNC has won its first six ACC series for the first time the 2013 squad claimed seven straight series victories to open conference play.
• The Tar Heels established a new school record for runs in a three-game ACC series by scoring 48 times in the sweep at BC. The previous mark was 45 at Duke in 2002. The 20-5 win over South Carolina pushed the four-game total to 68 runs, the most over four games since 1987.
• UNC started ACC play with series wins over divisional foes Virginia, Georgia Tech and Miami. This marks the first time the Tar Heels have won series against those three in the same season since 2009.
• The Tar Heels swept Florida State for the second time in program history and the first time ever in Tallahassee.
• Redshirt freshman closer Josh Hiatt has 10 saves, third in the ACC and eighth-most nationally. Hiatt is already tied for eighth on the UNC single-season saves list.
• Junior J.B. Bukauskas ranks in the top 10 nationally in strikeouts (sixth, 81) and hits allowed per nine innings (eighth, 4.97). He was named to the D1Baseball and Rawlings/Perfect Game Midseason All-America first teams, earning Midseason Top Pitcher honors from D1Baseball.
• Freshman Gianluca Dalatri leads the ACC in innings pitched with 60.1 in nine starts, an average of almost seven innings per outing.
• Carolina allowed five runs or fewer in each of the first 23 games of the 2017 season. That was the longest such streak in 106 seasons. The Tar Heels went 25 straight without allowing more than five across the 1910 and 1911 campaigns.
Weekend Notes (PDF)
PITTSBURGH --- No. 3 North Carolina returns to Atlantic Coast Conference play Friday when the Tar Heels visit Pittsburgh at 6 p.m. for the first of three at Cost Field. Carolina is 29-8 and 14-4 in league competition after taking two of three from NC State last weekend in Chapel Hill. Pitt is 16-18 and 7-11 in the ACC after dropping two of three at home to Miami last weekend.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday • 6 p.m. UNC - RHP J.B. Bukauskas (6-0, 1.40 ERA) PITT - LHP Josh Mitchell (1-3, 3.80 ERA)
Saturday • 3 p.m. UNC - RHP Gianluca Dalatri (4-2, 2.39 ERA) PITT - RHP Josh Falk (3-4, 2.55 ERA)
Sunday • Noon UNC - TBA PITT - RHP Dan Hammer (0-3, 4.04 ERA)
AT A GLANCE
Records: North Carolina 29-8 (14-4 ACC), Pitt 16-18 (7-11 ACC)
Rankings: North Carolina is ranked in all of the national polls, with a high of No. 3. Pitt is unranked.
Video: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Audio: GoHeels.comhttp://es.pn/2nIHYq9?SPID=12960&DB_OEM_ID=3350
On The Web: GoHeels.com • Twitter: @DiamondHeels
NORTH CAROLINA-PITT SERIES HISTORY
• Carolina is 5-4 all-time against Pittsburgh, with all nine games coming in the last three seasons.
• Friday begins just the fourth series between Carolina and Pitt in the two programs’ collective history. The two schools had never met in baseball prior to the 2014 season, Pitt’s first in the ACC.
• UNC took two of three in Chapel Hill last season, the ACC opener for both teams. Carolina won 14-2 and 4-0 before Pitt took the finale 5-0.
• Pitt scored a series win over the Tar Heels the last time the two programs met in Pittsburgh. The Panthers won a slugfest 12-9 in the opener before Carolina took the middle game 3-1. Pitt secured the series win with a 3-2 victory in 10 innings in the Sunday finale.
• Carolina took two of three in 2014 in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels took both games of a doubleheader from the Panthers before Pitt won the series finale 6-4.
QUICK HITS
• Carolina ranks first in the ACC and fourth nationally in pitching with a staff ERA of 2.60.
• With two wins against NC State over the weekend, UNC has won its first six ACC series for the first time the 2013 squad claimed seven straight series victories to open conference play.
• The Tar Heels established a new school record for runs in a three-game ACC series by scoring 48 times in the sweep at BC. The previous mark was 45 at Duke in 2002. The 20-5 win over South Carolina pushed the four-game total to 68 runs, the most over four games since 1987.
• UNC started ACC play with series wins over divisional foes Virginia, Georgia Tech and Miami. This marks the first time the Tar Heels have won series against those three in the same season since 2009.
• The Tar Heels swept Florida State for the second time in program history and the first time ever in Tallahassee.
• Redshirt freshman closer Josh Hiatt has 10 saves, third in the ACC and eighth-most nationally. Hiatt is already tied for eighth on the UNC single-season saves list.
• Junior J.B. Bukauskas ranks in the top 10 nationally in strikeouts (sixth, 81) and hits allowed per nine innings (eighth, 4.97). He was named to the D1Baseball and Rawlings/Perfect Game Midseason All-America first teams, earning Midseason Top Pitcher honors from D1Baseball.
• Freshman Gianluca Dalatri leads the ACC in innings pitched with 60.1 in nine starts, an average of almost seven innings per outing.
• Carolina allowed five runs or fewer in each of the first 23 games of the 2017 season. That was the longest such streak in 106 seasons. The Tar Heels went 25 straight without allowing more than five across the 1910 and 1911 campaigns.
Weekend Notes (PDF)
