Diamond Heels Regular Season Finale Looms Large

With one series remaining in the regular season, North Carolina looks to take down #7 Clemson.

Sitting at 33-18 (14-11) the Diamond Heels are peaking at the right time. A staple for Tar Heel teams under former head coach Mike Fox, Scott Forbes has his guys rolling in May. After beginning the month with a loss to #13 Campbell, the Diamond Heels traveled to Greenville to knock off then #14 ECU. They followed that game with a win over Gardner-Webb, before sweeping NCAA bubble hopeful N.C. State.

On Tuesday the Heels dropped a close game to #8 Coastal Carolina. They were missing starters Vance Honeycutt, Jackson Van De Brake, Thomas Frick and Johnny Castagnozzi to a one game suspension coming from an incident in the Gardner-Webb game. Luckily, the loss only dropped the Tar Heels one spot in the RPI rankings.

Tigers on Fire

After a rough start to the season, the Clemson Tigers have been red hot for the last month. Since April 15th, the Tigers are 16-2. Ranked #7, Clemson looks like a lock to host a regional. They currently hold a record of 36-17 (17-10.) On the season, Clemson is hitting .306 and scoring a lot of runs.

Can the Heels Host a regional?

If the Tar Heels win this series, there is a chance. Ranked #25 in the RPI, the Heels need a series win, preferably a sweep over the Tigers for a chance at hosting. This combined with a run in the ACC Tournament could push North Carolina into a favorable spot when brackets are announced on May 29th. It would likely take making it to the semi-finals of the tournament to host but with the way the Heels are playing coupled with what they did last year in the ACC Tournament, fans should be optimistic.

This series has huge implications for two schools that are hitting their stride at the right time. Some more May Magic from the Heels may just do the job.