Game Thread | Notre Dame at No. 13 North Carolina

Notre Dame (15-15, 2-13) at No. 13 North Carolina (26-7, 11-4)

When: April 12th

Time: 6:00 PM ET 

Where: Bryson Field at Boshamer Stadium

Watch: ACC Network Extra 

QUICK FACTS

- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 13-9 

- The Irish are 4-2 when playing in Chapel Hill

- North Carolina took last season’s series 2-1 as the Irish won game three 9-1. 

- The Tar Heels enter the weekend 11-4 in ACC play sit at the top of the ACC Coastal. Notre Dame’s 2-13 record in ACC play is last in the Atlantic Division and in the conference. 

PROBABLE STARTERS

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

WHAT TO WATCH

Another ACC series means another top 25 opponent for Notre Dame. This weekend, it's No. 13 North Carolina and it’s the first time in Chapel Hill for the Irish since 2020 when the Irish swept the Tar Heels in the final series before the season was shutdown. 

Notre Dame’s pitching will need to come ready to play this weekend. North Carolina is one of two teams in the nation with three players who have hit at least 36 home runs in their careers. Vance Honeycutt (47) and Alberto Osuna (39) should be familiar names to Notre Dame fans, while Parks Harber, a Georgia transfer, leads UNC in home runs this year with 11. Harber enters the weekend on a 10-game hitting streak and has seven multi-hit games in 2024. 

It’s a lineup that has the power to score quickly, so Notre Dame has to start efficiently and can’t play catch up, which has happened too frequently in ACC play. 

Notre Dame will also get to face one of the top relievers in the country in RHP Matthew Mattijs (3.48 ERA) as he’s made 19 appearances for the Tar Heels this season. He holds a record of 11-2 with no starts and has struck out 31 batters on the year in 31 innings. 

Irish second baseman Estevan Moreno was hit in the face during warmups on Wednesday, but we’re told it wasn’t a serious injury. Moreno has been the hottest bat in the Irish lineup as he’s batting .326 with 12 doubles, seven home runs and 26 RBI on the year. 

Batting hasn’t been a strong suit, but Notre Dame has also done enough to win games too. The Irish are still last in the ACC in batting average and have struck out the fifth-most in the conference. Notre Dame has to get ahead in counts and that’s something that simply hasn’t happened recently. 

North Carolina’s pitching staff shouldn’t overwhelm the Irish, but they also don’t give up runs. The Tar Heels holds the ACC’s fourth-best ERA, but they sit at No. 9 in the conference in strikeouts. Notre Dame has to move runners when they get on base this weekend, plain and simple. 

It’s very clear the season hasn’t gone to plan so far, but being swept in four of five ACC series is far from a good look. Taking a game would be progress and taking the series could be a turning point with Boston College (19-13, 7-8) coming to South Bend next weekend. That said, Notre Dame is in real danger of not making the ACC Tournament if they can’t start stacking wins soon. 

NOTRE DAME LINEUP

NORTH CAROLINA LINEUP

OFFENSIVE STATS (Entering the weekend)

PITCHING STATS (Entering the series) 

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