The North Carolina baseball team was awarded an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament on Monday following a highly competitive season, and the team will travel to Lubbock, Texas, for its first stop on the road to the College World Series.
The Tar Heels earned the No. 3 seed in the Lubbock Regional and will compete in their first game on Friday at 7 p.m., where they will face UCLA. It will be UNC's 19th appearance in the tournament in the last 22 seasons.
North Carolina had one of the most difficult schedules of any team in the country this season. The Tar Heels not only played in one of the most competitive conferences in baseball, but they also had a tough slate of nonconference opponents, finishing the regular season 27-25 overall and 18-18 in ACC play.
UNC is one of eight ACC teams competing in the postseason, along with Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, Notre Dame and Virginia.
The Tar Heels were at risk of losing an at-large bid after a loss to Pittsburgh in the opening game of the ACC tourney, but they earned a competitive victory against N.C. State in the final game of ACC Tournament Pool Play last Friday, 9-6.
North Carolina has won six of its last nine games to carry some momentum into the tournament. The Tar Heels just sneaked into the 64-team field as one of the last four teams to make the cut.
Texas Tech, the host and No. 1 seed in the region, will compete against the Army Black Knights at 12 p.m. to start the day Friday. The Tar Heels will face UCLA later that day in the 2-3 seed matchup.
What to expect in Lubbock
North Carolina leads 8-5 in wins against the Bruins dating back to 1993, and the programs have met twice in the postseason — most recently in 2013, when the Tar Heels suffered a 4-1 loss.
