2023 North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team

The 2023 North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the 2023 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Tar Heels played their home games at Boshamer Stadium, and were a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They were led by head coach Scott Forbes, who was in his third season. He was assisted by Bryant Gaines, Jesse Wierzbicki, and Jason Howell. Dave Arendas served as director of operations.

2023 North Carolina Tar Heels baseball
Terre Haute Regional, 1–2
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Record	36–24 (14–14 ACC)
Head coach	Scott Forbes (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Bryant Gaines (13th season) Jesse Wierzbicki (7th season) Jason Howell (3rd season)
Home stadium	Boshamer Stadium

2023 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Atlantic
No. 3 Wake Forest x‍‍‍y	22	–	7		.759			54	–	12		.818
No. 18 Clemson ‍‍‡‍y	20	–	10		.667			44	–	19		.698
Boston College ‍‍‍y	16	–	14		.533			37	–	20		.649
Notre Dame  ‍‍‍	15	–	15		.500			30	–	24		.556
NC State ‍‍‍y	13	–	16		.448			36	–	21		.632
Louisville  ‍‍‍	10	–	20		.333			31	–	24		.564
Florida State  ‍‍‍	9	–	21		.300			23	–	31		.426
Coastal
No. 6 Virginia x‍‍‍y	19	–	11		.633			50	–	13		.794
No. 20 Miami (FL) ‍‍‍y	18	–	12		.600			42	–	21		.667
No. 15 Duke ‍‍‍y	16	–	13		.552			39	–	23		.629
North Carolina ‍‍‍y	14	–	14		.500			36	–	24		.600
Virginia Tech  ‍‍‍	12	–	17		.414			30	–	23		.566
Georgia Tech  ‍‍‍	12	–	18		.400			30	–	27		.526
Pittsburgh  ‍‍‍	10	–	18		.357			24	–	31		.436
x – Division champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 25, 2023 Rankings from D1Baseball

The Tar Heels finished 36–24 overall and 14–14 in ACC play to finish in fourth place in the Coastal Division. They finished tied for seventh/eight in seeding for the ACC Tournament. They won the tiebreaker and were the seventh seed for the tournament. They were placed in a Pool with second seed Virginia and eleventh seed Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels won both of their pool games and advanced to the Semifinals, where they lost to eventual champions Clemson. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and were placed as the third seed in the Terre Haute regional. They lost to Iowa in the opening game, but defeated Wright State to force an elimination game versus Iowa. The Tar Heels lost 6–5 in thirteen innings to end their season.

Previous season

Further information: 2022 NCAA Division I baseball season

In Forbes' second year at the helm, the Tar Heels improved from their 2021 campaign. Finishing the season 42–22, the 2022 Tar Heels won the ACC Tournament and hosted both an NCAA Tournament Regional and Super Regional. Freshman sensation Vance Honeycutt broke out in a big way, leading the Tar Heels in many batting statistics en route to winning the ACC Freshman of the Year award. They were swept by Arkansas in the Chapel Hill Super Regional, denying Forbes his first College World Series appearance as a head coach.

Personnel

Roster

Class Listing as reflected on GoHeels.com

2023 North Carolina Tar Heels roster
	Pitchers 14 - Justin Szestowicki - Freshman 15 - Cameron Padgett - Freshman 24 - Matthew Matthijs - Freshman 25 - Ben Peterson - Junior 26 - Kyle Percival - Freshman 27 - Connor Bovair - Junior 29 - Kevin Eaise - Graduate 31 - Alden Segui - Sophomore 35 - Max Carlson - Junior 36 - Nik Pry - 5th 38 - Matt Poston - Junior 40 - Michael Colonna - Freshman 41 - Will Sandy - 5th 42 - Jake Knapp - Graduate 43 - Nelson Berkwich - Junior 44 - Carson Starnes - Sophomore 46 - Will Simmons - Freshman 47 - Nick Argento - Freshman 48 - Connor Hegan - Freshman 49 - Dalton Pence - Sophomore 53 - Caleb Crain - Freshman		Catchers 5 - Eric Grintz - Junior 52 - Tomas Frick - Junior Infielders 3 - Colby Wilkerson - Junior 4 - Austin Hawke - Freshman 6 - Jackson Van De Brake - Sophomore 10 - Mac Horvath - Junior 19 - Johnny Castagnozzi - Junior 45 - Hunter Stokely - Junior		Outfielders 1 - Bryce Blaser - Freshman 2 - Reece Holbrook - Sophomore 7 - Vance Honeycutt - Sophomore 11 - John Long - Freshman 18 - Jackson Rusiecki - Freshman 39 - Carter French - Freshman Utility 8 - Patrick Alvarez (INF/OF) - Junior 12 - Jesse Jaconski (INF/OF) - Freshman 16 - Casey Cook (INF/OF) - Freshman 17 - Joe Jaconski (INF/OF) - Sophomore 23 - Alberto Osuna (1B/DH) - Junior 28 - Dylan King (C/OF) - Freshman 54 - Max Riemer (C/OF) - Senior

Coaching Staff

2023 North Carolina Tar Heels coaching staff
Name	Position	Seasons	Alma Mater
Scott Forbes	Head Coach	3	NC Wesleyan (1998)
Bryant Gaines	Assistant Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator	13	North Carolina (2011)
Jesse Wierzbicki	Assistant Coach	7	North Carolina (2011)
Jason Howell	Assistant Coach	3	North Carolina (2002)
Dave Arendas	Director of Baseball Operations	18	North Carolina (1990)

Schedule and results

Legend
	Win
	Loss
	Postponement
Bold	North Carolina team member
*	Non-Conference game
†	Make-Up Game

2023 North Carolina Tar Heels Baseball Schedule & Results
Regular Season
February (5–3) Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record ACC Record February 17 Seton Hall* No. 12 Boshamer Stadium Chapel Hill, NC L 8–10 Payero (1–0) Eaise (0–1) None 2,582 0–1 – February 18 Seton Hall* No. 12 Boshamer Stadium W 11–2 Padgett (1–0) Frontera (0–1) None 3,049 1–1 – February 19 Seton Hall* No. 12 Boshamer Stadium W 4–2 Pence (1–0) Downing (0–1) Peterson (1) 2,632 2–1 – February 21 Radford* No. 12 Boshamer Stadium W 14–2 Percival (1–0) Seitz (0–1) None 2,324 3–1 – February 22 Longwood* No. 12 Boshamer Stadium W 10–0 Knapp (1–0) Taylor (0–1) Eaise (1) 2,013 4–1 – February 24 at No. 11 East Carolina* No. 12 Clark–LeClair Stadium Greenville, NC L 5–6 Lunsford-Shenkman (1–1) Pence (1–1) Root (1) 6,003 4–2 – February 25 at No. 11 East Carolina* No. 12 Clark–LeClair Stadium Postponed (inclement weather) Makeup: May 3 February 26 No. 11 East Carolina* No. 12 Boshamer Stadium L 5–6 Ritchie (1–0) Szestowicki (0–1) Spivey (1) 4,042 4–3 – February 28 VCU* No. 13 Boshamer Stadium W 10–4 Peterson (1–0) Peters (1–1) None 1,974 5–3 –
March (14–4) Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record ACC Record March 1 VCU* No. 13 Boshamer Stadium W 14–10 Eaise (1–1) Walton (0–1) None 2,028 6–3 – March 3 Stony Brook* No. 13 Boshamer Stadium W 3–2 (11) Poston (1–0) O'Neill (0–2) None 2,104 7–3 – March 4 Stony Brook* No. 13 Boshamer Stadium W 7–5 Bovair (1–0) Fero (0–2) None 1,338 8–3 – March 5 Stony Brook* No. 13 Boshamer Stadium W 15–4 Knapp (2–0) Smink (0–3) None 2,902 9–3 – March 7 Western Carolina* No. 14 Boshamer Stadium W 8–4 (5) Percival (2–0) Bright (0–1) None 2,334 10–3 – March 8 Penn State* No. 14 Boshamer Stadium W 15–5 Berkwich (1–0) Miller (1–2) None 1,896 11–3 – March 10 No. 17 Virginia No. 14 Boshamer Stadium L 3–7 Tonas (1–0) Carlson (0–1) Berry (2) 1,960 11–4 0–1 March 11 No. 17 Virginia No. 14 Boshamer Stadium L 4–8 Hodorovich (1–0) Bovair (1–1) None 3,162 11–5 0–2 March 11 No. 17 Virginia No. 14 Boshamer Stadium W 6–0 Poston (2–0) O'Connor (1–1) None 3,103 12–5 1–2 March 14 at Charlotte* No. 18 Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium Charlotte, NC W 16–3 Eaise (2–1) Spolyar (1–2) None 1,522 13–5 – March 15 High Point* No. 18 Boshamer Stadium W 16–2 Sandy (1–0) Duffy (0–2) None 1,769 14–5 – March 17 at Pittsburgh No. 18 Charles L. Cost Field Pittsburgh, PA W 17–7 Bovair (2–1) Sokol (2–1) None 289 15–5 2–2 March 18 at Pittsburgh No. 18 Charles L. Cost Field Canceled (inclement weather) March 19 at Pittsburgh No. 18 Charles L. Cost Field Canceled (inclement weather) March 21 NC A&T* No. 15 Boshamer Stadium W 6–4 Sandy (2–0) Carter (1–1) Poston (1) 2,067 16–5 – March 23 Duke No. 15 Boshamer Stadium W 6–3 Carlson (1–0) Porksch (2–1) Poston (2) 3,471 17–5 3–2 March 24 Duke No. 15 Boshamer Stadium L 5–8 Oschell III (2–0) Matthijs (0–1) Tallon (4) 4,011 17–6 3–3 March 25 Duke No. 15 Boshamer Stadium W 5–3 Knapp (3–0) Gow (2–2) Sandy (1) 3,969 18–6 4–3 March 28 No. 19 Coastal Carolina* No. 13 Boshamer Stadium L 7–12 Sharkey (3–0) Berkwich (1–1) None 2,554 18–7 – March 31 at Notre Dame No. 13 Frank Eck Stadium South Bend, IN W 10–8 Berkwich (2–1) Bosch (0–1) Eaise (2) 302 19–7 5–3
April (9–9) Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record ACC Record April 2 at Notre Dame No. 13 Frank Eck Stadium W 5–2 Bovair (3–1) Findlay (4–1) Eaise (3) N/A 20–7 6–3 April 2 at Notre Dame No. 13 Frank Eck Stadium L 1–9 Tyrell (5–1) Knapp (3–1) None 847 20–8 6–4 April 4 vs. No. 6 South Carolina* No. 13 Truist Field Charlotte, NC L 0–5 Proctor (2–0) Poston (2–1) None 6,277 20–9 – April 6 at Georgia Tech No. 13 Russ Chandler Stadium Atlanta, GA W 8–1 Carlson (2–1) Brown (1–2) None 1,235 21–9 7–4 April 7 at Georgia Tech No. 13 Russ Chandler Stadium W 10–6 Bovair (4–1) Schmolke (4–1) None 1,076 22–9 8–4 April 7 at Georgia Tech No. 13 Russ Chandler Stadium L 4–8 King (3–0) Knapp (3–2) None 1,427 22–10 8–5 April 11 Queens* No. 13 Boshamer Stadium W 10–6 Padgett (2–0) Offschanka (0–4) Eaise (4) 2,572 23–10 – April 13 Miami (FL) No. 13 Boshamer Stadium L 4–5 Walters (3–0) Eaise (2–2) None 3,587 23–11 8–6 April 14 Miami (FL) No. 13 Boshamer Stadium W 9–8 (11) Pry (1–0) Gallo (0–3) None 3,054 24–11 9–6 April 15 Miami (FL) No. 13 Boshamer Stadium L 3–4 Chestnutt (3–0) Knapp (3–3) Torres (2) 3,694 24–12 9–7 April 18 Charlotte* No. 18 Boshamer Stadium W 5–3 Pence (2–1) Kramer (2–3) Eaise (5) 2,959 25–12 – April 21 No. 20 Boston College No. 18 Boshamer Stadium L 8–9 (10) Roman (2–0) Eaise (2–3) Tonghini (2) 4,012 25–13 9–8 April 22 No. 20 Boston College No. 18 Boshamer Stadium L 4–9 Coon (1–0) Berkwich (2–2) Ryan (2) 2,991 25–14 9–9 April 23 No. 20 Boston College No. 18 Boshamer Stadium L 2–6 Schroeder (5–2) Padgett (2–1) None 3,595 25–15 9–10 April 25 UNCW* Boshamer Stadium W 18–2 Pence (3–1) Lawson (1–1) None 2,427 26–15 – April 28 at Virginia Tech English Field Blacksburg, VA 0–7 Arguelles (2–1) Bovair (4–2) None 658 26–16 9–11 April 29 at Virginia Tech English Field W 12–8 Carlson (3–1) Hackenberg (4–5) Poston (3) 2,231 27–16 10–11 April 29 at Virginia Tech English Field W 13–7 Peterson (2–0) Higgins (2–2) None 2,363 28–16 11–11
May (5–5) Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record ACC Record May 2 No. 13 Campbell* Boshamer Stadium L 5–6 Cummings (3–1) Poston (2–2) Rund (5) 3,163 28–17 – May 3 at No. 14 East Carolina* Clark–LeClair Stadium W 2–1 Pence (4–1) Hunter (3–2) Carlson (1) 5,991 29–17 – May 9 Gardner–Webb* Boshamer Stadium W 5–4 Eaise (3–3) Fox (3–3) Poston (4) 2,955 30–17 – May 11 NC State Boshamer Stadium W 9–8 Poston (3–2) Fritton (3–4) None 3,242 31–17 12–11 May 12 NC State Boshamer Stadium W 9–3 Carlson (5–3) Willadsen (5–4) None 3,584 32–17 13–11 May 13 NC State Boshamer Stadium W 12–2 Knapp (4–3) Highfill (5–2) None 3,502 33–17 14–11 May 16 at No. 8 Coastal Carolina* Springs Brooks Stadium Conway, SC L 6–8 Billings (2–0) Bovair (4–3) Sharkey (7) 2,322 33–18 – May 18 at No. 7 Clemson Doug Kingsmore Stadium Clemson, SC L 7–14 Clayton (7–0) Carlson (4–2) None 4,102 33–19 14–12 May 19 at No. 7 Clemson Doug Kingsmore Stadium L 4–5 Ammons (2–0) Poston (3–3) None 4,644 33–20 14–13 May 20 at No. 7 Clemson Doug Kingsmore Stadium L 3–1 Grice (7–1) Pence (4–2) Hughes (2) 4,589 33–21 14–14
Postseason
ACC Tournament (2–1) Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record ACCT Record May 23 vs. (11) Georgia Tech (7) Durham Bulls Athletic Park Durham, NC W 11–5 Peterson (3–0) King (6–2) Poston (5) 2,048 34–21 1–0 May 25 No. 12 (2) Virginia (7) Durham Bulls Athletic Park Durham, NC W 10–2 Knapp (5–3) Early (10–2) Pence (1) 4,084 35–21 2–0 May 27 No. 6 Clemson (7) Durham Bulls Athletic Park Durham, NC L 4–10 Grice (8–1) Bovair (4–4) None 3,147 35–22 2–1
NCAA Tournament (1–2) Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record NCAAT Record June 2 vs. (2) Iowa (3) Sycamore Stadium Terre Haute, IN L 4–5 Marcus (5–2) Knapp (5–4) Llewellyn (4) 1,690 35–23 0–1 June 3 vs. (4) Wright State (3) Sycamore Stadium Terre Haute, IN W 5–0 Carlson (5–2) Stofel (5–6) Pence (2) 1,624 36–23 1–1 June 4 vs. (2) Iowa (3) Sycamore Stadium Terre Haute, IN L 5–6 (13) Christophers (5–1) Pence (4–3) None 1,377 36–24 1–2

Rankings from D1Baseball

Rankings

See also: 2023 NCAA Division I baseball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
Coaches'	12	12*	21	17	20	16	14	15	13	16	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV*	RV*	RV
Baseball America	17	16	22	19	21	19	15	16	13	17	—	—	—	—	—	—	—*	—*	—
Collegiate Baseball^	11	13	21	21	25	21	18	14	14	17	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
NCBWA†	13	14	19	17	19	15	14	16	13	14	25	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV*	RV
D1Baseball	12	12	13	14	18	15	13	14	13	18	—	—	—	—	—	—	—*	—*	—

^ Collegiate Baseball ranked 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranked 30 teams weekly during the season.
† NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
* A new poll was not released for this week, so for comparison purposes, the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.