CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - No. 3 North Carolina carries a six-game winning streak into its third Atlantic Coast Conference weekend series, a three-game set at Maryland beginning Friday at Shipley Field. The Tar Heels (16-3, 5-1 ACC) and Terrapins (10-9, 1-5 ACC) are slated to play at 7 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Carolina is currently tied for first in the ACC's Coastal Division with Miami.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: North Carolina is ranked No. 3 in two of the four major polls - the Baseball America and the NCBWA rankings - and is in the top six of all four. Maryland is unranked.

SERIES HISTORY: UNC leads its all-time series with Maryland, 121-51-2 overall and 94-39 since the start of ACC play in 1954. Head coach Mike Fox is 23-6 against the Terps, including a 12-3 mark at Shipley Field. The Tar Heels have won 10 straight in College Park, including 3-0 sweeps in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Carolina is making a trip to Maryland for the second straight year and has not dropped a series to Maryland since 2001.

RECENT HISTORY VS. MARYLAND: Dustin Ackley hit .467 (7-15) against Maryland a year ago ... Tim Federowicz is a career .520 hitter (13-25) with nine RBI in six career games with Maryland ... Chad Flack has hit two career homers against the Terps ... Garrett Gore (6-14) and Kyle Seager (3-7) both own a .429 average vs. Maryland ... Kyle Shelton is a career .333 hitter in six games ... Seth Williams has hit .273 (6-22) in nine games ... Rob Wooten is 1-0 against Maryland with a 2 2/3 scoreless stint last season.

SCOUTING THE TERPS: Maryland carries a 10-9 record in this weekend's series after posting midweek wins over Old Dominion and William & Mary. The Terps are 1-5 in the ACC after opening on the road at Florida State and Wake Forest. Maryland is batting .290 as a team with Nick Jowers (.328-1-9) and Chad Durakis (.325-3-20) leading the way. Mike Murphy has a team-high five home runs. The Terps sport a 4.99 staff ERA and are led by reliever Matt Quinn (2-1, 1.65, 10 appearances). RHPs Scott Swinson (2-2, 4.85), Ian Schwalenberg (0-0, 5.82) and Jensen Pupa (0-2, 5.14) are slated to start this weekend.

PITCHING POWERS STREAK: Over Carolina's current six-game winning streak, the pitching staff has posted a 0.80 ERA and allowed just five earned runs - and 10 total - in 56 innings. The Tar Heels have struck out 59 over this stretch and walked just 13. UNC has posted three shutouts over the winning streak, including two in the last three games. Only three of the 15 pitchers to work over the last six games has allowed an earned run.

FEDROFF TAKING OFF: After batting just .143 in February, sophomore right fielder Tim Fedroff has been on a role since the calendar turned to March. Over the last 11 games, the Flagtown, N.J., native has posted two or more hits nine times and is batting .542 (26-48) over this stretch. Fedroff has tallied three hits five times in the last eight games and took over the team lead in hits with three against Princeton Wednesday. He leads the team with 32 hits, five home runs and 25 runs scored and is second with a .390 batting average.

SEAGER CLEANING UP: With classmates Tim Fedroff (.458 on-base percentage) and Dustin Ackley (.490) usually on base, sophomore second baseman Kyle Seager, Carolina's No. 5 hitter, has made the most of his RBI opportunities. After driving in 30 runs all last season, Seager leads the Tar Heels and ranks near the top of the ACC with 26 RBI in just 19 games. He has equaled a career high with three RBI six times this season. Seager is riding a career-best 15-game hitting streak and is batting .424 (25-59) over this run.

WILLIAMS GOOD TO GO: Senior center fielder Seth Williams left Tuesday's game against Princeton after legging out an infield single to extend his current hitting streak to 10 games. He sat out Wednesday's with a left thigh contusion but should be back in action this weekend. Williams is batting .323 with three homers and 16 RBI, which ranks second on the team.

WHITE, WOOTEN RESUME ROLES: With Rob Wooten on the shelf for much of last week with a back injury, sophomore righty Alex White moved to the bullpen and tossed four shutout innings, including 3 1/3 against Virginia Tech March 15 to claim his first career win in relief. With Wooten back to his usual closer role as of last Sunday, White returns to his usual Friday spot in the Tar Heels' rotation at Maryland.

FLACK COMING ON: Senior Chad Flack has picked it up over the past five games with a .333 average (5-15), four RBI and three runs scored. He hit his second home run and doubled Wednesday and has a pair of multi-hit games in the last four outings. Flack has raised his average to .230 with two home runs and 11 RBI for the season.

QUALITY MIDWEEK STARTS: The Tar Heels put their pitching depth on display this week with back-to-back quality starts from Patrick Johnson and Mike Facchinei. This midweek duo combined to allow just two runs over 10 1/3 innings with 15 strikeouts against just two walks.

THE RUNNIN' HEELS: After stealing just 47 bases in 73 games a year ago, Carolina has swiped 23 bags through 19 games in 2008. Dustin Ackley leads the way with seven steals. Carolina's opponents have stolen just seven bases in 15 attempts.

DEFENSE DICTATES SUCCESS: In each of their three losses this season, sloppy defensive play has doomed the Tar Heels. Carolina committed at least three errors in all three losses and is just 2-3 when committing three-plus defensive miscues. UNC is 14-0 when committing fewer than three errors and owns a .975 fielding percentage over its six-game winning streak.

HARVEY MOVES TO WEEKEND ROTATION: After tossing 6 1/3 scoreless innings against Virginia Tech last weekend, freshman right-hander Matt Harvey will make his second straight weekend start Sunday at Maryland. Harvey struck out six against the Hokies and owns a 1.08 ERA in 16 2/3 innings this season.

ROAD WARRIORS: This season is a break from the ordinary for the Tar Heels, who played 10 of their first 12 games on the road. In 2007, Carolina played just one of its first 23 contests away from Boshamer Stadium. The last time UNC opened a season with a similar stretch was 1985 when it played 14 of its first 15 games outside of Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels are 9-1 on the road or at neutral sites this season and this weekend's trip to Maryland marks the fourth weekend in the first five that Carolina has been on the road.

WARREN BACK TO FORM: Friday's starter Adam Warren has been brilliant over his last three outings after allowing eight earned runs in just 1 1/3 innings at Florida Atlantic. In starts against Winthrop, Duke and Virginia Tech, the New Bern native has a 1.96 ERA over 18 1/3 innings and has 10 strikeouts to just four walks. Warren is 3-0 this season and 16-0 in his career.

BATES BACK IN A BIG WAY: Redshirt freshman right-hander Colin Bates is a fixture in the bullpen this season after missing all of last year. The Naperville, Ill., native had thoracic outlet decompression surgery due to a blood clot in his right shoulder in November 2006 and spent last season rehabbing. Bates shares the team lead with three victories and is among the ACC leaders with a 1.40 ERA. He has 19 strikeouts and five walks over 19 1/3 innings and has not allowed an earned run in his last 15 2/3 innings of work.

ROOKIES SHINE ON THE MOUND: The Tar Heels are going to have to rely on a youth movement in their bullpen for much of this season. Carolina has already used a freshman or redshirt freshman in 36 of its 64 relief appearances this year with positive results. Rookie right-handers Colin Bates, Ryan Leach and Nate Striz have combined for five wins out of the bullpen.

A FIXTURE IN THE RANKINGS: Carolina's ascent to the top of the college baseball world is evidenced by a number of facts and figures but one of note is the 90 consecutive weeks that the Tar Heels have been ranked in the top 25 of one of the four major college baseball polls. Carolina was last left on the outside of the national rankings on May 26, 2003, but entered the polls following the regional win at Mississippi State. The Tar Heels have been included in the top 10 of at least one poll for the last 47 weeks and in the top five in each of the last 29 weeks.