May 19, 2009

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Winners of at least 40 games for a school-record eighth straight season, Coastal Division champion North Carolina is the No. 2 seed for the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship, which opens Wednesday at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

The Tar Heels (41-14) will open play against Duke Wednesday at 8 p.m. followed by meetings with Virginia Friday at 8 p.m. and Clemson Saturday at 4 p.m. in the round-robin event. The tournament title game is slated for 1 p.m. Sunday.

Each UNC game will be carried by the Tar Heel Sports Network with Jones Angell and Adam Lucas on the call on AM-1360 WCHL in Chapel Hill, Raleigh's 850 The Buzz, AM-1150 WBAG in Burlington and TarHeelBlue.com. Each game will also be televised by Fox Sports Carolinas.

The Tar Heels will start All-ACC right-hander Adam Warren Wednesday against Duke opposite Blue Devil left-hander Christopher Manno.

With a series win at Boston College, Carolina clinched its third ACC Coastal Division title in the last four seasons with a 19-10 league mark. The Tar Heels have won a league-best 84 games since the ACC went to the divisional format in 2006. UNC has averaged 21 ACC victories per season over this stretch. Carolina and Florida State, this year's top seeds, have each won three divisional titles since 2006.

Mike Fox is 11-19 in 10 ACC Tournament trips, including a 1-2 mark a year ago. In 2007, the Tar Heels claimed their first ACC tourney crown since 1990 with a 3-1 record. Carolina went 2-1 in round-robin play before recording a 3-2 win over Wake Forest in the championship game. The Tar Heels have a 5-4 record in nine title game appearances.

Seeded second for the third time in the last four seasons, the Tar Heels are 9-7 in 16 games played as the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament. Carolina was last seeded second in 2007 and captured the program's fifth tournament title. The Tar Heels also won the tourney crown as the No. 2 seed in 1982. UNC has been the tourney's No. 2 seed in 1974, 1978, 1982, 2006, 2007 and 2009.

In six ACC Tournaments held in Durham, Carolina owns a 9-8 record, including a 2-6 mark at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which hosted the event in 1996, `98 and `99. The Tar Heels won the third of three straight conference tourneys in 1984 in Durham with a 5-0 record.

All-Americas and top prospects Dustin Ackley, the ACC Player of the Year, and Alex White have been stellar over the past two ACC tournaments and helped UNC to the 2007 title. In seven games, Ackley is a career .400 hitter (12-30) with six RBI and three stolen bases. White has made two career starts in the ACC tourney - both against Virginia - and has allowed just one earned run (0.64 ERA) and fanned 16 in 14 innings.

Series History Vs. 2009 Opponents
• Clemson: Carolina took two of three from Clemson March 6-8 to improve to 76-94-1 all-time in the series. The Tar Heels are 11-15 against the Tigers in the ACC Tournament but have not met since 2004. UNC is 5-1 against Clemson over the past two seasons.

• Duke: The Tar Heels dropped two of three to Duke in Chapel Hill March 20-22 for their first series loss against the Blue Devils since 2001. UNC leads the all-time series by a 170-94-2 margin and is 10-2 in the posteason against Duke. Carolina last met the Blue Devils in the ACC tourney in 2004 and the teams have split their two postseason meetings in Durham. With a win Wednesday, the Tar Heels can even the season series and win a half point in the Carlyle Cup race. UNC has already clinched the 2008-09 edition of the annual event.

• Virginia: UNC won two of three from Virginia in Chapel Hill March 27-29 to improve its all-time mark to 171-96-4 in the series. The Tar Heels own a 9-5 record in the postseason against Virginia, including a 1-1 mark over the past two seasons. The Wahoos scored an 8-7 win over UNC in 2008.