{"id":583954,"date":"2026-02-21T01:38:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T01:38:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/583954\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T01:38:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T01:38:53","slug":"tar-heels-vs-pirates-preview-series-schedule-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/583954\/","title":{"rendered":"Tar Heels vs Pirates preview, series schedule and more"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Feb. 20, 2026, 1:57 p.m. ET<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">After a successful first five games of the season, <a href=\"\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">North Carolina<\/a> will take on <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/ncaaf\/teams\/east-carolina-pirates\/3504\/\" data-autotag=\"cfb3febb-ece1-4350-b45a-372fa225e56a\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">East Carolina<\/a> in its first true test of the new season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The Tar Heels are 5-0 after a <a href=\"http:\/\/tarheelswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/college\/tarheels\/baseball\/2026\/02\/15\/unc-baseball-diamond-heels-sweep-indiana-to-open-2026-campaign\/88695831007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">series sweep of Indiana<\/a> and two midweek victories over <a href=\"http:\/\/tarheelswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/college\/tarheels\/baseball\/2026\/02\/17\/unc-baseball-richmond-spiders-recap\/88728353007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Richmond<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/tarheelswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/college\/tarheels\/baseball\/2026\/02\/18\/unc-baseball-longwood-lancers-recap\/88750445007\/\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Longwood<\/a>. During that stretch, shortstop Jake Schaffner hit .421 with a double, two triples and a home run. Designated hitter Colin Hynek also has been stellar, hitting .412 with two doubles, a triple and seven RBIs. Catcher Macon Winslowhas homered twice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">On the mound, UNC\u2019s starting rotation of Jason DeCaro, Ryan Lynch and Folger Boaz did not allow a run and combined for 19 strikeouts, with DeCaro hurling seven and Boaz and Lynch tossing six each.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">ECU, projected to win the American Athletic Conference, is 2-3 with series losses to Xavier and Campbell. However, the Pirates are not ones to be taken lightly despite their record. They have been one of the better mid-major programs in college baseball, reaching the postseason 20 times since 2000. Most notably, ECU is the program with the most NCAA Tournament appearances without ever reaching the College World Series.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Under head coach Cliff Godwin, the Pirates have made nine regional berths (hosting five), four super regional appearances, won the American Conference regular-season title five times and the American Conference tournament four times.<\/p>\n<p>Need a news break? <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":body nav (play)|e|auto spike click:4|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_sp_a\" href=\"https:\/\/play.usatoday.com\/?itm_source=SPIKE&amp;itm_campaign=PLAYSPIKE&amp;itm_medium=ONSITE\">Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">UNC leads East Carolina 30-17 in the all-time series, but the series is tied 5-5 over the last 10 meetings. The Tar Heels swept the Pirates last season.<\/p>\n<p>Series Schedule<img class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" style=\"height:441px\" fetchpriority=\"high\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/88656731007-usatsi-26390294.jpg\" data-gl- decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Jun 8, 2025; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina infielder Gavin Gallaher (5) jersey during the seventh inning of the Super Regionals game against Arizona in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images\"\/>Game 1 (Feb. 20) \u2013 @ ECU, Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium, 5 p.m., ESPN+Game 2 (Feb. 21) \u2013 vs. ECU (Durham, Durham Bullls Athletic Park, 2 p.m.Game 3 (Feb. 22) \u2013 vs. ECU, Boshamer Stadium, 1 p.m., ACCNX (ESPN+)Players to Watch from ECU<img class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" style=\"height:440px\" fetchpriority=\"high\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/88774903007-usatsi-26322961.jpg\" data-gl- decoding=\"async\" alt=\"East Carolina University takes on Campbell University baseball on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, at Segra Stadium.&#10;&#10;Fay Ecu Campbell 14\"\/>LHP Ethan Norby \u2013 Ranked as the No. 3 starting pitcher in the country according to D1Baseball; hurled 119 strikeouts last seasonRHP Gavin Van Kempen &#8211; In 4.0 IP in win over Xavier, one hit, two runs, four strikeouts and zero walksIF\/OF Bradeb Burress \u2013 Preseason All-American Conference selection; .421 batting average, .577 on-base percentage, team-high eight hits, double, RBIRF Jack Herring \u2013 .381 batting average with three doubles, home run and team-high RBIs1B Austin Irsby \u2013 Preseason All-American Conference selection; .353 batting average with three doubles, three RBIs and team-high seven walks<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Follow us <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tarheelswire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">@TarHeelsWire<\/a> on X and like our page on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TarHeelsWire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Facebook<\/a> to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Feb. 20, 2026, 1:57 p.m. ET After a successful first five games of the season, North Carolina will&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":583955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2288],"tags":[67525,5,2328,2304,4,2305,2303,68105,67701,67533,67704,72928,68106,67528,68763,73436,67529,67527],"class_list":["post-583954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb-postseason","tag-accessfree","tag-baseball","tag-major-league-baseball-playoffs","tag-major-league-baseball-postseason","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-playoffs","tag-mlb-postseason","tag-sstssportscollegetarheelsbaseball","tag-sstsnbaseball","tag-tagbaseball","tag-tagcollege-sports","tag-tageast-carolina-pirates-football","tag-tagnorth-carolina-tar-heels","tag-tagoverall-positive","tag-tagpittsburgh-pirates","tag-tagsmg-listicle","tag-tagsports-news","tag-typestory"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116106072136648106","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}