Duke plays Virginia, Wake Forest hosts Alabama as NCAA baseball super regionals start this weekend
Posted June 6, 2023 1:22 p.m. EDT
Updated June 9, 2023 10:35 a.m. EDT
The road to Omaha and the College World Series rolls along.
There are 16 teams left in the NCAA baseball tournament as the super regionals are set to get underway this weekend.
Here’s a look at the two North Carolina teams remaining in the field: Duke and Wake Forest.
Duke to play Virginia
Duke (38-21) is set to take on Virginia (48-12) this weekend in the best-of-three-game series in the Charlottesville Super Regional.
The Blue Devils and Cavaliers are set to play at noon on Friday and Saturday. The games will air on ESPN2.
If a third game is necessary, the teams would play at some point Sunday.
Duke advanced to the super regionals for the first time since 2019 with a 12-3 victory over Coastal Carolina on Monday night.
The Blue Devils are trying for their fourth berth in the College World Series and their first since 1961.
On Monday night, Duke slugger MJ Metz had three hits, including a home run, and three RBI. Catcher Alex Stone hit a three-run shot.
Metz had quite the weekend at the plate although he was playing with a torn ACL. He suffered the injury on May 23 against N.C. State.
On Friday, Metz hit three home runs against the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He also had six hits throughout the weekend.
Stone has also been hot. He had two home runs during Saturday’s loss against Coastal Carolina.
Wake Forest hosts Alabama
No. 1 national seed Wake Forest (50-10) will host Alabama (43-19) in a best-of-three series starting at noon Saturday. ESPN will broadcast the game.
The two teams will play a second game Sunday and, if necessary, a third game on Monday.
A super-regional victory would see the Demon Deacons advance to the College World Series for the first time since they won the 1955 national title.
Wake Forest completed one of the most dominant runs through an NCAA tournament regional Sunday.
Last weekend, they outscored their three opponents 48-7. Wake Forest pitchers also struck out 50 batters at the regional.
It will be the first time David F. Couch Ballpark in Winston-Salem will host a super regional.
The Demon Deacons beat George Mason 15-1 in the final in Winston-Salem.In his Winston-Salem Regional action, infielder Justin Johnson had seven hits, including two doubles, a triple, two home runs, and 13 RBIs.
Through 51 games this season, first baseman and right fielder Nick Kurtz is hitting .384 with a .552 on-base percentage. The lefty has 23 home runs, 67 RBIs and 59 walks. Kurtz is considered among the top prospects in the 2024 MLB Draft.
NCAA baseball tournament schedule
- Super regionals: Friday-Sunday, June 9-11 or Saturday-Monday, June 10-12
- First day of MCWS games: Start Friday, June 16
- MCWS finals: Saturday-Monday, June 24-26
- Final championship game: Monday, June 26
