Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images Carolina continues its homestand against Virginia Tech. After a disappointing weekend in Raleigh, the North Carolina Tar Heels are back in Chapel Hill for a 10-game homestand. Below is the upcoming weekend schedule against Virginia Tech: With the 2-1 loss to NC State, UNC dropped in the rankings: D1Baseball.com: 15 (-4) Baseball America: 12 (-1) NCBWA: 14 (-3) USA Today Coaches Poll: 14 (-3) Perfect Game: 15 (-5) On Tuesday night, Carolina hosted Gardner-Webb. After two scoreless innings to start the game, the Runnin’ Bulldogs tallied a couple of runs to take the early lead. However, these were the last runs GWU would score. Two innings later, UNC got on the board with a Gavin Gallaher RBI double to left. Later in the inning, the Tar Heels rallied with two outs and a Vance Honeycutt single through the left side plated Gallaher to tie the game. Alex Madera scored Parks Harber on a sacrifice fly to left in the bottom of the sixth. In the next inning, Anthony Donofrio scored on an error by Gardner-Webb, then Harber tallied an RBI for the eventual 5-2 victory. 5-2! pic.twitter.com/XOMq0kdrhp— Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) April 24, 2024 After allowing five hits and two runs in the first three innings, the Carolina pitching staff held Gardner-Webb scoreless over the final six innings. Three pitchers, Matthew Matthijs, Connor Bovair, and Dalton Pence combined to strike out eight and allow just four hits. UNC shuts out the Bulldogs over the final 6.1 innings to rally for the win. pic.twitter.com/kR9twRWVrn— Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) April 24, 2024 Virginia Tech (26-12, 12-9) is performing much better than their preseason expectations. The Hokies were picked to finish 11th in the ACC preseason poll. With less than a month from the ACC Baseball Championship, VT has the same conference record as ranked Virginia and is just three games back of Carolina for the Coastal Division lead. Although no longer ranked, Virginia Tech were ranked as high as no. 11 in early April. Fueling the Hokies’ success is the offense. Virginia Tech is fourth in team batting average (.321) and leads the conference in home runs (78). Center fielder Ben Watson is second in the ACC with a .412 batting average and ranks fourth with 63 hits. Third baseman Carson DeMartini is tied for the conference lead with 17 home runs and is seventh with a .745 slugging percentage. On the mound, VT is fifth in the ACC in team ERA. A contender for Freshman Pitcher of the Year is Brett Renfrow. The righty ranks sixth in the ACC in ERA (3.50), opposing batting average (.214), and innings pitched (54.0). Renfrow has five wins on the season. Below are the individual leaders for UNC: Batting (minimum 2 PA/G and 75% of games played): Batting average: .372 - Gavin Gallaher (10th in ACC) Slugging percentage: .683 - Parks Harber Home runs: 16 - Vance Honeycutt (T-5th in ACC) RBI: 56 - Casey Cook (2nd in ACC) Hits: 56 - Casey Cook Runs: 56 - Vance Honeycutt (T-1st in ACC) On-base percentage: .447 - Gavin Gallaher Stolen bases: 22 - Vance Honeycutt (3rd in ACC) Pitching (minimum 1 IP/G): ERA: 3.71 - Shea Sprague (8th in ACC) Strikeouts: 43 - Jason DeCaro Innings pitched: 49.0 - Jason DeCaro Wins: 11 - Matthew Matthijs (1st in ACC) Saves: 4 - Matt Poston (T-5th in ACC) Opposing Batting Average: .240 - Jason DeCaro (10th in ACC)

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports The NC native has become the latest Tar Heel to get drafted in the first round. After all of the talk and rumors that have been going on for weeks, we finally know where the Carolina product is headed. Drake Maye was selected third overall in the NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He is the first Tar Heel quarterback to get selected in the first round of the draft since Mitch Trubisky was drafted second overall by the Chicago Bears in 2017. Maye’s career as a Tar Heel was as impressive as anybody could’ve hoped for. His primary objective when he arrived on campus was to fill in Sam Howell’s sizable shoes, and his feet burst through the seams immediately. During his freshman season, Maye threw for 4,321 yards, 38 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions while completing 66.2% of his throws. Not only did he show off his impressive arm strength and accuracy whenever he took the field, he also showed off impressive athleticism as a runner — he joined the company of Patrick Mahomes and Johnny Manziel as the three most recent quarterbacks in NCAA history to average 300 passing yards per game while also leading the team in rushing. After losing his favorite target in Josh Downs going into his sophomore season, Maye still found a way to stand out with his talent. he finished his 2023 campaign with 3,608 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, and nine interceptions while completing 63.3% of his throws. Aside from some new wide receiver targets, Maye was surrounded by an iffy offensive line that allowed more pressure than was welcome. Getting Devontez Walker into the line-up in the middle of the season helped quite a bit, but losing Kobe Paysour almost immediately after Walker became eligible made for a tough situation. Maye was able to have an impressive season despite inconsistencies at wide receiver, and he ran for nine touchdowns for good measure. Maye’s Carolina career was special, and now he has a chance to blossom into a star with the Patriots. What do you think of Drake Maye joining the Patriots? Let us know in the comments below.