Did North Carolina advance to the College World Series? Taking a look at the Tar Heels' 2024 MCWS performance

The North Carolina Tar Heels will continue their hunt for the school's first NCAA Baseball title in Omaha this coming weekend. UNC swept West Virginia 2-0 in the Chapel Hill Super Regional series and sent their fans home happy as the Tar Heels will once again play in Omaha, Nebraska.

Using both their offensive firepower (8-6 Game 1 win) and pitching prowess (a 2-1 Game 2 win), North Carolina showed that they can win any type of matchup that the occasion calls for. Led by stars all over the diamond, the Tar Heels are a strong contender for this year's title.

Joined by three other ACC teams (NC State, Florida State and Virginia), UNC will look to battle through a field filled with familiar foes, as well as four SEC schools, each looking to secure their legacy with a national championship win of their own.

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A deep lineup fronts North Carolina's title bid

Vance Honeycutt's heroics for the Tar Heels have been mentioned quite a few times this season, and there's good reason for that. The junior outfielder leads the team in home runs with 26 and in slugging percentage with .702. He's a threat to break a game open at any time and is a projected MLB Draft pick. As he goes, so does the UNC offense.

Other standouts include Parks Harber, Casey Cook, Alberto Osuna and Luke Stevenson. Harber, a senior, led the team with a .341 batting average to go along with 20 home runs and 63 RBIs. Outfielder Cook led the team with 76 RBIs to go with 18 home runs and a .339 average, which was ranked second.

Osuna, a veteran first baseman, started all 61 games for the Tar Heels and hit .285 with 14 home runs and 56 RBI. At catcher, freshman Stevenson started 60 of the 61 games UNC played and held his own at the plate as well. He hit .283 with 14 home runs and 58 RBIs.

No matter what, barring injury, North Carolina has one of the deepest offensive attacks in the College World Series. How much those bats come to life will be a key question in Omaha.

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Pitching-wise, UNC is ready to take charge

Although not as potent as their offense, North Carolina's pitching has shown the ability to get their team in position for a win the majority of the time. Regardless of the effect that the offense has on a game, their pitching has been steady.

Led by starters Jason Decaro and Shea Sprague, UNC's pitching is very well rounded. The team had nine pitchers make starts, headed by Decaro's 17 and Sprague's 14. The duo also led in innings pitched (85.2 and 74.1, respectively) and starters' ERAs (3.89 for Decaro, an even 4.00 for Sprague).

The bullpen is also rock solid and fronted by a strong duo. Closer Dalton Pence and set-up man Matthew Matthijs led the Tar Heels with 34 games pitched each. They were fourth (53.0) and third (56.2) in innings pitched behing the starting set of Decaro and Sprague. Matthijs also led the team in wins (12), while Pence held the high ground in saves with eight.

Usually, the formula to win a championship is a consistent, dangerous lineup and a steady yet lethal pitching staff. North Carolina has the ability to have both of those types of units. Will it lead to their first national title in program history? Well, we will find out in Omaha starting this weekend.