East Carolina is scheduled to host the first of a 3-game series with No. 11 North Carolina on Friday at 5 p.m. (ESPN+).

The Pirates are 2-3 while the Tar Heels are 5-0 going into their first game outside of Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill.

The weather forecast leaves some doubt about the schedule for the series. There is a 45 percent chance of rain in Greenville on Friday, but it looks like partly sunny and 74 degrees at game time.

Conditions look favorable for a 2 p.m. first pitch on Saturday at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

The forecast is calling for a 75 percent chance of rain early Sunday in Chapel Hill. The high will only be 51 degrees as the final game of the series is set for 1 p.m. The Sunday contest will be shown on ACC Network Extra.

Pitching

Junior left-hander Ethan Norby started for ECU in the Friday season opener with Xavier last week. He went three and two-thirds innings, allowing four hits with two runs (both earned), two walks and three strikeouts.

Norby was 8-5 with a 3.80 earned run average in 2025. He had 119 strikeouts in 90 innings.

Jason Decaro started for the Tar Heels in their Friday season opener, a 9-4 win over Indiana. The junior right-hander was 9-3 with a 3.78 ERA last season. Decaro yielded two hits in five innings against the Hoosiers with no runs, three walks and seven whiffs.

The Pirates have used 15 pitchers in five games with a team ERA of 4.30. Opposing pitchers have a 5.02 ERA.

Slow starts

ECU has been able to overcome slow starts in seasons past.

Case in point were the 2022 Pirates, victims of a 3-game sweep by Bryant in Greenville at the outset of the campaign.

ECU recovered to go 46-21 with a 20-game winning streak.

The Pirates beat Coppin State, Virginia and Coastal Carolina to win the Greenville regional and hosted Texas in a Super Regional.

Hitting

ECU is hitting .260 as a team to .247 for opponents.

Braden Burress leads the team with a .421 average.

The Pirates hit .277 as a team in 2025 as Burress led the way at .389.

The Tar Heels are hitting .278 as a team while limiting foes to a .179 average.

Three UNC players are at .400 or better, including Jake Schaffner (.421), Colin Hynek (.412) and Michael Maginnis (.400).

Recent series history

The Tar Heels swept ECU last year, dropping the Pirates to 2-5. The Friday game in Greenville was moved to Monday due to weather.

UNC, ranked No. 6 at the time, won, 2-0, at the DBAP. The Heels prevailed, 11-6, in Chapel Hill and, 6-3, in Greenville.

In 2024, ECU was No. 6 and took two of the three from UNC, which was No. 15. True freshman Bristol Carter had a walk-off single for the Pirates in the deciding game at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

Fayetteville game next week

The Pirates will be playing College of Charleston at Segra Stadium in Fayetteville on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 6 p.m. prior to returning home on the weekend (Feb. 27-March 1) for the Keith LeClair Classic with Rutgers, Troy and Western Carolina.

The Cougars won, 4-3, at Coastal Carolina on Tuesday, ending a 16-game winning streak at home for the Chanticleers, who ECU will take on in Conway, March 6-8.

Godwin’s take

ECU coach Cliff Godwin sized up this weekend’s challenge after the Pirates rallied for an 11-5 win over Norther Illinois after trailing, 4-1, on Wednesday.

Godwin spoke with former ECU coach Gary Overton on the Pirate radio network.

“We’re pitching at a very high level,” Godwin said. “I don’t think the offense is clicking like it needs to click. It’s more about just stringing the chain together. …

“(Wednesday) was a step in the right direction, but we’re going to have our hands full Friday night here against North Carolina. We’re going to need some good focus and some tough at-bats, for sure.”