North Carolina is rolling again with a 34-7 record. N.C. State's rocking with 13 wins in its past 16 games. Most seasons, that's tough enough. But not this spring in the ACC, a baseball power conference led by formidable Miami (33-4) and Florida State (34-5).

In a national poll released Monday by Baseball America, Miami was ranked No. 1, North Carolina No. 2 and FSU No. 3. The Pack checked in at No. 24.

One version of the Ratings Percentage Index, Boyd's World RPI, had them stacked even tighter -- Miami, FSU and Carolina ranked 1-2-3, and State No. 11.

NCSU coach Elliott Avent, in talking about the Hurricanes' and Seminoles' glossy records, said, "That's impossible. I know how good they are, but when you can roll out a record like that ... "

It tells why Carolina trails Miami in the ACC's Coastal Division and the Pack is second to Florida State in the Atlantic.

FSU, Miami and UNC, which has reached the College World Series championship game two years in a row, are also all positioned to host NCAA regionals and possibly Super Regionals. If that materializes, UNC will stage postseason playoffs at the USA National Baseball Training Center in Cary, where the Tar Heels are playing home games while Boshamer Stadium is being rebuilt.

DOWN THE STRETCH

To be the best in the ACC, North Carolina will have to beat the best in the next few weeks. The Tar Heels host FSU in a three-game series Friday, Saturday and Sunday, then finish league play with three-game series at Virginia and at Miami. State faces Boston College at home this weekend, takes a week off for exams, then completes its regular-season schedule at Maryland (May 9-11) and at FSU (May 15-17).

CURFEW CHAOS

Maybe there should be an asterisk in ACC results denoting "games decided by travel curfew."

Miami and Florida State squared off over the weekend in Tallahassee, Fla. The Hurricanes won the first game; the Seminoles, the second. In the third and deciding game, FSU trailed 11-3 in the fifth inning before rallying to within 11-10 in the bottom of the seventh.

Miami reliever Carlos Gutierrez struck out Tyler Holt to end the seventh. Game over. The ACC has a 3:30 p.m. travel curfew, and the seventh inning began after 3:30.

According to the Miami Herald, the players exchanged heated words, then some angry FSU fans hurled obscenities and debris at the Miami players, who had to be hustled onto their team bus to get to the airport.

Miami did make its flight home.

HEELS & ARMS

Batting against North Carolina's pitchers can be more troublesome than coping with the pollen.

The Tar Heels lead the nation in earned run average (2.15), and starter Alex White owns the top mark (1.99) in the ACC.

But the "perfect" UNC pitcher is Adam Warren, who has a 19-0 career record and is 6-0 this season.

The bullpen is still bullish, despite the departure of last year's All-America closer Andrew Carignan and reliable Matt Danford. Rob Wooten (0.59 ERA), Brian Moran (1.35 ERA) and Nate Striz (0.87) bring solid relief.

POP & PITCH

The boom is back in N.C. State's attack, led by Matt Payne (.356) and Pat Ferguson (.356). In the past 15 games, the Pack has hit .343, belted 22 home runs and scored 132 runs. Before that State was sluggish at the plate, batting .272.

Pack pitching hasn't been bad, either. The team ERA (3.16) ranks among the nation's top five, and the bullpen has been reliable from the get-go. Relievers are 13-4 with a 2.07 ERA and have converted 15 of 16 save opportunities, with Jimmy Gillhenney collecting nine of the saves.

ON THE RISE

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