Historic Weekend Series Draws Record UNC Crowd at Boshamer Stadium

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A litmus test for how important a weekend series is for the Diamond Heels seems to be how many fans crowd the field hockey grandstand of Karen Shelton Stadium. 

On Friday night, the makeshift home run deck overlooking right field was filled up, and Boshamer Stadium was bursting at the seams as North Carolina set a program record for regular season attendance with 4,357 fans in the 4,100 seat ballpark. And as the weekend continued, No. 3 North Carolina not only captured a series victory over No. 2 Georgia Tech in the highest-ranked series in the venue’s history, but also one of the largest total weekend attendance tallies with more than 11,500 fans.

“Want to give a shout out to our fans,” head coach Scott Forbes said after Friday’s win. “Excited that they showed up like they did. That helps our guys tremendously. Playing at home should matter.”

Earlier in the week, Forbes challenged the fan base to show up for Friday’s opening game and to make an audible difference as North Carolina looked to make its case for why it’s the best team in the country. He told fans to pack the Bosh during his weekly appearance on Inside Carolina’s Inside the Lines with Tommy Ashley.

The fan base responded, not only helping UNC to an early 3-0 lead in the first, but also staying loud through the ninth inning as Walker McDuffie shut it down for the Diamond Heels to take game one. 

“It was unbelievable,” Jake Schaffner said after the game. “It’s the best crowd I’ve ever played with and for, and it was great hearing them; they were so loud in the ninth, and it was amazing.” 

Support continued throughout the weekend, creating the atmosphere of a super regional weekend in Chapel Hill, despite the calendar still reading April. And if anyone can attest to the feeling of pitching behind such a crowd, it’s Jason DeCaro — Friday’s starter. 

The junior right-hander leaned on his experience of pitching in two super regionals and the opening game of North Carolina’s 2024 College World Series appearance to throw five innings and allow one earned run on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks. He admitted the energy in the stadium helped simulate a postseason start for UNC’s ace. 

“Also hard not to get a little extra juice when you’re playing the No. 2 team in the country,” DeCaro said. “So just going out there trying to prove a point that when we’re playing our best, we can beat anyone.”