North Carolina has won 15 consecutive games in NCAA regional play at Boshamer Stadium. The Tar Heels begin regional play on Friday night against Cornell. PHOTO: Andrew Carter

CHAPEL HILL — The NCAA baseball tournament begins on Friday but the three teams that North Carolina will host this weekend have already descended upon Chapel Hill. East Carolina, St. John’s and Cornell, as well as the Tar Heels, will all go through an open practice today at Boshamer Stadium.

The open practice schedule is as follows:

10-11:15 a.m. – Cornell
11:30 a.m. -12:45 p.m. – East Carolina
1-2:15 p.m. – St. John's
2:30-3:45 p.m. – North Carolina

UNC, of course, will open NCAA regional play against Cornell on Friday at 6 p.m. East Carolina and St. John’s play each other in the early game, at 1 p.m., and the winners of both games – as well as the losers – will meet on Saturday. The double-elimination regional could wrap up as early as Sunday, but a deciding seventh game will be scheduled on Monday, if necessary.

To get you primed and ready for the weekend, here’s a closer look at the three teams that will be in Chapel Hill:

CHAPEL HILL — The North Carolina baseball team earned a No. 6 national seed in the NCAA tournament, which means the Tar Heels’ path to Omaha and the College World Series will remain in Chapel Hill.

UNC, the top seed in the Chapel Hill regional, will begin regional play on Friday at Boshamer Stadium against No. 4 Cornell, the champions of the Ivy League who are competing in the NCAA baseball tournament for the first time since 1977.

In the other Friday game in the Chapel Hill regional, No. 3 St. John’s, the Big East Champion, will play against second-seeded East Carolina. The winner between UNC and Cornell will play the winner between ECU and St. John’s on Saturday, while the losers of those first two games will play one another, too.

The double-elimination regional is scheduled to end on Sunday, but a deciding seventh game could be scheduled for Monday, if necessary. Game times will be announced later today. If UNC advances out of regional play, it would host a Super Regional.

The team that advances out of the Chapel Hill regional will play against the team that advances from the Tucson (Ariz.) regional. Arizona is the top-seeded team there, and the Wildcats are joined by No. 2 New Mexico State, No. 3 Louisville and No. 4 Missouri.

Jacob Stallings and the North Carolina baseball team will host an NCAA regional this weekend at Boshamer Stadium. PHOTO: News & Observer file.

CHAPEL HILL -- One day after their 12-inning pitcher’s duel captivated the largest crowd to watch a college baseball game in state history, North Carolina and N.C. State received news both teams had likely expected: They will both host a four-team regional in the upcoming NCAA Baseball Championship.

Miami celebrates Dale Carey's two-run home run that gave the Hurricanes the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh inning of their 5-3 victory against North Carolina on Thursday. PHOTO: Associated Press

GREENSBORO — The streak is over. North Carolina, which had won 14 consecutive games leading into its game against Miami here on Thursday in the ACC baseball championship, suffered a 5-3 loss against the Hurricanes.

You can check out the game story right here.

And here’s a quick look back at the Tar Heels’ first loss since April 24:

UNC catcher Jacob Stallings and the Tar Heels bring a 13-game winning streak into the ACC tournament. PHOTO: News & Observer file.

GREENSBORO — Welcome to Greensboro, and to the 2012 ACC baseball tournament. Before we go on, an apology for the lack of activity here on the blog of late. After spending last week out of the office, on furlough, things will be a lot more active from here forward.

Now onto baseball. We’ve already seen one upset here in Greensboro, at least in terms of seeding. Georgia Tech, the eighth seed, prevailed in a 5-4 victory against top-seeded Florida State, which has been ranked No. 1 nationally – in various polls – for much of the season.

What does this mean for North Carolina? That, possibly, the Tar Heels’ path to the ACC championship became a bit easier. The Seminoles now need to win their two remaining pool games, and hope for help (a Georgia Tech loss), in order to reach the championship game on Sunday.

CHAPEL HILL — Three North Carolina-related things to consider on this snow-melting Monday morning from Chapel Hill …