ACC Baseball News & Notes Eight Make Teams NCAA Tournament

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It’s that time of year once again. After a year’s absence because of health and safety concerns, the NCAA Baseball Tournament, or as some of us like to call it, “the field of 64” on the road to Omaha, was announced earlier this week. The Atlantic Coast Conference will be well represented as eight teams heard their names called to be a part of the event. This is the fifth time since 2010 that eight programs have made the field. It is the 17th straight year that at least six have made the tournament. When it comes to college baseball, the ACC is one of the best leagues in the country. Here are the eight teams and where their journeys will begin.

The ACC received only one national seed which went to the (10) Notre Dame Fighting Irish. With that seed comes an opportunity to host a regional which they will do for the first time since 2004. On Friday afternoon, the Irish (30-11) will take on Central Michigan (40-16). The Irish were 14-6 at home this season and finished the regular season with a four-game winning streak. During the conference season, ND lost only one league series all year. The Irish will enter the regional with a staff ERA of under four. The Irish were led by the top two pitchers in the regular season. Tanner Kohlhepp finished with a 7-1 record and a 2.56 ERA. while John W. Bertrand went 7-1 with a 2.77 ERA.

Florida State, making their 43rd consecutive appearance and their 58th overall, are heading to Oxford, Miss. Regional to take on Southern Miss. on Friday afternoon. For the Seminoles (30-22), they will be the third seed in this regional, They boasted the best staff ERA in the conference at 3.38. They are led by freshman Patrick Messick, the likely starter on Friday. Messick finished the regular season with a 6-2 record and a 3.30 ERA. On offense, the Seminoles were paced by Matheu Nelson who had a .339 average with 22 home runs and 63 runs batted in. Southern Miss. (37-19) could have their hands full in this one.

The surprise of the ACC tournament was the Duke Blue Devils (32-20) who made the event on the next to last weekend of the regular season. They would go on to win the tournament and earn the automatic bid that goes with it. For their efforts, the Blue Devils are heading to Knoxville, Tennessee to take on third-seeded Liberty (39-14). For Duke, the two-seed in this regional, this will mark the third straight appearance in the tournament and the ninth overall. RJ Schreck leads the offense with a .350 average,15 HR, 46 RBI and 11 stolen bases.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (29-23) will be heading to Nashville, Tennessee. The Yellow Jackets, who are making their 33rd trip in program history, will meet Indiana State (30-19). Georgia Tech had an interesting year stat-wise. They were second in team batting with a .286 average. Kevin Parada at .328, and Luke Waddell at .322 led the way. However, on the mound, it was a different story. The Yellow Jackets were next to last in team pitching with a staff ERA of 5.65 giving up 466 hits and 275 earned runs in 438 innings. For Georgia Tech, a win in their opening game may mean a date with the defending national champs, the Vanderbilt Commodores (40-15).

The Miami Hurricanes are another ACC program with a long and storied history in the NCAA. For the Canes (32-19), this will mark the 47th overall trip to the tournament. Miami will face South Alabama (33-20). The Hurricanes are the second-seed in the Gainesville Regional and could meet in-state rival Florida (38-20) for a chance to advance to the next round. Pitching was big for Miami as they head into this event with a staff ERA of 4.31. On offense, catcher C.Del Castillo had a big year with the bat hitting .368 with a .495 slugging percentage.

The North Carolina State Wolfpack are in the Ruston, LA. Regional, and as the second seed will take on Alabama (31-24) on Friday. For the Wolfpack, this is the 32nd appearance in the tournament. NC State led the ACC in batting during the regional season with a team batting average of .292. They had 166 extra-base hits in 1516 at-bats during the season.

The North Carolina Tar Heels (27-25) are on their way to Lubbock, Texas as a three-seed to face UCLA (35-18), the two seed. The Tar Heels are in the field for the 33rd time in program history. Austin Love had a solid year on the mound. The probable Friday starter had an ERA of 3.51 with a record of 7-4. He added 111 strikeouts in 89.2 innings pitched.

Virginia (29-23) is in the field for the first time since 2017. As the third seed, they will play South Carolina (33-21) on Friday. The Gamecocks are hosting the regional but are not the number one seed. That belongs to Old Dominion (42-16). Virginia is making their 18th trip to the NCAA tournament. Andrew Abbott, who should get the ball on Friday, has 126 strikeouts and a 7-4 mark during the regular season. He also gave up 11 home runs.

It should be a fun weekend of college baseball.