ACC

ACC Baseball News & Notes: League is Feasting on Non-League Foes

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We are about to begin week three of the college baseball season. The Atlantic Coast Conference so far has had its way in the non-conference portion of play. ACC schools have gone a combined 81-19 (.810) so far. Home teams are a staggering 65-4 and last weekend the league went 28-3 versus non-league programs. That included five series sweeps. The polls have been taking notice of how well teams from the ACC are doing. Five are ranked in the top-5 of at least one of these rankings. Notre Dame is at #3 in Baseball America, Virginia is at #5. North Carolina State is at #4 in both the USA Today coaches and NCBWA. Florida State is in the top-10 of D1 baseball. Georgia Tech is the same in Collegiate baseball. Eight teams are ranked in the nation’s top-30 in at least one publication. North Carolina and Clemson debuted in this week’s NCBWA poll. Here is more news from the league.

Offense has not been that big of a problem early on for league teams. There have already been six games in which schools from this league have pushed across at least 20 runs in a single game. The sixth time took place last Saturday at Clemson as the Tigers punished the Hartford Hawks of America East by a 28-3 score. Clemson scored in every inning they came to the plate. It was the seventh time in school history and the first time since 2011. The 28 runs were the most in a game since scoring 41 in 1979 and tied for the second-most in school history. Clemson banged out 25 hits with every starter getting at least one. The 25 hits were the most in a game since 2006.

The Florida State Seminoles may have the two best left-handed pitchers in the country in Bryce Hubbart and Parker Messick. In their first two starts totaling 23.2 innings, the pair have combined to allow only nine hits, two walks, while striking out 46 hitters. The only run that has been given up was a solo home run against James Madison. In Messick’s case, opponents are hitting less than a buck (.073) against him in 12.2 innings pitched. He has given up three hits while fanning 24. This guy is on MLB scouts’ watch list.

Five members of the league were named National Players of the Week by Collegiate Baseball. The five are, Jake Gelof of Virginia, Messick of the Seminoles, Kevin Parada, catcher of Georgia Tech, first baseman Tommy White of the North Carolina Wolfpack, and Virginia Tech outfielder Jack Hurley. Hurley is leading the league in hitting early on with a .636 BA, .654 OB, and 1.318 slugging. Tommy White is fourth in hitting at .588, .650 OB, and 1.412 slugging thanks to nine home runs already this year. The freshman also leads the league in hits with 20 in eight games, in RBI with 29, and total bases with 48. Not bad for your first eight games in college.

The ACC Pitcher of the Week is Patrick Messick of Florida State. In his last start Friday night vs Sanford, he went seven innings and punched out a career-high 13 batters in a 7-0 win. He allowed only two baserunners on the night, a first-inning single and a fifth-inning hit batter. In his final inning of work, Messick struck out the side on just 11 pitches. For the night, Messick needed just 85 pitches and 63 were strikes.

The Player of the Week is Virginia’s sophomore third baseman Jake Gelof. In a 4-0 week for the Cavaliers, Gelof went 9-for-10 with a .900 BA, with two doubles, a triple, four home runs, and 15 RBI. He reached base 13 times in those four games and slugged 2.500 for the week. He would hit for the cycle in the series final against Cornell in just four at-bats and five innings played. He became the first Virginia player to hit for the cycle in 21 years. In the opening game of that series, Gelof hit two big flies and had eight RBI. The most by a Cavaliers player since 2013.

To be sure, there is talent in this league and lots of it. We look forward to covering it all season right here on the notes column. We will be back next week with more from ACC baseball.

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