ACC Baseball News & Notes: Nine Teams Heading to NCAA Tournament

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Once again the Atlantic Coast Conference shows why they are one of the better college baseball leagues in the country. Nine programs from the league saw their name called on Memorial Day Monday as the NCAA announced the field of 64 for the baseball tournament that gets underway on Friday. Four of the nine, North Carolina who won the postseason tournament, Coastal Division winner Virginia Tech, Atlantic Division winner Louisville, and Miami will host a regional this weekend. Florida State, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Virginia, and Wake Forest will also participate in the event. The league has been very consistent with getting to Omaha and playing for a national championship. Over the last 15 years, the ACC has had at least one team make it to the College World Series. Multiple teams have made it 10 times during that span of time, 28 have reached Omaha in the past 15 years which is an average of just under two per year. Here is a look at the group of nine that is looking to make that journey to Nebraska.

Florida State (33-23) will be making their 44th straight appearance in the field. It’s the nation’s longest active streak that began back in 1978, and it ties for the longest postseason streak in NCAA baseball history. On Friday, they will face UCLA (38-22) in the Auburn Regional. The Seminoles will bring with them two of the best pitchers in the ACC and the country. Patrick Messik has a line of 6-5, 3.36 ERA, 93 IP, 98 SO, 24 BB, 27 ER, 81 H. Bryce Hubbart brings it with a line of 8-2, 3.18 ERA, 73 IP, 63 H, 26 ER, 94 SO, and 26 ER. The overall team ERA is at 4.12. For the Noles to advance in this regional, the offense must be found. They do not have a hitter in the top-20 in the league. This is a pitching and defense type approach scoring runs however will be a requirement.

Georgia Tech (34-22) is heading to Knoxville, TN. to face Campbell on Friday. This will be the 34th time that the Yellow Jackets have made the postseason. Georgia Tech will take a .323 team batting average to the regional with three players leading the way. Catcher Kevin Parada, who some consider a high pick in this July’s upcoming draft, hit .356 with 17 HR, and 85 RBI. He is joined in the lineup by Andrew Jenkins batting .386, 17 HR, 63 RBI, and Chandler Simpson with a .418 BA, Hr, and 21 RBI. The pitching does leave a little to be desired with a staff ERA of 6.54. Getting outs will be critical if the Yellow Jackets are to advance.

Louisville (38-18-1) is making their 14th appearance in the field, their 13th in 15 years with Dan McDonnell as the head coach. This will be the ninth time that the Cardinal will host a regional. Does the Cardinal have enough pitching to survive? Their team ERA is 5.29 and two guys, in particular, will have to shoulder the load. Jared Poland 5-4, 2.92 ERA, 74 IP, 91 SO, 27 BB, and Tate Kuehner 6-3, 3.77 ERA, 62 IP, 54 H, 26 ER, 59 SO, and 30 BB will need to be good. The ACC team hit under .300 this spring, Jack Payton had a .351 BA, 4 HR, and 47 RBI. They will play Southeast Missouri State (37-20).

Miami (39-18) is hosting a regional for the first time since 2016. The ACC program has a storied history in this tournament going back to the days of Ron Frazier running the program. They are another team that reached the tournament with numbers that could be considered shakey. The team BA is .291 and two guys stand out. Jacob Burke at a .351 average with 12 HR, 56 RBI, and C.J, Kayfus .369, 7 HR, 50 RBI. On the mound, Carson Palmquist was 9-4, 3.09 ERA, 78 IP, 68 H, 27 BB, 109 SO, and 28 BB. Jake Garland was 6-2, 3.99 ERA, 65 IP, 72 H, 29 ER, 11 BB, and 54 SO. They lead a staff that brings a 4.55 ERA to the tournament. On Friday, they meet Canisius (29-23).

North Carolina (38-19) is in the field for the 34th time. It’s the 12th they have hosted and the 11th time since 2006. The Tar Heels bring the lowest team batting average of the nine ACC teams in the event. They have a .283 team average to go along with a staff ERA of 4.15. This is a team that really has no standout players but still knows how to play winning baseball in the late spring. They will have Hofstra (30-25) on Friday.

Notre Dame (35-14) is heading to the Statesboro regional and a date with Texas Tech (37-20) on Friday. The Irish are making their second straight trip to the field and their 24th overall. ND is another ACC team that is built around pitching and defense. John M Bertrand went 8-2, 2.39 ERA, 90 IP, 72 H, 24 ER, 94 SO, and 19 BB. Austin Temple was 4-1, 3.19 ERA, 59 IP, 41 H, 21 ER, 78 SO, and 27 BB. The Irish staff had the best team ERA in the league at 3.91 while they hit .298 as a team.

Virginia (38-17) is also making their second straight trip to a regional and their 19th overall. They are traveling to Greenville to face Coastal Carolina (36-18-1). Both of these programs have something in common. They have both won the CWS since 2015. The Cavaliers pitchers had a 4.03 staff ERA, and the team batted at a .311 clip. At the plate, Jake Gelof has a .373 average with 17 HR, and 68 RBI. Casey Saucke .356 BA, 7 HR, and 44 RBI. Alex Tappen .355 BA, 13 HR, and 70 RBI. On the mound, Nate Servino has a 5-6 record, 4.02 ERA, 71 IP, 73 H, 32 ER, 75 SO, and 31 BB. Brian Gursky was 7-2, 4.04 ERA, 64 IP, 63 H, 29 ER, 82 SO, and 30 BB.

Before the season got going, the coaches of the ACC got together and voted on who they thought would be the upper-division teams in the league. Virginia Tech (41-12) was thought to be a non-factor this spring. Boy was everyone wrong on this one. The Hokies not only became a first-division team but are hosting a regional as a result. This is the first time in nine years that VT is in the field and the third time since joining the ACC. This will be the first time that a fifth-year head coach, John Szefc, will guide them. Overall, this is their 11th time in the field. Virginia Tech hit .308 and Jack Hurley, who led the league in hitting for most of the spring, has a .379 BA, 13 HR, and 49 RBI. Tanner Schobel has a .373 BA, 17 HR, and 68 RBI. Drue Hackenberg sports a 10-2 record, 2.83 ERA, 85 H, 80 SO, 15 BB, and 27 ER. He should get the ball on Friday.

Wake Forest (40-17-1) is in the field for the 14th time. The first since 2017 when they went back-to-back in 2016 and 2017. They are on their way to Maryland to play in that regional and will face UConn (46-13) on Friday. The Demon Decanos had a .319 team average led by Tommy Hawke’s .376 BA, 2 HR, and 19 RBI. Pierre Bennett hit .367 BA, 6 HR, and 45 RBI. Nick Kuntz hit .356 BA, 15 HR, and 54 RBI. On the hill, Brett Lowder is 11-3, 2.61 ERA, 93 IP, 81H, 27 ER, 24 BB, and Teddy McGraw at 5-2 4.31 ERA, 64 IP, 49 H, 31 ER, 36 BB, and 60 SO. Look for Lowder to get the call vs the Huskies.

There is a look at the nine teams heading to postseason play. By the end of next Monday, we will know how many have advanced to the Super-Regionals that take place next weekend.