ACC Baseball News & Notes: Last Weekend Before Tournament

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We have reached the final weekend of the college baseball season. In the ACC, it does appear that the 12 spots in the upcoming tournament have been taken. This weekend will be about seeding only, as teams try to give themselves the best shot possible of extending their season past Memorial Day Weekend. With all that said, there are still some important series that will take place this weekend. So let’s dive in and take a look at the last weekend of league play.

One of the more interesting series that will take place is Florida State (20-30, 7-20) at Louisville (29-22, 9-18). The reason why is the Cardinals’ spot in this week’s NCAA RPI that was released on Tuesday. Louisville has an RPI of 34 as they prepare to play the Seminoles. For them to make the ACC tournament at Durham Atlantic Park, they will need some help from other series that will take place. The funny thing is, they just might get it. The Cardinals are three games back in the loss column of three teams in the Coastal Division. They also will be trying to snap a seven-game losing streak. Georgia Tech (30-21, 12-15), Virginia Tech (29-19, 11-15), and Pittsburgh (23-27, 10-15) are all on the Cardinals’ radar. There is no question scoreboard watching will take place as Louisville plays its series with FSU. The Seminoles have nothing to lose since they already know their season will end on Saturday. Taking someone else with them should be no big deal to them. Louisville’s team ERA is 27th in the country at 4.32.

The Yellow Jackets will host Virginia to finish the regular season. The Cavaliers are in a dogfight of their own. They are tied in the loss column with Miami, Duke, and North Carolina for the ACC Coastal Division lead. All four teams have 11 league losses. Virginia has been OK on the road this spring as they are 8-7 on the road. In league play, they are 5-7. In league play, the Yellow Jackets are 9-6 at home. Ga Tech has not really protected the home field as you would expect. However, they get one more chance at it and this will be a big one. The one thing they must avoid is getting swept because it could mean the difference between playing next week or watching it at home. Virginia knows they will be playing next week, their issue is where they will be seeded and this weekend’s series will take care of that.

The same can be said of the Virginia Tech Hokies who finish their season on the road at #1 Wake Forest (42-8, 20-6). We have talked about the Demon Deacons pitching all spring long. It is worth repeating how good it is. WF has the best team ERA in the country at 2.46, They have allowed the fewest hits per nine innings at 6.51, also the best in the nation. Their staff is tied for the nation’s lead in shutouts with nine. They are second in the country in walks allowing 2.68 per nine innings. You get the idea that the Hokies are going to have to find a way to get some offense going in this series or it’s going to be a long weekend in Winston-Salem. The good news for fans of Virginia Tech is their team batting average is fifth best in the league at .303, which is also 39th in the country. The bat of Garrett Michel will have to be hot in this series for VT. He is hitting .346 with 11 HR, and 43 RBI.

Pittsburgh finishes up at NC State (31-18, 10-16). The Wolfpack have lost three in a row as this series gets started. They have been only a .500 team at home in conference play at 6-6. The Panthers are an under .500 team on the road in league play at 5-7. Pittsburgh’s offense and pitching have been an issue all spring. Their team batting average is .258 which is next to last in the ACC. Their pitching is the worst with a team ERA of 7.15 which is last in the ACC. They have allowed the most hits at 544, the most runs at 372, and the most earned runs at 337. They do have 10 saves to their credit and when they have a lead they can protect it. NC State is in the middle of the pack in both hitting (.297 BA) and in pitching (4.45 ERA). This series will be about who can get outs when they need them.

To give you an idea of where the league stands in the latest RPI rankings, here is the list as of Tuesday. Wake Forest is at 2, Clemson at 8, Virginia at 9, Duke at 12, Boston College at 13, Miami at 18, North Carolina at 24, NC State at 26, and Louisville at 34. Some of these teams are also trying to put themselves in a position to host a regional when the NCAA Tournaments get underway in June.

Winning your division is very important when it comes to the conference tournament next week. The two division winners will be the top two seeds when the seedings get announced on May 20. The complete bracket will be announced on Sunday morning May 21.

Next week we look at the brackets for the Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament.