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With three weeks left in the ACC baseball conference regular season, things continue to be interesting as teams position themselves for the tournament in Durham, NC, on May 20-25. The marquee matchup will take place in Tallahassee, Florida, as the Clemson Tigers take on the Florida State Seminoles. 10 of the 16 conference teams will be in action this weekend, which means there will be plenty of moving going on in the standings by the end of Sunday.
If things were to stay right where they are, North Carolina State, Florida State, North Carolina, and Georgia Tech would have double-byes in the upcoming league tournament. Of course, we know things are bound to change before we get there, but at least there is an idea of what could happen and the possible matchups that could come from it.
The ranking and the polls are still very much in favor of the league. 12 of the 16 teams are inside the top 50 in the RPI rankings, with three teams inside the top 10. Florida State is at #7, Clemson is at #8, and North Carolina is at #9. Now you know why the Clemson vs Florida State series is big. 13 teams are ranked in the Diamond Sports Rankings, with six in the top 25. Clemson is at #6, UNC at #8, Florida State at #12, NC State at #17, Duke at #19, and Louisville at #21.
In the polls, five teams are ranked in the D1 Baseball top 25, and three of them are in the top five. Clemson at #3, North Carolina at #4, Florida State at #5, NC State at #13, and Louisville at #17. Ten of the sixteen are in the D1 Baseball Field of 64 projections, with Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina, and North Carolina State as regional hosts. This week, Notre Dame is listed as a “Team to watch,” while Virginia is a first four out.
One of the reasons why the Fighting Irish are in the tournament talk is because of their latest hot streak. They have won eight straight games, including sweeps of both West Coast teams, Stanford and California. However, that streak came to an end earlier this week when the Irish lost to Purdue from the Big-10, 11-5. On Thursday night, they began a big three-game home series with Louisville.
Another series featuring teams that are going in the right direction is North Carolina State at Miami. The Wolfpack are on top of the league standings with a 15-6 conference record. They have won 11 of their last 13 games. The Hurricanes are also playing well, having swept both Georgia Tech and Boston College in back-to-back league weekends. Miami has also won 11 of its last 13 games.
It has been a busy week for the Boston College Eagles. On Tuesday, they were back at Fenway Park in the consultation of the Beanpot Baseball Tournament. They would win that game over UMass Amherst with the help of a grand slam HR from Josiah Ragsdale. However, the very next day, they lost a 5-4 10-inning game to the Maine Black Bears at home. With an RPI of 60, the Eagles can ill afford any more slip-ups like the one at Harrington Village on Wednesday afternoon.
In non-league baseball this weekend, Georgia Tech hosts Western Carolina, Wake Forest hosts Gardner Webb, and Duke hosts Radford.
The ACC Player of the Week is Brayden Fraasman of NC State. He helped the Wolfpack to a three-game sweep of Clemson, hitting .692 (9-for-13). Last Thursday night, he went 5-for-5 with two HRs and seven RBI. It was the first five-hit game for a Wolfpack player this year. The seven RBI and five hits were a first in a game since 2023. He would have three more hits in Friday night’s game and a hit in Saturday’s series finale.
The ACC Pitcher of the Week is Jack Radel of Notre Dame. In his longest outing of the season, seven innings vs California, Radel struck out a career-high 12 batters. He needed just 93 pitches to go the seven innings, allowed only four hits, and walked one to earn his fourth straight Friday night league win. The 12 Ks are tied for the fourth most by an ACC pitcher this season.
Next week, we are down to the final two weeks of the regular season.
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