ACC Baseball: The ITA Coastal Division Catch, Volume One

By: Ethan Winter |

No. 16 North Carolina Tar Heels (9-3, 1-0 ACC)

  • The basketball team isn’t the only team hosting Duke this weekend in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels will also take on the Blue Devils on the diamond to begin ACC play.
    • North Carolina defeated the Blue Devils 8-1 in the first game of the series.
    • Sophomore pitcher, Zac Gallen pitched into the eighth inning striking out a career-high 12 batters.
    • Junior outfielder Sky Bolt led the offense for the Heels from the leadoff spot going 3-for-5 with two RBI.
  • The Tar Heels began the season with a series sweep of Seton Hall winning games 7-1, 10-4 and 9-5.
  • North Carolina then dropped two out of three the following weekend to UCLA, losing games 8-5 and 12-4 while they picked up the middle game of the series 9-6 in Orlando, Fla. to fall to 4-2 on the season.
  • The Tar Heels then took two out of three from the University of Rhode Island, winning games 4-3 and 5-3.  UNC then lost the final game of the series 6-3. The Tar Heels then picked up mid-week wins over Liberty, 6-4 and VCU, 6-5 to improve to 8-3 on the year through the first three and a half weeks of the season.
  • Sophomore infielder Wood Myers leads the Tar Heels in hitting with a .381 average and four RBI. Sophomore outfielder, Tyler Ramirez leads the team in home runs and RBI with two dingers and 11 ribbies on the year.
  • Senior right hander Benton Moss leads the pitching staff for the Tar Heels posting a 2-0 record with a 2.30 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 15.2 innings pitched. Junior Trent Thornton leads the bullpen with three saves and 20 strikeouts in 15.2 innings pitched in six appearances and two starts this season.

Duke Blue Devils (10-2, 0-1 ACC)

  • The Blue Devils have gotten off to a great start this season racing out to a 10-1 record through the first three weeks of the season. The Blue Devils started the season off winning two of three from Cal bookending the weekend with wins, 7-1 and 12-7, only losing the middle game 3-2 to the Golden Bears.
  • The Blue Devils then swept the Duke Baseball Classic defeating Hartford 5-1, Delaware State 9-4 and Iona 1-0 to improve to 5-1 on the season after the second weekend.
  • Duke continued their then four game win streak by winning the next five games including a sweep of Rider 1-0, 2-1 in 11 innings and 11-3. Duke also defeated North Carolina Central 12-1 and Liberty 3-2 to extend their win streak to nine games.
  • The basketball team isn’t the only Duke team to travel to Chapel Hill this weekend as the Blue Devils will take on No. 16 North Carolina for a three-game series to begin ACC play.
    • The Blue Devils dropped the first game of the series with the Tar Heels losing 8-1.
    • Senior pitcher, Andrew Istler was charged with his first loss of the season giving up five runs (all earned) in 6.1 innings pitched.
  • Freshman infielder, Jack Labosky is leading the Blue Devils in hitting with a .341 average and five RBI. Sophomore catcher, Chris Perez leads the team with 13 RBI and is hitting .243 on the year.
  • Sophomore pitcher Bailey Clark has been leading the staff for the Blue Devils posting a 1-0 record with a 1.35 ERA in 20 innings pitched. Junior infielder/reliever Kenny Koplove has two saves on the year with an 1-0 record and has yet to give up a run in 6.2 innings pitched while striking out 13 this season.

Virginia Tech Hokies (6-6, 0-0 ACC)

  •  Virginia Tech started the season taking two of three from Mercer winning the last two games of the series 11-4 and 5-4 after losing the first game 9-1 on Opening Day.
  • Virginia Tech then travelled to Buis Creek, N.C. for the Campbell invitational where they lost three of four games. After beating Campbell 6-5 in the first game of the weekend, the Hokies lost the next three games losing to Rider 4-3 twice and Campbell 3-1 in the final game of the weekend.
  • The Hokies then took three of four from Toledo in a four-game weekend series winning the first two games and the last game of the series 9-1, 1-0 (10) and 9-3. Virginia Tech lost the third game of the series 1-0 to the Rockets. After the first game of a two game mid-week series with College of Charleston was cancelled, the Hokies lost the second game of the series 8-3.
  • The Hokies’ ACC opener with Wake Forest was postponed Friday night and will play a double-header on Saturday finishing up the series on Sunday.
  • Redshirt sophomore Saige Jenco is leading the Hokies in hitting this year batting .306 on the year with one home run and two RBI. Redshirt senior Erik Payne is second on the team in hitting (.292) and leads the team in RBI with 11. Senior Brendan Hayden leads the team in home runs with three and second on the team with 10 RBI.
  • Redshirt Junior Jon Woodcock leads the pitching staff with a 2-0 record and 2.25 ERA in 20 innings pitched. Senior pitcher/infielder Sean Keselica leads the team with a miniscule 1.06 ERA in 17 innings pitched. Sophomore Luke Scherzer leads the bullpen with two saves and a 1.17 ERA in six appearances and 7.2 innings pitched.

No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers (10-0, 0-0 ACC)

  • Virginia started the 2015 season as one would expect… undefeated. The ‘Hoos started the season with a three game sweep of East Carolina winning games 3-1, 9-2 and 4-2.
  • After their home opener against VCU was postponed, the Cavaliers then swept a four game weekend set in Charleston, S.C. sweeping Marist 9-1, 7-2 and 5-4 in an 18 inning marathon at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park — home of the Charleston Riverdogs, Single-A minor league affiliate of the New York Yankees. The ‘Hoos also defeated LaSalle, 8-3 at Charleston Southern.
  • After yet another postponement at home against George Washington, the ‘Hoos travelled to Myrtle Beach, S.C. where they defeated Hartford 5-1, Seton Hall 4-1 and Cornell 5-4.
  • After a third postponement at home against VMI, the Cavaliers ACC opening series against Pittsburgh, has been moved to Cary, N.C. where they will play a double-header on Saturday and will finish up the three-game series on Sunday.
  • Freshman first baseman/outfielder Pavin Smith leads the team in average hitting an even .500 in 42 at bats with two home runs and six RBI. Sophomore catcher Matt Thaiss leads the team with four homer runs and 10 RBI and is second on the team in average hitting .350 on the year.
  • Junior lefthander Nathan Kirby and sophomore righty Connor Jones have been nearly unhittable on the mound for the Cavaliers this season. Kirby is 3-0 on the year with an 0.49 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 18.1 innings pitched and Jones is 3-0 with an 0.56 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 16 innings pitched.
  • UVA has had 13 home dates postponed, canceled, or moved due to inclement weather. In a classy move, the University is refunding season tickets to their season-ticket holders at Formulaic Lawyer Murder Mystery Stadium.

Pittsburgh Panthers (3-6, 0-0 ACC)

  •  Pitt began their season with a bang, drubbing Saint Louis 18-1 in their season opener. The Panthers however dropped the next two games of the Snowbirds Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla. however losing to Kansas State 7-0 and Ohio State 8-0 to fall to 1-2 after their first weekend of the season.
  • Pitt then dropped two of three in the USC Upstate/Wofford Tournament winning the middle game of the weekend defeating USC Upstate 10-4. Pitt bookended the weekend with losses to Wofford 5-3 and Eastern Tennessee State University (ETSU) 10-4 to finish 2-4 after two weekends of play.
  • Pitt continued their trend of winning one game every weekend losing two out of three to VCU last weekend. The Panthers won the middle game of the series 6-1 and bookended the series with extra-inning losses, losing 5-4 in the first game of the series in 12 innings and losing the rubber game 3-2 in 10 innings.
  • The Panthers travel to Cary, N.C. to take on the Virginia Cavaliers in their ACC series opener.
  • Junior outfielder Aaron Schnurbusch leads the Panthers in hitting with a .417 average and three RBI in 24 at-bats. Freshman infielder Charles LeBlanc is second on the team with a .371 average and two RBI in 35 at-bats. Senior infielder Jordan Frabasilio leads the team with three home runs and seven RBI.
  • Sophomore right hander T.J. Zeuch leads the Panthers pitching staff with a 1-1 record and a 1.86 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 19.1 innings pitched.

No. 15 Miami Hurricanes (9-5, 0-1 ACC)

  • The Hurricanes started off the season winning four in a row to start the season 4-0. Miami swept Rutgers winning games 5-2, 9-5, 9-3 and 25-4 in the opening weekend.
  • The Canes were then upset by Florida Atlantic 5-3 in a mid-week game before they lost two out of three to No. 6 Florida winning the middle game of the series 7-2.
  • Miami then regained their winning ways winning the next three games including a mid-week game against Barry University 5-3. The U took the first two games of their series against Wright State 8-7 and 4-3 before the Raiders snapped the Hurricanes win streak as Miami dropped the final game of the series 12-6.
  • After defeating Florida Gulf Coast 7-3 in a mid-week game, Miami dropped the opening game of their first ACC series of the season against No. 20 Louisville 9-6 in game one of Saturday’s double-header.
  • Junior outfielder Ricky Eusebio leads the Hurricanes in hitting with a .366 average and five RBI. Sophomore Catcher Zack Collins is tied for the team lead in home runs with two and has a team high 12 RBI.
  • Junior southpaw Thomas Woodrey leads the pitching staff with a 2-0 record and a 1.93 ERA in 18.2 innings pitched. Sophomore righty Bryan Garcia leads the bullpen with three saves, a 1-0 record and a 1.42 ERA

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-4, 1-1 ACC)

  •  The Yellow Jackets opened up the 2015 season hosting the Atlanta Invitational where they won two out of three on opening weekend. Georgia Tech defeated St. John’s 17-3 and split a pair with Fordham, losing 9-4 and winning 7-5.
  • Georgia Tech then defeated Georgia Southern, 7-4 in a mid-week game before travelling to Conway, S.C. where they won two of three in the Caravelle’s Resort Baseball at the Beach Tournament. The Yellow Jackets defeated Florida International 16-9 in the first game of the weekend and Albany 9-8 in the last game of the weekend. GT lost the middle game to Coastal Carolina 7-5.
  • The Yellow Jackets then lost to Auburn 7-1 in a mid-week game before the Jackets went on a four game winning streak sweeping Indiana State 1-0, 15-2, and 7-1 and defeating Ohio 7-6 in 12 innings.
  • Georgia Tech began ACC play by splitting the first two games of the series with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Yellow Jackets dropped the first game of the series 3-2 in 10 innings and won the second game of the series 11-7.
  • Senior infielder Thomas Smith leads the Yellow Jackets in average hitting .340 on the year with two RBI. Freshman outfielder Kel Johnson has hit a team high five home runs and is second on the team with 15 RBI with a .333 average entering Saturday. Senior A.J. Murray is second on the team in home runs entering Saturday with a team high 17 RBI.
  • Junior southpaw Jonathan King leads the staff with a 2-0 record and a 3.13 ERA in 23 innings pitched. Sophomore right hander Zac Ryan is holding down the fort in the bullpen, recording two saves on the season with a 2-0 record and a 1.93 ERA in 14 innings pitched.

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