ACC Baseball: Weekend Series Preview

#15 Miami Hurricanes (19-8, 7-3 ACC) @ #22 North Carolina Tar Heels (15-10, 5-5 ACC)

  • The Tar Heels took two out of three from Georgia Tech last weekend outscoring the Yellow Jackets 15-10 in the series. Carolina posted a 3.42 ERA and hit .215 as a team in the series.
  • The Hurricanes took two out of three from Wake Forest last weekend outscoring the Demon Deacons 31-19 in the series. Miami hit .354 as a team lead by David Thompson who hit .692 while driving in eight runs over the weekend.
  • Thompson is leading the Hurricanes in conference play hitting .343 with four home runs and 16 RBI.
  • Series Prediction: The Miami offense has been firing on all cylinders and their pitching staff has been solid as well. North Carolina has gotten off to a good start this season as well but I expect the Hurricanes to take two out of three from the Tar Heels this weekend.

#8 Louisville Cardinals (19-7, 9-1 ACC) @ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (17-8, 5-5 ACC)

  • The Cardinals continue to take the ACC by storm sweeping Notre Dame last weekend by outscoring the Irish 11-4 including a 6-4, 18 inning game two victory. The Cardinals hit .259 as a team in the series and posted a 1.00 ERA while holding Notre Dame to a .138 average. The Irish managed just seven hits in their 18 inning game two defeat to Louisville.
  • The Yellow Jackets dropped two of three to the Tar Heels last weekend getting outscored 15-10 in the series. Georgia Tech hit .275 as a team last weekend and held North Carolina to just a .215 team average in the series.
  • Georgia Tech is hitting .289 as a team in conference play and is 7-for-10 in stolen base attempts against ACC catchers so far this season. Yellow Jacket pitchers are posting a 3.33 ERA in conference play and are holding ACC opponents to a .241 average.
  • Louisville is hitting .292 as a team in ACC play and has been wreaking havoc on the base paths stealing 14 bases on 19 attempts in conference games this season. The pitching staff has been phenomenal for the Cardinals posting a 2.47 team ERA in ACC play lead by Josh Rogers who is 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA in 18.2 innings pitched.
  • Series Prediction: Louisville will continue their domination of ACC play in their inaugural season and will take two out of three from the Yellow Jackets.

Virginia Tech Hokies (15-12, 6-4 ACC) @ #10 Florida State Seminoles (20-7, 7-3 ACC)

  •  The Seminoles took two out of three from Virginia last weekend outscoring the Cavaliers 29-19. Florida State hit .270 as a team and were lead by DJ Stewart who hit 5-for-9 (.556) and drove in nine runs in the series.
  • In the Hokies first ACC series since sweeping the Cavaliers, Virginia Tech lost two out of three to Clemson last weekend getting outscored 22-12. Tech hit .254 as a team lead by Alex Perez who hit .462 last weekend driving in one run.
  • The Seminoles are just hitting .250 as a team in ACC play but are lead by Stewart and Quincy Nieporte. Stewart is hitting .310 in conference play with four home runs and 15 RBI. Nieporte is hitting .333 in conference games with seven RBI.
  • Despite posting a 5.75 team ERA in nine ACC games, the Hokies pitching staff is lead by Sean Keselica who is 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA in three ACC starts including a complete game. Perez and Erik Payne are tied for the team lead in average in ACC play with a .389 average and five RBI.
  • Series Prediction: The Hokies continue to play up to their competition this season and upset Florida State 8-3 in game one. The Seminoles will get back on track this weekend and win the next two games at home to take two out of three from Virginia Tech.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (18-10, 5-5 ACC) @ Clemson Tigers (12-12, 4-6 ACC)

  • The Demon Deacons dropped two of three to #17 Miami last weekend avoiding the sweep with a 10-4 victory on Sunday. The Deacons hit .324 in the series and were paced by Will Craig who hit 5-for-11 (.455) in the series with four RBI.
  • Clemson took two out of three from Virginia Tech last weekend outscoring the Hokies 22-12. The Tigers hit .272 as a team and Chris Okey hit .333 (5-for-15) with seven RBI and a grand slam, his third home run of the year to break the scoreless tie in the tenth inning of the first game of the series last weekend.
  • Wake Forest won game one of the series 8-2. The Demon Deacons were lead by second baseman Nate Mondou who went 2-for-5 with two RBI. Craig added a home run and two RBI for the Demon Deacons as well. Clemson’s Steven Duggar went 2-for-5 on the day.
  • Series Prediction: The Demon Deacons have played good baseball all season while the Tigers have struggled to find consistency. Wake Forest will win at least one more game this weekend and will take at least two of three from Clemson.

Duke Blue Devils (19-7, 4-6 ACC) @ Boston College Eagles (9-13, 2-7 ACC)

Photo Credit: Ethan Winter
Photo Credit: Ethan Winter
  • Boston College finally won their first ACC game last weekend beating NC State 3-1 in their first game of their brief two game series in Northborough, Mass. as the third game was cancelled due to extreme cold. They ended up splitting the series with the Wolfpack losing game two on Saturday 9-4 in a 15 inning marathon.
  • The Blue Devils are coming off of taking two out of three from Pittsburgh last weekend outscoring the Panthers 15-13 in the series. Duke hit .255 in the series and were lead by Andy Perez who hit .636 (7-for-11) for the series with four RBI including a walk-off RBI single on Sunday to clinch the series win.
  • The Eagles are starting to play some pretty good baseball winning three in a row and four of their last five games. Boston College has hit .302 as a team in its last five games with Chris Shaw who has broken out of his slump hitting .526 (10-for-19) with three doubles, two home runs and nine RBI over the last five outings. Shaw has raised his average from just below the Mendoza line at .198 to .275 in the last five games.
  • Series Prediction: The Eagles lead the all-time series 14-10 between these two teams including Friday’s 6-1 win. Boston College is playing some great baseball and could take two out of three from Duke this weekend.

Pittsburgh Panthers (11-13, 4-6 ACC) @ NC State Wolfpack (15-9, 4-5 ACC)

Photo Credit: Ethan Winter
Photo Credit: Ethan Winter
  •  The Wolfpack split its brief two game series with Boston College last weekend outscoring the Eagles 10-7 in the series. NC State hit .238 as a team in the series with Logan Ratledge leading the way hitting .500 (5-for-10) in the series with two RBI.
  • Pitt lost two out of three to Duke last weekend getting outscored 15-13 in the series. The Panthers hit .288 as a team in the series and were lead by Aaron Schnurbusch who hit .455 (5-for-11) with two RBI.
  • This is the first meeting between these two teams since 1941.
  • The Wolfpack have scored more than 10 runs in each of its last three games including Friday night’s 14-5 victory and are on a four-game winning streak. NC State has outscored their opponents 53-14 during the streak and 44-10 in the last three games.
  • Series Prediction: The Wolfpack offense is firing on all cylinders while Pitt has been inconsistent all season. The Pack will continue their winning ways and will sweep the Panthers this weekend.

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