ACC Snapshot
For the most part, there were only a handful of changes in the standings yesterday while the teams in the bottom of the conference continued to cling to postseason life. No. 14 N.C. State and No. 16 Clemson became the newest teams to secure a berth in the ACC Championship next week after both collected series opening wins. Meanwhile, UNC has a pulse in the 10th and final spot while Boston College and Notre Dame are on life support with no room for error in the final two regular season matchups.
No. 5 Louisville and No. 4 Miami will be the top two seeds in next week’s tournament, as both picked up their 20th ACC win last night. Should the two programs end in a tie in wins at the end of the season, Miami would be the one seed as the Hurricanes have two fewer losses in conference than the Cardinals.
Virginia continues its stellar play over the past month of the regular season by moving into the No. 3 seed with an 8-3 win over Virginia Tech. The Hoos took advantage of Florida State’s shortcoming to Miami after the Seminoles fell 4-2.
Duke improved its position with a 2-1 win over Pitt while Clemson kept pace with N.C. State after defeating Notre Dame 2-1 to clinch a spot in Durham next week. The Blue Devils still remain behind the Deacs of Wake Forest after falling in the series earlier this season.
1. Miami 20-6
2. Louisville 20-8
3. Virginia 16-11
4. FSU 15-9
5. NC State 14-12
6. Clemson 14-14
7. GT 13-14
8. Wake Forest 13-15
9. Duke 13-15
10. UNC 12-16
11. Boston College 11-15
12. Notre Dame 11-15
13. Pitt 10-17
14. VT 6-21
(BOLD- Clinched to ACC CHAMPIONSHIP)
What They Said
“It was one of those games when they needed something good to happen they got it done. The inning that they got the key hit was a credit to them and we showed what we’re about to come back and get out of that inning.” –FSU Head Coach Mike Martin said after the Seminoles fell 4-2 to the Hurricanes.
"That's pretty darn good. I was super proud of him. He totally picked me up today, as well as the whole team." –Virginia pitcher Connor Jones on reliever Kevin Doherty retiring 12 of the 13 batters he faced over the final four innings of the Hoos 8-3 win over the Hokies.
"He delivered big time for us last year in the postseason and that comes from experience. He's 22 years old, he's graduating this year, he's got really good poise out there. Bringing him into a 4-3 game against your rival, here at home where every game matters, doesn't shake that kid, and that's why I had the confidence to go to him today, and we'll have the confidence in the stretch run to go to him as well." –Virginia Head Coach Brian O’Connor said of Doherty’s outing.
“I thought our defense let us down a little bit tonight. But Brandon Gold pitched above our defense, bailed us out time and time again. We had the one big inning on (Mike) King. I thought Zac Ryan threw really well and Matthew Gorst was outstanding in the end once again.” – Georgia Tech Head Coach Danny Hall.
Looking Ahead
The field of 10 will be set if UNC takes a game from N.C. State and Boston College and Notre Dame fail to sweep. If this occurs, the only thing left to sort out is the tournament seedings, which become uber important with the final four teams in forced to participate in a play-in game to advance to pool play. Louisville can still earn the overall No. 1 seed, but only if they win out and Miami falls in one of its next two games. FSU could fall into one of the play-in positions should Miami sweep them, pending the teams below them win out along the way.
