Conference play begins in ACC baseball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Baseball conference play begins this weekend throughout the Atlantic Coast Conference with five series on deck.
The premier weekend series will feature No. 1 Wake Forest hosting No. 12 Duke for a three-game series in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Boston College will travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, to meet No. 14 NC State. Virginia Tech will host Notre Dame in Blacksburg, Virginia, while No. 17 North Carolina will welcome Pitt to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Miami will open conference play with a three-game series in Coral Gables, Florida, against No. 13 Virginia.
In non-conference action, Louisville will square off against Northwestern, No. 10 Clemson will host UNC Greensboro, Georgia Tech welcomes Youngstown State, and Florida State plays host to New Orleans.
Florida State is one of four remaining undefeated teams in the country, boasting a perfect 11-0 record going into the weekend. Five ACC teams – Clemson, Duke, Virginia, Pitt, and Wake Forest – all open the weekend with just one loss on the season.
Noting ACC Baseball – Mar. 7
- Going into the weekend, the ACC boasts an 127-31 record – good for an .804 winning percentage.
- In the NCAA’s first RPI rankings of the season, the ACC leads all Power Five conferences with 12 teams inside the top 100. Clemson leads the country at No. 1, while No. 13 Duke, No. 15 Florida State, No. 18 Notre Dame, No. 20 Virginia, and No. 21 Wake Forest all rank inside the top 25 nationally.
- Florida State is one of four undefeated teams remaining in Division I baseball, joining Texas A&M, TCU, and UC Irvine. The 11-0 Seminoles will meet New Orleans this weekend for a three-game set.
- Going into weekend action, the ACC leads all conferences in batting average (.323), on-base percentage (.437), hits (1,722), home runs (292), total bases (3,016), and sacrifice flies (98).
- Duke leads the nation with 35 home runs on the season while Notre Dame ranks second with 32 long balls. Miami (27) and Georgia Tech (25) round out the top 10, ranking seventh and ninth, respectively, while Virginia Tech narrowly missed the grouping with 24 home runs.
- The Blue Devils also lead the nation with a .691 slugging percentage, while Virginia Tech ranks sixth with a .624 team mark and Georgia Tech is 10th with a .605 team slugging percentage.
- Georgia Tech freshman outfielder Drew Burress leads the country with nine home runs. Duke’s Ben Miller and Miami’s Jason Torres are tied for fifth in the country with seven long balls each. Burress launched four home runs on February 27 against Georgia State, becoming the first ACC student-athlete to do so since Louisville’s Brendan McKay on April 25, 2017.
- Florida State pitching ranks second in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings, averaging 14.0 to begin the season, while Wake Forest sits in fourth, fanning 12.9 hitters per nine innings. Duke’s Jonathan Santucci leads the ACC with 31 strikeouts on the season, ranking fifth in Division I baseball.
- The Seminoles also lead the ACC in batting average, hitting .367 as a team, which ranks second nationally. Duke’s .359 average as a team is good for fifth nationally while Virginia (.347) and Louisville (.344) rank seventh and 10th, respectively, across the country. The ACC boasts seven teams in the top 25 nationally in regards to team batting average.
- Notre Dame and Boston College are two of the most sure-handed defensive teams in the country, boasting fielding percentages of .990 and .988, respectively, which rank sixth and seventh in Division I baseball.
- North Carolina leads the ACC with 151 hits on the season, which ranks fifth across the country. Duke’s 150 hits are sixth best in the country while Virginia’s 148 knocks rank ninth. Duke’s Ben Miller is fourth in the country with 24 hits, while Miami teammates Daniel Cuvet and Jason Torres have 23 each, tying for seventh-best in the nation.
- As a true freshman, Cuvet sits inside the top 10 nationally in several offensive categories, boasting a .522 batting average, 24 hits, seven home runs, a 1.043 slugging percentage, and 48 total bases.
- North Carolina’s Matthew Matthijs leads the country with four wins on the mound this season. Seven other pitchers in the ACC have tallied three wins as well.
- Duke’s Charlie Beilenson has been lights out from the bullpen and is tied for the national lead with five saves this season. Virginia’s Aidan Teel has logged four saves and is tied for third in the country.
- NC State’s Alec Makarewicz has driven in an ACC-best 24 runs this season and ranks third nationally in the category. Florida State’s James Tibbs III has plated 21 runs, which is good for eighth in the nation.
Upcoming ACC Baseball Schedule
Friday, March 8
Notre Dame at Virginia Tech, 2:00 pm, ACCNX
UNC Greensboro at No. 10 Clemson, 2:00 pm, ACCNX
Boston College at No. 14 NC State, 3:00 pm, ACCNX
Northwestern at Louisville, 3:00 pm, ACCNX
Pitt at No. 16 North Carolina, 4:00 pm, ACCNX
Youngstown State at Georgia Tech, 4:00 pm, ACCNX
New Orleans at Florida State, 5:00 pm, ACCNX
No. 12 Duke at No. 1 Wake Forest, 6:00 pm, ACCNX
No. 13 Virginia at Miami, 7:00 pm, ACCNX
Saturday, March 9
Northwestern at Louisville, 1:00 pm, ACCNX
Youngstown State at Georgia Tech, 1:00 pm, ACCNX
Pitt at No. 16 North Carolina, 2:00 pm, ACCNX
UNC Greensboro at No. 10 Clemson, 2:00 pm, ACCNX
New Orleans at Florida State, 2:00 pm, ACCNX
No. 12 Duke at No. 1 Wake Forest, 3:00 pm, ACCNX
Boston College at No. 14 NC State, 3:00 pm, ACCNX
Notre Dame at Virginia Tech, 4:00 pm, ACCNX
Youngstown State at Georgia Tech, 4:00 pm, ACCNX
No. 13 Virginia at Miami, 6:00 pm, ACCNX
Sunday, March 10
Boston College at No. 14 NC State, 11:00 am, ACCNX
Northwestern at Louisville, 12:00 pm, ACCNX
No. 12 Duke at No. 1 Wake Forest, 1:00 pm, ACCNX
No. 13 Virginia at Miami, 1:00 pm, ACCNX
Pitt at No. 16 North Carolina, 1:00 pm, ACCNX
Notre Dame at Virginia Tech, 1:00 pm, ACCNX
Youngstown State at Georgia Tech, 1:00 pm, ACCNX
New Orleans at Florida State, 1:00 pm, ACCNX
UNC Greensboro at No. 10 Clemson, 2:00, ACCNX
Rankings reflect latest D1Baseball Poll