This Week in ACC Baseball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.org) – The 14 teams across the Atlantic Coast Conference combined to post a 30-5 record over the opening weekend of college baseball. With a 39-6 record after Tuesday’s midweek action, the ACC boasts the highest non-conference winning percentage of any conference in Division I baseball.
There will be four games against ranked opponents around the conference this weekend, highlighted by No. 15 North Carolina’s three-game series against No. 11 East Carolina, which features a home, away, and neutral site contest for the Tar Heels. Virginia, who is ranked 14th in the most recent D1Baseball poll, will meet No. 18 Iowa in the Jacksonville College Baseball Classic, hosted by D1Baseball.
North Carolina and Virginia are joined in the latest D1Baseball Top 25 rankings by No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 10 Clemson, No. 12 Duke, and No. 13 NC State.
Noting ACC Baseball – Feb. 22
• Led by College World Series participants Wake Forest and Virginia, eight ACC teams were selected to compete in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, the second most of any conference. The ACC has placed at least six teams in the NCAA tournament for 19 straight years. This marked the seventh year since 2010 that at least eight ACC teams have landed spots in the field.
• The ACC leads all conferences with 15 D1Baseball Preseason All-Americans. Wake Forest leads the way with five selections, while Duke is tied for second nationally with Tennessee and TCU with three nods each. Nick Kurtz (WF), Cam Cannarella (CU), Josh Hartle (WF), and Fran Oschell (DU) highlight the conference as First Team selections.
• Six teams from the ACC will roll into the second week as a ranked squad, according to D1Baseball. Wake Forest holds strong as the No. 1 team in the country while Clemson cracks the top 10 at No. 10. Slots 12-15 are all ACC members with Duke at No. 12, NC State ranked at No. 13, Virginia slotted at No. 14, and North Carolina coming in at No. 15. Six members inside the top 15 of the poll ties the ACC for the most in the country.
• Georgia Tech’s Payton Green and Florida State’s Cam Leiter were named the ACC Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. Both players picked up additional national honors, with Leiter being named the National Pitcher of the Week by D1Baseball, NCAA Baseball, and Perfect Game.
• After opening weekend, Duke leads the country with 16 home runs, hitting 5.33 long balls per game. The Blue Devils tied an ACC single-game record against George Mason when they hit 11 home runs with three coming off of the bat of freshman AJ Gracia.
• The ACC will play four games against ranked opponents during the second weekend of the season. No. 15 North Carolina will play three games against No. 11 East Carolina, including games at home, on the road, and at a neutral site. No. 14 Virginia will meet No. 18 Iowa in Jacksonville, Florida, at the Jacksonville College Baseball Classic, hosted by D1Baseball.
• NC State head coach Elliott Avent notched his 1,000th win as the Wolfpack’s skipper in the opening weekend series finale against VCU. Avent’s Wolfpack squad heads to Hawai’i for a three-game set this weekend.
Friday, February 23
No. 14 Virginia vs. Wichita State (Jacksonville, Fla.), 2 pm, D1Baseball
Pitt vs. Washington (Corpus Christi, Texas), 2 pm
St. Bonaventure at Louisville, 2 pm, ACCNX
Dayton at No. 1 Wake Forest, 4 pm, ACCNX
Northwestern at No. 12 Duke, 4 pm, ACCNX
Cornell at Georgia Tech, 4 pm, ACCNX
Rhode Island at Virginia Tech, 4 pm, ACCNX
No. 11 East Carolina at No. 15 North Carolina, 5 pm, ACCNX
Kennesaw State at Clemson, 5 pm, ACCNX
Western Carolina at Florida State, 5 pm, ACCNX
St. Bonaventure at Louisville, 5 pm, ACCNX
Boston College at UT Arlington, 6 pm
Notre Dame at FIU, 6:30 pm, ESPN+
LIU at Miami, 7 pm, ACCNX
No. 13 NC State at Hawai’i, 11:35 pm, ESPN+
Saturday February 24
St. Bonaventure at Louisville, 1 pm, ACCNX
Western Carolina at Florida State, 2 pm, ACCNX
Pitt vs. Maryland (Corpus Christi, Texas), 2 pm
Kennesaw State at No. 10 Clemson, 2 pm, ACCNX
Notre Dame at FIU, 2 pm
No. 15 North Carolina vs. No. 11 East Carolina (Greenville, N.C.), 2 pm
Cornell at Georgia Tech, 2 pm, ACCNX
Northwestern at No. 12 Duke, 3 pm, ACCNX
Dayton at No. 1 Wake Forest, 4 pm, ACCNX
Rhode Island at Virginia Tech, 4 pm, ACCNX
No. 14 Virginia vs. No. 18 Iowa (Jacksonville, Fla.), 4 pm, D1Baseball
Notre Dame at FIU, 5:30 pm
LIU at Miami, 6 pm, ACCNX
Boston College at UT Arlington, 6 pm
No. 13 NC State at Hawai’i, 11:35 pm, ESPN+
Sunday, February 25
Northwestern at No. 12 Duke, 12 pm, ACCNX
Notre Dame at FIU, 1 pm, ESPN+
Dayton at No. 1 Wake Forest, 1 pm, ACCNX
Rhode Island at Virginia Tech, 1 pm, ACCNX
Western Carolina at Florida State, 1 pm, ACCNX
St. Bonaventure at Louisville, 1 pm, ACCNX
LIU at Miami, 1 pm, ACCNX
Cornell at Georgia Tech, 1 pm, ACCNX
Kennesaw State at No. 10 Clemson, 2 pm, ACCNX
No. 15 North Carolina at No. 11 East Carolina, 2 pm, ESPN+
Pitt at Texas A&M – Corpus Christi, 3 pm
No. 14 Virginia vs. Auburn (Jacksonville, Fla.), 4 pm, D1Baseball
No. 13 NC State at Hawai’i, 6:05 pm, ESPN+
Monday, Feb. 26
Pitt at Texas A&M – Corpus Christi, 10:30 am