Here is the Weekend Preview for the ACC for the weekend of March 7th through March 9th. This will be the opening weekend in the conference which should be one of the most exciting seasons in recent memory with no standout teams after Miami (FL). The Hurricanes have some question marks on the mound so they are not a fully rounded squad. Some of the other teams in the conference have several question marks with Virginia having to fill in for the loss of Sean Doolittle in the rotation and in their lineup.
Boston College at Miami (FL)
The Boston College Eagles will make their first trip down to Coral Gables as members of the ACC as the two schools did not meet during the first two years of Boston College being in the conference. The Eagles are led by second year head coach Mik Aoki who has led the Eagles to an early season record of 6-4 after going 24-27-1 in his first season in charge of the program. The Eagles are led by preseason conference player of the year candidate Eric Campbell who has struggled early in the year with a .295 batting average but has hit three homers on the season. Newcomer Matt Hamlet who has seen time at second base, shortstop, and right field leads the team in hitting with a .450 average in the first ten games with two homers and ten RBI. The Eagles other top hitters are sophomores Barry Butera who has a .413 average and three homers and catcher Tony Sanchez who checks in with a .410 average and leads the team with six doubles on the year. The Eagles pitching staff is led by 2006 CCBL Co-Pitcher of the Year in Terry Doyle who had a rough first outing against Georgia Southern but was solid in his second start against Mount St. Mary’s where he pitched a complete game with 13 strikeouts. Doyle’s current record is 1-0 with a 6.92 ERA. Junior James McDonald has stepped into the second spot in the rotation after pitching five shutout innings in relief against Georgia Southern and shutting down the Notre Dame Fighting Irish last weekend over eight strong innings to up his record to 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA. The final starter for the Eagles has been Dan Houston who has not been able to regain his freshman form from the 2006 season as he struggled in 2007 after a failed experiment with him in the bullpen. He enters the weekend with a 1-0 record with a 8.71 ERA.
Miami (FL) is led by legendary head coach Jim Morris who is entering his 15th season in charge of the Hurricane program and his 30th overall season. Miami (FL) comes into the weekend sporting a 6-1 overall record after sweeping Cincinnati, taking two out of three games from the University of Florida, and taking a mid-week contest from Lehigh on Tuesday. The Hurricanes have one of the best hitting lineups in the nation which is led by National Player of the Year candidate Yonder Alonso who was named to several All-American teams last season. He has a .333 batting average with only two extra base hits (both doubles) while receiving six walks in the first seven games of the campaign. Blake Tekotte is the leading hitter on the squad with his .435 average from the leadoff spot. The other two players on the Hurricane squad to watch at the plate is Jemile Weeks and Mark Soblewski. Weeks has a .345 average as he provides excellent protection in the number two hole behind Tekotte by moving him around the bases with great hit and runs and laying down bunts. Soblewski has started out the season slow as he is only hitting .250 in 28 at bats but will eventually comes around. The Hurricane pitching staff is led by sophomore pitcher Eric Erickson who enters the weekend with a 2-0 record with a 3.55 ERA after a strong freshman campaign. Enrique Garcia is listed as the number 2 starter where he has struggled without a record in two starts and a 7.04 ERA in 7.2 innings. The other starter in the rotation is Freshman Chris Hernandez who has been outstanding in his first two career starts with a 2-0 record and a 0.75 ERA. His strikeout to walk ratio is an outstanding 15:1.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: UM Eric Erickson (2-0, 3.55 ERA) vs BC Terry Doyle (1-0, 6.92 ERA)
Saturday: UM Enrique Garcia (0-0, 7.04 ERA)vs BC Dan Houston (1-0, 8.71 ERA)
Sunday: UM Chris Hernandez (1-0, 0.75 ERA) vs. BC James MacDonald (2-0, 0.69 ERA)
Prediction:
The Miami Hurricanes will win 2 out of the three games against the Boston College Eagles. The BC pitching staff is not as deep as the Hurricanes in the back end of the bullpen.
North Carolina at Duke
The North Carolina Tar Heels head down the road to Duke for a three game set. The Tar Heels enter with a 8-1 overall record as they have only lost to Old Dominion during a non-conference game. The Tar Heels lineup is led by Dustin Ackley and Tim Fedroff. Ackley was the consensus Freshmen of the Year in 2007 after hitting .402 in 2007. He has started off just as well with a .500 batting average over the first nine games. Fedroff has started off the season slow as he is only hitting .237. The Tar Heels pitching staff is led by Sophomore pitcher Alex White who enters the weekend with a 2-0 record without giving up an earned run in his first two starts of the season.
The Duke Blue Devils enter the weekend with a perfect 11-0 record after playing an extremely soft schedule early in the season. The Blue Devils are led by sophomore outfielder/pitcher Alex Hassan who is batting a team high .465 on the year. Duke’s pitching staff is led by a solid staff of three with some outstanding numbers. Andrew Wolcott will take the ball on Friday sporting an ERA of 1.64 in his first two starts of the season with a 1-0 record. The other two starters this weekend are Will Currier who is 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA and Grant Munroe who is 2-0 with an ERA of 1.80.
Probable Starting Pitchers:
Friday: UNC Alex White (2-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Duke Andrew Wolcott (1-0, 1.64 ERA)
Saturday: UNC Adam Warren (1-0, 12.15 ERA) vs Duke Will Currier (2-0, 0.75 ERA)
Sunday: UNC TBA vs Duke Grant Monroe (2-0, 1.80 ERA)
Prediction: The Tar Heels will roll over the Duke Blue Devils in a three game weekend sweep.
UNC Game Notes
Duke Game Notes
Maryland at FSU
The Maryland Terrapins head down to Tallahassee to take on the Florida State Seminoles in the ACC season opening series. UMD enters the weekend series with a 5-4 record after defeating Coppin State on Wednesday 12-2. The Terrapins lineup is led by Chad Durakis who is leading the team in hitting with a .471 average and 11 RBI. Gerry Spessard is off to a good start as he leads the team in homers with 3 homers and second on the team with 10 RBI. The Terrapins rotation has been led this season by Jensen Pupa who has a 0-2 record with a 2.53 ERA.
Florida State comes in with a perfect 9-0 record after some impressive series wins over Duquesne and a four game sweep over Auburn. The Seminoles have one of the top catchers in the country in Buster Posey who is hitting .344 with two homers and 11 RBI. Dennis Guinn is the leading hitter on the team with.469 average with 4 homers and 13 RBI on the year which are all team highs. Freshman Mike McGee has surprised the coaching staff as he is hitting .452 in the early part of the season. Elih Villanueva has stepped into the number 1 spot in the rotation for departed pitcher Bryan Henry. Villanueva has a 2-0 record with a 4.35 ERA. The rest of the weekend rotation will likely include Ryan Strauss (1-0, 1.00 ERA) and freshman Mike McGee (2-0, 2.25 ERA) who also stars on the mound.
Probable Starters
Friday: UMD Scott Swinson (1-1, 6.35) vs FSU Elih Villanueva (2-0, 4.35)
Saturday: UMD Kevin Biringer (1-0, 0.96) vs FSU Matt Fairel (2-0, 1.50)
Sunday: UMD Jensen Pupa (0-2, 2.53) vs FSU Ryan Strauss (1-0, 1.00)
Prediction: FSU will sweep the Maryland Terrapins.
FSU Game Notes
UMD Game Notes
Clemson at Wake Forest
The Clemson Tigers head over to Winston-Salem to take on the Demon Deacons in a three game set to open the ACC season for both teams. The Tigers have an overall record of 6-2 but are in the middle of rebuilding but have a solid catcher in Doug Hogan returning. He is currently hitting .376 with two homers and five RBI. The top hitter on the team right now is Wilson Boyd who comes in at a .412 clip with five homers and 13 RBI. The other top hitter is Ben Paulsen who is second on the team in average at .407. The pitching staff is led by Ryan Hinson who has a 1-1 record with a 2.45 ERA. The other two starters are D.J. Mitchell (1-1, 3.48 ERA) and Graham Stoneburner (1-0, 2.70 ERA).
Wake Forest enters with a 5-4 record after making the 2007 NCAA Tournament. The Demon Deacons top hitter is Allan Dykstra who is hitting .321 with two homers and four RBI in the first nine games of the season. He has received 13 walks in the first nine games as he is getting the Barry Bonds treatment at the plate. Ben Terry is leading the team in hitting with a .351 average. The Deacons pitching staff is Ben Hunter (1-1, 2.25 ERA), Charlie Mellies (0-2, 6.97 ERA), and Garrett Bullock (1-0, 7.20 ERA)
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: WF Ben Hunter (1-1, 2.25 ERA) vs CU Ryan Hinson (1-1, 2.45 ERA)
Saturday: WF Garrett Bullock (1-0, 7.20 ERA) vs CU D.J. Mitchell (1-1, 3.48 ERA)
Sunday: WF Charlie Mellies (0-2, 6.97 ERA) vs CU Graham Stoneburner (1-0, 2.70 ERA)
Prediction: Wake Forest will take two out of three games from the Clemson Tigers.
Clemson Game Notes
Wake Forest Game Notes
Virginia at NC State
The Virginia Cavaliers head into Raleigh to take on the NC State Wolfpack in the ACC Season opener for both squads. The Cavaliers enter the series with a perfect 10-0 record behind the strong hitting of the squad. The top hitter for UVA is Jeremy Farrell who is hitting at .467 while going 4-4 on the base paths in steals. Greg Miclat has come out strong in the 2008 season as he is hitting .355 with eleven runs scored and batted in. The Cavaliers pitching staff is led by pitcher of the year candidate Jacob Thompson who has not lost a game since his freshman campaign. He is currently 2-0 without letting up an earned run. The other two weekend starters are Pat McAnaney (1-0, 1.50 ERA) and Andrew Carraway (2-0, 1.64 ERA).
The NC State Wolfpack have a 6-2 overall record led by Eric Surkamp who is the ace of the Wolfpack pitching staff as he has a 1-1 record with an ERA of 1.86. Marcus Jones is the top hitter on the squad who is batting .409 on the year. Nick Stanley is second on the team with a .381 average and Dallas Poulk comes in third with a .346 average and the rest of the roster does not have a hitter above .300 on it. Surkamp will keep the number 1 spot in the rotation with the rest of the rotation up in the air at this time.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: NC State Eric Surkamp (1-1, 1.86) vs. UVA Jacob Thompson (2-0, 0.00)
Saturday: TBA vs. UVA Pat McAnaney (1-0, 1.50)
Sunday: TBA vs. Andrew Carraway (2-0, 1.64)
Prediction: Virginia will win two out of the three games in the series.
UVA Game Notes
NC State Game Notes
Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech
The Virginia Tech Hokies head down to Atlanta to take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Hokies enter the weekend with a 7-3 overall record in Peter Hughes second season. The top hitter for the Hokies is Sean O’Brien who has a .424 average with eight RBI and 12 walks. Freshman Austin Wates leads the team in hitting with a .429 average. The Hokies pitching staff is led by sophomore pitcher Josh Wymer who has a 2-0 record with a 1.29 ERA. Freshmen Sean McDermott (1-1, 2.13 ERA) and Jesse Hahn (1-0, 4.91 ERA) round out the weekend rotation.
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets enter the weekend with a 9-1 record with their lone loss coming to Rutgers. The GT pitching staff has been outstanding early in the season with a staff ERA of 1.74. The GT lineup is led by Jeff Rowland and Charlie Blackmon. Rowland is leading the team in hitting with a .346 average and Blackmon is second on the squad with a .341 average. The GT pitching staff is led by the three headed monster of David Duncan, Zach Von Tersch, and Eddie Burns. Duncan is a 6’8 left handed pitcher who comes into the weekend with a 1-0 record with an ERA of 2.57. Zach Von Tersch has a 1-0 record with a 0.69 ERA while Eddie Burns has a 1-0 record with a 1.50 ERA.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: GT David Duncan (1-0, 2.57) vs. VT Josh Wymer (2-0, 1.29)
Saturday: GT Eddie Burns (1-0, 1.50) vs. VT Sean McDermott (1-1, 2.13)
Sunday: GT Zach Von Tersch (1-0, 0.69) vs. VT Jesse Hahn (1-0, 4.91)
Prediction: The College Baseball Blog predicts GT to win all three games of the series.
3 comments
ACC this, Big 12 that…
CBB, the Pac 10 is the best conference in the land. Why so little coverage? ASU is the dominant team out of the gate, with a lot of ball left to play, yet nothing. Didn’t you attend the DeMarini? Wasn’t ASU the shit?
I am currently looking for a PAC-10 writer….I can only cover so much of the country.
Are you offering? Shoot me an email if anyone is!!
great idea bf…………you need a conference reporter for each……
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