Here is the Weekend Preview for the ACC for the weekend of March 14th through March 16th. There was three sweeps last weekend with FSU beating Maryland, GT beating VT, and Miami (FL) sweeping Boston College. The ACC season gets really rolling this weekend with Georgia Tech heading down to Florida State and Miami (FL) finally leaving the state of Florida to play against the NC State Wolfpack.
Georgia Tech at Florida State
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets enter this weekend series with the Florida State Seminoles with an overall record of 13-1 and a perfect 3-0 mark in the ACC. They have been getting the job done on the mound with a staff ERA of 2.09. The top starting pitcher this year has been Zach Von Tersch who has a 2-0 record with a 0.90 ERA in three starts totaling 20 innings. The other two starters that fill out the rotation are David Duncan (2-0, 2.05 ERA) and Eddie Burns (2-0, 1.53 ERA). The offense is led by two freshmen in Jeff Rowland and Derek Dietrich. Rowland is batting .405 on the year with five stolen bases in six attempts. Dietrich came into the year with some high praise across the country (CBB Top Freshmen) and has lived up to the billing as he has a .327 average with five homers and 16 RBI in his first 14 games of his career.
Florida State enters the weekend with a 13-1 overall record and a perfect 3-0 in the ACC. The Seminoles have always been a great hitting team under Mike Martin and the 2008 team is no different as they are hitting .359 as a team while holding their opponents to a .237 average. The top hitter for the Seminoles right now is Buster Posey who is hitting an outstanding .431 on the year with five homers and 19 RBI on the year. Jack Rye who should be the perennial power hitter was sidelined early in the year with a hand injury and has appeared in nine games accumulating a .265 average without a homer. He should turn it around real soon as he is just getting back into the everyday lineup. The Seminoles pitching staff is led by Eli Villanueva who is a transfer from Miami-Dade Community College. He has a 3-0 record with a 3.26 ERA on the season. The other two starting pitchers in the rotation are Ryan Strauss (1-0, 4.02 ERA) and Matt Fairel (3-0, 0.95 ERA).
Probable Starters
Friday: GT LHP David Duncan (2-0, 2.05) vs. FSU RHP Elih Villanueva (3-0, 3.26)
Saturday: GT RHP Eddie Burns (2-0, 1.53) vs. FSU LHP Matt Fairel (3-0, 0.95)
Sunday: GT RHP Zach Von Tersch (2-0, 0.90) vs. FSU RHP Ryan Strauss (1-0, 4.02)
Prediction: FSU wins two out of the three games.
VT at UNC
Virginia Tech heads down to North Carolina to take on the UNC Tar Heels in the second ACC series of the season. VT enters this week’s series with a five game losing streak which started last week when the Hokies were swept by Georgia Tech and lost single games to Fordham and James Madison. The top hitter for VT is Sean O’Brien who is .385 average. UNC enters the weekend with an 11-3 record and a 2-1 mark in the ACC. They are in the process of rebuilding their rotation as they lost 2 out of three starters from last season. They have been using Alex White in the number 1 starters role and Dustin Ackley has become the constent bat for the Tar Heels as he has a .448 average.
Probable Starters
Friday: UNC Adam Warren (Jr., 2-0, 7.90) vs RHP Josh Wymer (So., 2-1, 5.60)
Saturday: UNC Rob Catapano (So., 0-0, 3.55) vs VT Sean McDermott (Fr., 1-2, 4.58)
Sunday: UNC TBA vs VT Jesse Hahn (1-1, 3.63 ERA)
Prediction: UNC will sweep Va Tech
Miami (FL) at NC State
The Miami Hurricanes head on the road for the first time on the season as they head to NC State. The Hurricanes enter the weekend series with a 11-1 overall record and a perfect 3-0 mark in the ACC. The Hurricanes are led by a potent offense which is spearheaded by the two headed monster at the top with Jemile Weeks and Blake Tekotte. Yonder Alonso is one of the best middle of the lineup hitters in the country. The Hurricanes lineup will get better once Dennis Raben returns from his back injury. The NC Wolfpack have a 9-3 overall record and a 2-1 mark in the ACC. They are led by number 1 starter Eric Surkamp who has a 1-1 record with a 2.30 ERA. The top hitter for them is Marcus Jones who has a .405 average.
Probable Starters
Friday: NC State Eric Surkamp (1-1, 2.30) vs. UM Eric Erickson (3-0, 2.75)
Saturday: NC State Clayton Shunick (2-0, 0.00) vs. UM Chris Hernandez (2-0, 0.95)
Sunday: NC State Eryk McConnell (2-0, 2.93) vs. UM Enrique Garcia (0-0, 6.00)
Prediction: Miami (FL) takes two out of three games.
NC State Game Notes
Miami (FL) Game Notes
Virginia at Duke
The Virginia Cavaliers are led by one of the top pitchers in the nation in Jacob Thompson who had a perfect record last season while starting the 2008 season with a 2-0 record with a 0.98 ERA. The entire Cavaliers pitching staff has an ERA of 1.76 which is the best in the ACC. Duke started the season by winning their first 12 contests but ended up losing the final two games of their series with rival North Carolina in the ACC Opening weekend. Jeremy Gould is the top Blue Devils hitter with a .481 average.
Probable Starters
Friday: Duke Andrew Wolcott, RHP (2-0, 1.59 ERA, 10 SO, 2 BB) vs. UVA Jacob Thompson, RHP (2-0, 0.98 ERA, 24 SO, 7 BB)
Saturday: Duke Will Currier, RHP (2-1, 3.31 ERA, 8 SO, 4 BB) vs. UVA Pat McAnaney, LHP (1-1, 1.89 ERA, 24 SO, 4 BB)
Sunday: Duke Grant Monroe, RHP (2-1, 3.86, 5 SO, 5 BB) vs. UVA Andrew Carraway, RHP (2-1, 1.59 ERA, 21 SO, 3 BB)
Prediction: UVA sweeps Duke
Virginia Game Notes
Duke Game Notes
Boston College at Clemson
Boston College enters the weekend with an overall record of 6-7 while getting swept last weekend by Miami (FL) in the opening weekend. The Eagles pitching staff has been a major issue throughout the early portion of the season as they have a team ERA of 7.64. Terry Doyle has been in the number 1 role during the early portion of the season but has not lived up to his role as he is 1-1 with a 8.05 ERA in three starts. Junior Dan Houston has followed Doyle in the rotation and has actually been worse as he is also 1-1 but with a sky high ERA of 9.45. The final spot in the rotation is filled by James McDonald who is 2-1 with a 2.04 ERA. The Clemson pitching staff has been better in the early part of the season but have a staff ERA of 5.45. They are led by two way player D.J. Mitchell who is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA in four appearances. The rest of the rotation is filled out by Graham Stoneburner (2-0, 4.80 ERA) and Ryan Hinson (1-2, 6.60 ERA) who has struggled early with his command.
This series should be full of offense as the Eagles have a team batting average of .300 and the Tigers have a .321 average. The Eagles top hitter is sophomore Barry Butera who is hitting .421 on the year while leading the team in homers and RBI’s. Freshman Matt Hamlet is second on the squad with a .400 average. Clemson’s top hitter is freshman Kyle Parker who is hitting .400 and had a monster weekend against Wake Forest where he hit three homers in one day.
Probable Starters
TBA
Prediction: Clemson takes 2 out of 3 games.
Maryland at Wake Forest
Wake Forest will entertain the Maryland Terrapins this weekend in the second weekend of ACC action. The Deacons have a 9-5 record with a 2-1 mark in the ACC which should be 3-0 as the Deacons blew a 7 run lead in the final innings against Clemson last weekend. Maryland will enter with a 7-7 record with a 0-3 mark after being swept by FSU last weekend.
Probable Starters
Friday: UMD RHP Scott Swinson (1-2, 6.88) vs WF RHP Ben Hunter (1-1, 5.62)
Saturday: UMD RHP Ian Schwalenberg (0-0, 6.00)vs WF LHP Garrett Bullock (2-0, 3.12)
Sunday: UMD RHP Jensen Pupa (0-2, 6.14) vs WF RHP Charlie Mellies (0-2, 6.23)
Prediction: Wake Forest sweeps Maryland.
Maryland Game Notes
Wake Forest Game Notes
