Here is the Weekend Preview for the ACC for the weekend of March 14th through March 16th. FSU is the only undefeated teams in the conference as they have gotten consecutive sweeps over Georgia Tech and Maryland. They will head to Virginia Tech as they leave the state of Florida for only the second time on the year. Miami (FL) has gotten off to a 5-1 start after losing the series finale to NC State due to a very early curfew which ended the game early. Virginia Tech is 0-6 while Maryland is 1-5. Everyone else is hovering around 500.
North Carolina at Maryland
The Tar Heels head to College Park sporting an overall record of 16-3 and 5-1 in the ACC. They are led by sophomore sensation Dustin Ackley who has a team leading .403 batting average. The top pitcher this season for UNC has been Alex White who is 3-1 with a 2.37 ERA. Freshman Matt Harvey made his first career weekend start last week in a 6-0 victory over Virginia Tech. He has made four starts with a 2-1 record and a 1.08 ERA.
Maryland enters with an overall record of 10-9 but a paltry 1-5 mark in the ACC. The Terps have been very competitive in each ACC game so that record is very deceiving as they have four one-run losses. Nick Jowers and Chad Durakis are the top two hitters on the squad. Jowers leads the team in hitting with a .328 average while Durakis has a .325 average. The top pitcher is Scott Swinson who has stepped into the number 1 starters role where he is 2-2 with a 4.85 ERA.
Projected Starting Pitchers
Friday: Alex White (3-1, 2.37) vs Scott Swinson (2-2, 4.85)
Saturday: Adam Warren (3-0, 5.49) vs Ian Schwalenberg (0-0, 5.82)
Sunday: Matt Harvey (2-1, 1.08) vs Jensen Pupa (0-2, 5.14)
Prediction: UNC will sweep the Terps.
Wake Forest at Miami (FL)
Wake Forest enters this weekend with a 11-7 overall record while being 4-2 in the ACC after taking two out of three games against Maryland and Clemson over the last two weekends. Allan Dykstra and Andy Goff are the top hitters for the Deacons. Dykstra is hitting .367 with six homers on the year. Goff has a .364 average on the year with an on base percentage of .447. Garrett Bullock has a perfect 2-0 record with a 4.24 ERA as the top starting pitcher.
Miami (FL) has a 15-2 record with a 5-1 mark in the ACC after losing in the eighth inning against NC State last Sunday due to a curfew restriction that was placed on the game. They are led by the most potent lineup in the country led by Yonder Alonso, Jemile Weeks, and Mark Soblewski. The Hurricanes only have all nine regular starters hitting at or above .315. Jemile Weeks leads the team in hitting with a .426 average and four homers on the year. Yonder Alonso is right on his tail with a .407 average and four homers but has accumulated 18 walks on the season as he is getting the Barry Bonds treatment. Chris Hernandez has been a pleasant surprise for the Canes as he has a 3-0 record with a 1.03 ERA. Eric Erickson is the team’s Friday night starter where he has a 4-0 record with a 2.45 ERA.
Projected Starting Pitchers
Friday: UM Eric Erickson, LHP (4-0, 2.45 ERA) vs WF Ben Hunter, RHP (1-2, 5.91 ERA)
Saturday: UM Chris Hernandez, LHP (3-0, 1.03 ERA) vs WF Garrett Bullock, LHP (2-0, 4.24 ERA)
Sunday: UM Enrique Garcia, RHP (0-0, 7.53 ERA) vs WF Charlie Mellies, RHP (0-2, 4.81 ERA)
Miami (FL) Game Notes
Wake Forest Game Notes
Prediction: Miami (FL) takes two out of three games from the Deacons.
FSU at Virginia Tech
The Seminoles enter the weekend series with the Virginia Tech Hokies with a 16-2 overall record and a perfect 6-0 in the ACC. They are led by All-American catcher candidate Buster Posey who is second on the team with a .382 batting average and five homers on the season. FSU’s top pitcher is freshman Matt Fairel who has a 4-0 record and 1.00 ERA.
The Hokies enter the weekend with a 7-12 overall record and 0-6 in the ACC after being swept by Georgia Tech and UNC. The Hokies are led by Jose Cueto who is hitting .354 on the year while Jess Hahn is the top starting pitcher who has a 1-2 record and a 3.47 ERA in four starts.
Probable Starters
Friday: FSU Matt Fairel (4-0) vs. VT Jesse Hahn (1-2)
Saturday: FSU Elih Villanueva (3-0) vs. VT Sean McDermott (1-2)
Sunday: FSU Ryan Strauss (2-0) vs. VT Josh Wymer (2-2)
FSU Game Notes
VT Game Notes
Prediction: FSU sweeps the Hokies.
Boston College at UVA
The Boston College Eagles head down to Charlottesville to take on the Virginia Cavaliers in the third conference series for each squad. BC has an overall record of 9-8 after a non-conference victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies on Thursday afternoon. The Eagles picked up a series victory last weekend over Clemson by taking the first two games before losing the series finale to the Tigers. BC was swept in their ACC opening series by Miami (FL) so their conference record stands at 2-4 on the young season. The Eagles are led by a sensational freshmen class which is led by Matt Hamlet who had an outstanding performance on Thursday where he went 4-5. His season average is now .400 for the year. Eric Campbell is the top returning starting position player and has started off slow as he is hitting .296 with four homers on the season. The Eagles offense has been producing up and down the order except for Marc Pedrois who is struggling to find his stroke as he is only hitting .160 on the year.
The BC weekend pitching staff was solid last weekend during the first two games of the Clemson series. Terry Doyle pitched six innings while allowing three runs. Dan Houston pitched on Saturday as he gave them six innings while allowing three runs (two earned) while keeping the team in the game. The third starter for the Eagles is James McDonald who was knocked around pretty good by Clemson in 0.2 innings of work last Sunday as he gave up seven runs on eight hits.
The Cavaliers enter the weekend with a 16-4 overall record and 2-4 in the ACC after losing two out of three games to Duke and NC State. They are coached by Brian O’Connor who is entering his fifth season in charge of the the program after being an assistant under former Notre Dame and current LSU head coach Paul Mainieri. He has brought an up tempo game to Charlottesville as they steal a ton of bases and bunt in many situations putting the pressure on the opposing team’s defense.
The Cavaliers offense is still trying to find itself as they lost Sean Doolittle to the MLB Draft. The top hitter this season has been Jeremy Farrell who is the son of Boston Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell. Jeremy is batting .394 on the year with two homers and 18 RBI. Greg Miclat who missed the end of the 2007 season with elbow surgery has returned to the lineup with a .333 average and nine stolen bases on the year.
UVA has one of the top pitchers in the entire nation in Jacob Thompson who has a career record of 23-4 but had a tough start last time out against Duke where he let up six runs in three innings of work. He has a season record of 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA. Pat McAnaney who is 2-1 with a 1.29 ERA and Andrew Carraway who is 2-2 with a 2.42 ERA to round out the weekend rotation.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: BC Terry Doyle (2-1, 7.20 ERA) vs UVA Jacob Thompson (2-9, 3.38 ERA)
Saturday: BC Dan Houston (1-1, 7.45 ERA) vs UVA Pat McAnaney (2-1, 1.29 ERA)
Sunday: BC James McDonald (2-2, 5.40 ERA) vs UVA Andrew Carraway (2-2, 2.42 ERA)
Daily Progress Series Preview
UVA Game Notes
BC Game Notes
Prediction: UVA takes two out of three games.
NC State at Clemson
The NC State Wolfpack enter with an overall record of 12-5 and 3-3 in the ACC. They are led by ace pitcher Eric Surkamp who is 1-2 with a 4.00 ERA on the year. Marcus Jones is the top hitter on the team with a .364 average with two homers and 14 RBI on the year.
Clemson has an overall record of 12-6 on the year and a 2-4 mark in the ACC after losing two out of three games to both Boston College and Wake Forest. The Tigers have got solid pitching from freshman starter Graham Stoneburne who has a 3-0 record and a 3.86 ERA on the year. The top hitter for the Tigers is Wilson Boyd who has a .385 average.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: Eric Surkamp (1-2, 4.00) vs. Ryan Hinson (1-3, 5.40)
Saturday: Clayton Shunick (2-1, 0.78) vs. D.J. Mitchell (1-2, 4.01)
Sunday: Eryk McConnell (2-0, 5.40) vs. Graham Stoneburne (3-0, 3.86)
Clemson Game Notes
NC State Game Notes
Prediction: NC State takes two out of three games.
Duke at Georgia Tech
The Duke Blue Devils have been a pleasant surprise in the ACC with an overall record of 18-3 and 3-3 in the ACC. The Blue Devils top hitter is Jeremy Gould who is hitting .452 on the year. The top pitcher for the Blue Devils has been Andrew Wolcott who is 2-0 with a 2.42 ERA.
GT enters the 15-4 record with an ACC record of 3-3 after sweeping Virginia Tech and getting swept by FSU last weekend. The Yellow Jackets are led by Zach Von Tersch who is 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA. The top hitter for the Yellow Jackets is Jeff Rowland who is batting .392 on the year.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: LHP David Duncan (2-0, 3.00) vs. RHP Andrew Wolcott (2-0, 2.42)
Saturday: RHP Eddie Burns (2-1, 2.38) vs. RHP Will Currier (2-2, 4.95)
Sunday: RHP Zach Von Tersch (2-0, 1.88) vs. RHP Grant Monroe (3-1, 3.00)
Prediction: Duke takes two out of three games from the Yellow Jackets.
