The ACC has an interesting slate of games for the April 4th to 6th weekend, with three matchups between the conference’s 6 top teams: Virginia vs. Florida State, Georgia Tech vs. North Carolina, and Clemson vs. Miami.
Virginia at Florida State
The Cavaliers (24-6, 8-4 ACC) take their #12 ranking down to Tallahassee to face the #2-ranked Seminoles (25-3, 11-1 ACC). Florida State has an 18-1 record at Dick Howser Stadium. Virginia is 10-2 in their last 12 games. Freshman Dan Grovatt leads UVA in batting with a .426 average; junior Jeremy Farrell leads the team with a .716 slugging percentage. For the Seminoles, catcher Buster Posey continues to be a monster, batting .439 with 8 home runs, 34 RBI, and a .785 slugging percentage. Six others in the starting lineup are batting .368 or better, and the Seminoles are batting .357 as a whole.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: UVA RHP Jacob Thompson (4-0, 2.72) vs. FSU LHP Matt Fairel (6-0, 1.58)
Saturday: UVA LHP Pat McAnaney (3-1, 1.44) vs. FSU RHP Geoff Parker (2-1, 2.30)
Sunday: UVA RHP Andrew Carraway (2-2, 3.19) vs. FSU RHP Elih Villanueva (3-0, 4.30)
Virginia Series Notes
Florida State Series Notes
Vu’s Prediction: The Seminoles take two out of three from the Cavaliers.
Brian’s Prediction: The Cavs win two out of three
Georgia Tech at North Carolina
#14 Georgia Tech (24-5, 8-4 ACC) takes a 7-game winning streak up to Cary, N.C., where they face #3-ranked North Carolina (23-5, 8-3 ACC). North Carolina is 13-2 in their last 15 games. The Yellow Jackets’ offense is led by a pair of freshmen: leadoff hitter Jeff Rowland (.364, 12 SB) and shortstop Derek Dietrich (.359, 10 HR, 33 RBI). Junior RF Charlie Blackmon is batting .327 with 20 RBI, and senior team captain Brad Feltes has 7 homers with 32 RBI on the season. Georgia Tech’s pitching has held opponents to a 3.27 ERA, its best season since 1993.
The Tar Heels are led by sophomores Tim Fedroff (.405, 7 HR, 29 RBI) and Kyle Seager (.395, 36 RBI). Eight of the batters in North Carolina’s regular lineup are batting above .300. North Carolina’s pitching has been dominant, allowing only a 2.21 ERA on a .236 opponents’ batting average.
The teams split their 4 meetings in the 2007 season with the Tar Heels winning 2 of 3 in Chapel Hill and the Jackets winning 8-4 in their ACC Tournament meeting in Jacksonville.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: GT LHP David Duncan (4-0, 3.38) vs. UNC RHP Alex White (4-2, 2.37)
Saturday: GT RHP Eddie Burns (4-1, 2.02) vs. UNC RHP Adam Warren (4-0, 4.40)
Sunday: GT RHP Zach Von Tersch (3-1, 2.78) vs. UNC RHP Matt Harvey (4-1, 1.01)
GT Series Notes
UNC Series Notes
Vu’s Prediction: Carolina takes two out of three from Tech.
Brian’s Prediction: UNC takes two out of three games.
Clemson at Miami (FL)
#17 Clemson (18-10, 6-6 ACC) travels south to take on #2 Miami (23-2, 9-1 ACC) at Mark Light Field. Clemson enters the series off two midweek losses to Georgia. Miami enters the series with a 10-game winning streak. Their offense is led by freshman Kyle Parker (.348, 6 HR, 17 RBI) and sophomore 1B Ben Paulsen (.347, 8 HR, 21 RBI). Miami’s offense is led by junior 2B Jemile Weeks (.404, 6 HR, 31 RBI, 9 SB), junior 1B Yonder Alonso (.392, 26 RBI, 31 BB), and junior CF Blake Tekotte (.386, 14 SB).
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: CU RHP D.J. Mitchell (3-2, 2.55) vs. UM LHP Chris Hernandez (4-0, 2.06)
Saturday: CU RHP Graham Stoneburner (4-0, 2.31) vs. UM RHP Enrique Garcia (1-0, 5.24)
Sunday: CU LHP Ryan Hinson (2-3, 4.63) vs. UM TBD
Clemson Series Notes
Miami Series Notes
Vu’s Prediction: The Hurricanes sweep the Tigers.
Brian’s Prediction: Tigers steal a game as Miami (FL) takes two out of three games.
Wake Forest at NC State
The Demon Deacons (12-15, 5-6 ACC) make the 100-mile trek east to Raleigh to take on the NC State Wolfpack (17-9, 5-6). Wake Forest has lost 9 of their last 10 and is led by 1B Allan Dykstra (.310, 8 HR, 34 BB) and 2B Dustin Hood (.311, 21 RBI). NC State is led by Matt Payne (.358, 19 RBI).
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: WF LHP Garrett Bullock (3-1, 5.68) vs. NCSU RHP Clayton Shunick (2-3, 2.34)
Saturday: WF RHP Charlie Mellies (0-2, 3.96) vs. NCSU LHP Eric Surkamp (1-2, 5.28)
Sunday: WF TBD vs. NCSU RHP Eryk McConnell (3-1, 4.15)
Wake Forest Series Notes
NC State Series Notes
Vu’s Prediction: NC State wins two out of three.
Brian’s Prediction: Wake takes two out of three.
Duke at Boston College
The Duke Blue Devils head north to the Boston area to take on the Boston College Eagles in a key conference series for both squads. A sweep by either team would knock the opponent out of the race for the ACC Tournament at the end of the season. The Blue Devils are led by Massachusetts native Alexander Hassan who is hitting .396 on the year. Boston College is led by second baseman/outfielder Barry Butera who is hitting .339 with six homers on the year. Fridays and Sundays games are in Chestnut Hill and Saturday’s contest has been moved to Brockton to accommodate regional TV.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: Andrew Wolcott (2-1, 3.31 ERA) vs Terry Doyle (2-3, 7.30 ERA)
Saturday: Grant Monroe (4-1, 3.46 ERA) vs Dan Houston (1-1, 5.48 ERA)
Sunday: TBA vs James McDonald (2-4, 6.07 ERA)
Vu’s Prediction: Duke wins 2 out of 3.
Brian’s Prediction: Duke will sweep the BC Eagles.
Maryland at Virginia Tech
Maryland (16-13, 3-9 ACC) travels south to Blacksburg to face Virginia Tech (10-18, 0-12 ACC). Although the Hokies are winless in conference play, their 12 games have come against some of the conference’s top teams in Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Florida State, and Virginia.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: UMD RHP Scott Swinson (3-3, 3.83) vs. VT RHP Josh Wymer (2-4, 6.75)
Saturday: UMD RHP Jensen Pupa (0-3, 6.67) vs. VT RHP David Cross (2-1, 10.12)
Sunday: UMD RHP Kevin Biringer (2-1, 5.83) vs. VT LHP Andrew Wells (0-2, 5.49)
Maryland Series Notes
Virginia Tech Series Notes
Vu’s Prediction: The Hokies take two out of three from the Terrapins.
Brian’s Prediction: Is this guy for real? Maryland sweeps VT.
Brian Foley also contributed to this article by previewing the BC-Duke Series.
2 comments
The Hokies won game 1, 8-7… 🙂
Of course, they did because I picked against them. Did you expect anything less?
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