Miami (FL) at Virginia Tech
The Miami Hurricanes head north to Blacksburg VA to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies in a battle between the First place team and the worst team in the conference. The Hurricanes have an overall record of 39-5 and 20-2 in the tough ACC. The Hokies have a record of 20-28 and 4-20 in the ACC. The Hurricanes have one of the most potent lineups in the entire led by Yonder Alonso and Jemile Weeks. Alonso has a batting average of .384 with 14 homers and 50 RBI in 44 games. He has an on-base percentage of .550. Jemile Weeks leads the team with a .390 average with 16 stolen bases. Chris Hernandez has been perfect in his first collegiate season as he has a 8-0 record with a 2.70 ERA. The Hokies are led by Sean O’Brien who has a batting average of .335 with six homers on the season.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: VT: Rhett Ballard, RHP (4-2, 4.10 ERA) vs UM: Chris Hernandez, LHP (8-0, 2.70 ERA)
Saturday: VT: TBA vs UM: 17 Eric Erickson, LHP (7-0, 2.83 ERA)
Sunday: VT: TBA vs UM: 31 Enrique Garcia, RHP (4-1, 5.26 ERA)
Vu’s Prediction: Miami sweeps Virginia Tech on the road.
Brian’s Prediction: Miami (FL) sweeps the Hokies.
Miami (FL) Series Notes
VT Series Notes
North Carolina at Virginia
The Tar Heels bring a 39-8 record while being 18-5 in the ACC as they travel to Virginia for a key ACC matchup. The Tar Heels are led by the two headed duo of Tim Fedroff and Dustin Ackley. Fedroff has a .396 average while Ackley is batting .393. The Cavaliers enter with a 33-15 record with a conference mark of 13-11. The Cavs are led by Dan Grovatt who is hitting .354 average. The top pitcher for the Cavaliers is Pat McAnaney who has a record of 4-2 with a 2.05 ERA.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: UNC Alex White, RHP (7-2, 2.13) vs Jacob Thompson, RHP (5-2, 3.88)
Saturday: UNC Adam Warren, RHP (7-1, 4.70) vs Pat McAnaney (4-2, 2.05)
Sunday: UNC Matt Harvey, RHP (6-2, 2.03) vs Andrew Carraway, RHP (3-3, 3.42)
Vu’s Prediction: The Tar Heels win 2 out of 3 in Charlottesville.
Brian’s Prediction: UNC takes two out of three games.
UNC Series Notes
UVA Series Notes
NC State at Maryland
The Maryland Terrapins play host to the NC State Wolfpack as the season winds down in the ACC. The Terps have a record of 28-24 while struggling in the ACC with a record of 8-19. The Wolfpack is led by Ryan Pond who leads the team with a .337 average with seven homers. The Pack’s top starting pitcher is Clayton Shunick who is 6-4 with a 2.18 ERA. The Terps have been led throughout the season by Jensen Pupa who is hitting .324 on the year. The Terrapins have had trouble with their starting rotation throughout the year with Scott Swinson making the most starts with 12 on the year accumulating a 4-4 record with a 5.54 ERA.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: NC State Clayton Shunick (6-4, 2.18) vs UMD Mike Sufczynski (2-1, 4.94)
Saturday: NC State Jake Buchanan (1-1, 2.51) vs UMD Kevin Biringer (3-3, 6.13)
Sunday: NC State Alex Sogard (3-1, 2.70) vs UMD Brett Jones (1-0, 5.54)
NC State Series Notes
UMD Series Notes
Vu’s Prediction: NC State wins 2 out of 3 at Maryland.
Brian’s Prediction: NC State sweeps Maryland
Duke at Wake Forest
The biggest series of the weekend is between the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the Duke Blue Devils. Both teams are competing for the final spot in the ACC Tournament with the Blue Devils sporting a 34-14-1 and 8-14-1 in the ACC while the Deacons are 19-27 overall but 8-15 in the ACC. The Blue Devils are led by Nate Frieman and Alexander Hassan who are both Massachusetts natives. Frieman has a .389 average in 32 games as he had a hand injury which kept him out for a portion of the season. Hassan on the other hand is second on the squad with a .361 average. Allan Dykstra is the heart and soul of the Deacons offense as he is hitting .329 with 14 homers.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: WF Ben Hunter (2-5, 5.45 ERA) vs DU Andrew Wolcott (3-3, 3.75 ERA)
Saturday: WF Charlie Mellies (2-5, 6.22 ERA) vs DU Chris Manno (6-0, 2.61 ERA)
Sunday: WF Brad Kledzik (1-4, 8.10) vs DU Jonathan Foreman (2-0, 1.68 ERA)
Vu’s Prediction: Duke wins 2 out of 3 on the road at Wake Forest.
Brian’s Prediction: Duke takes two out of three games.
Wake Forest Series Notes
Duke Series Notes
Clemson at Ga Tech
The Clemson Tigers head South on I-85 to take on ACC rival Georgia Tech and to fight for a spot in both the ACC and NCAA tournaments. Clemson (25-23-1, 10-16-1 ACC) enters the series coming off an 11-5 victory over the Furman Paladins. Prior to that, Clemson was swept at home by Florida State. Georgia Tech (34-14, 12-12 ACC) enters the weekend after beating #8 Georgia 11-1 on the road and taking 2 out of 3 from #15 Coastal Carolina.
For the Yellow Jackets, juniors Charlie Blackmon (.372, 8 HR, 35 RBI, 17 SB) and Luke Murton (.359, 10 HR, 39 RBI) and freshmen Jeff Rowland (.350, 19 RBI, 21 SB) and Derek Dietrich (.341, 14 HR, 57 RBI) lead the offense. Tech’s offense has been on fire as of late, hitting .343 with 30 home runs over the last 9 games.
The Tigers’ offense is led by sophomores Ben Paulsen (.326, 12 HR, 41 RBI) and Mike Freeman (.312, 15 RBI) and freshman Jeff Schaus (.316, 18 RBI). Clemson has struggled this season, going just 1-13 against ranked opponents.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: GT LHP David Duncan (6-2, 4.18) vs. CU RHP D.J. Mitchell (5-3, 3.17)
Saturday: GT RHP Eddie Burns (5-4, 5.79) vs. CU RHP Graham Stoneburner (5-3, 4.52)
Sunday: GT RHP Zach Von Tersch (6-3, 3.39) vs. CU TBA
Vu’s Prediction: Georgia Tech sweeps the series and knocks Clemson out of contention for the ACC and NCAA tournaments.
Brian’s Prediction: GT sweeps the Tigers.
GT Series Notes
Clemson Series Notes
Savannah State at FSU
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: TBA
Saturday: TBA
Sunday: TBA
Monday: TBA
Savannah State Series Notes
FSU Series Notes
