Here is your ACC Weekend Preview for April 3rd-5th. This week’s top series is North Carolina heading to Georgia Tech. The next best series is Florida State and Miami renewing their heated rivalry. The other series sees Duke going to Clemson, Maryland at Virginia, NC State at Boston College, and Wake Forest at Virginia Tech.
#6 North Carolina at #3 Georgia Tech
The marquee ACC series this weekend is North Carolina traveling to Georgia Tech.
The Tar Heels enter the weekend with a 22-6 mark while being 7-4 in the ACC. They picked up two midweek wins over Old Dominion and Davidson. Dustin Ackley is still the top hitter on the squad with a .421 average with eight homers and 23 RBI. He has also been outstanding in the field as he has failed to make an error in 235 chances. Adam Warren continues to lead the starting staff with a 3-2 record with a 2.78 ERA. Brian Moran has been excellent out of the Carolina bullpen where he has appeared in 16 games with a 2-1 record while pitching a total of 30.1 innings and holding batters to a .176 batting average.
Georgia Tech enters the series with a 18-4 record and 8-2 in ACC play. The Yellow Jackets hasn’t played a game since last weekend when they took two out of three games from the Miami (FL) Hurricanes. The top hitter for the Yellow Jackets right now is Sophomore SS Derek Dietrich who is hitting .354 with four homers on the year. Freshman third baseman Matt Skole has been impressive this season with a .352 average and seven homers. Deck McGuire has been the best pitcher in the ACC this season as he leads the Yellow Jackets with a 5-0 record with a 2.50 ERA which is inflated after a poor outing against Miami (FL).
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday – 7 p.m.: RHP Deck McGuire (5-0, 2.50) vs. RHP Alex White (4-0, 4.30)
Saturday – 3 p.m.: RHP Zach Von Tersch (5-1, 5.79) vs. RHP Adam Warren (3-2, 2.78)
Sunday – 1 p.m.: RHP Kevin Jacob (4-1, 2.97) vs. RHP Matt Harvey (4-1, 5.67)
Brian’s Prediction: UNC takes the final 2 games of the series.
UNC Series Notes
GT Series Notes
# 19 Florida State at #7 Miami (FL)
The biggest rivals in the ACC meet up for their annual showdown. This season the Florida State Seminoles will make the trip down to Coral Gables to take on the Hurricanes.
The Seminoles started the season off slow but have picked up things lately as they currently are sporting a seven game winning streak which brings their overall record to 17-8 and 6-4 in ACC play. Tyler Holt has been the top hitter throughout the season for the Seminoles as he sports a .454 average with three homers on the year. Sean Gilmartin has been the most consistent starting pitcher this year as he has a 5-1 record and a 2.92 ERA.
Miami (FL) like always just picks up where they left off last season even though the faces have changed dramatically. They enter the weekend series with a 21-7 record while being 8-4 in the ACC. The top hitter for the Canes is Scott Lawson who is batting .373 while David Gutierrez is the top starting pitcher with a 2-2 record and a 1.51 ERA. Kyle Bellamy has been outstanding out of the bullpen where he has pitched in 14 games with a 3-0 record including seven saves and a 0.90 ERA.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Apr. 3 FSU LHP Sean Gilmartin (5-1, 2.92 ERA) vs UM RHP David Gutierrez (2-2, 1.51 ERA) 7:00 p.m.
Apr. 4 FSU LHP Brian Busch (1-1, 2.67 ERA) vs UM LHP Chris Hernandez (2-2, 5.88 ERA) 7:00 p.m.
Apr. 5 FSU RHP Mike McGee (2-1, 3.55 ERA) vs UM LHP Iden Nazario (2-0, 5.28 ERA) 1:00 p.m.
Brian’s Prediction: Miami sweeps FSU
Florida State Series Notes
Miami (FL) Series Notes
Duke at #18 Clemson
The Duke Blue Devils head down to Clemson SC to play a three game ACC Series against the Clemson Tigers. Duke has an overall record of 19-9 with an ACC record of 6-6. The Blue Devils picked up two mid-week victories over Elon and NC Central. Catcher Matt Williams leads the squad with a .392 average while Andrew Wolcott is the top pitcher with a 4-1 record and a 1.79 ERA.
Clemson comes into the series after losing 2 midweek games to Georgia and picking up a doubleheader sweep last weekend over Boston College. They enter the series with an overall record 18-9 while being 7-5 in the ACC. The top hitter for the Tigers is Ben Paulsen who is hitting .371 with five homers. Casey Harman leads the starting pitching staff with a 3-1 record and a 3.26 ERA.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Game 1 – Friday, April 3 (6:30 p.m.)
Duke Starter: Christopher Manno (2-3, 6.16 ERA)
Clemson Starter: Casey Harman (3-1, 3.26 ERA)
Game 2 – Saturday, April 4 (6:30 p.m.)
Duke Starter: Andrew Wolcott (4-1, 1.79 ERA)
Clemson Starter: Graham Stoneburner (3-2, 3.48 ERA)
Game 3 – Sunday, April 5 (1 p.m.)
Duke Starter: Ryan Knott (2-0, 5.64 ERA)
Clemson Starter: Chris Dwyer (2-2, 5.91 ERA)
Brian’s Prediction: Duke surprises Clemson and take two games.
Clemson Series Notes
Duke Series Notes
Maryland at #21 Virginia
The Maryland Terps head to Charlottesville to take on the Virginia Cavaliers. The Terps enter the series with a 13-15 record while being 3-9 in the ACC. Virginia enters the series with a 24-4 record while being 6-4 in the ACC. The player to watch in this series is Danny Hultzen who serves as the Cavaliers number 1 pitcher while being one of the top hitters on the squad. Hultzen has a perfect 5-0 record with a 1.62 ERA while hitting .324 on the year.
Probable Starting Pitcher
Fri. – LHP Danny Hultzen (5-0, 1.62 ERA) vs RHP Brett Harman (3-2, 6.68 ERA)
Sat. – RHP Andrew Carraway (4-0, 1.80 ERA) vs RHP Scott Swinson (2-4, 5.73 ERA)
Sun. – RHP Tyler Wilson (4-2, 2.91 ERA) vs LHP Matt Fullerton (3-2, 4.32 ERA)
Brian’s Prediction: UVA sweeps the series.
Maryland Series Notes
Virginia Series Notes
NC State at Boston College
This is an important series for both squads as the loser of this series will be facing a tough road the rest of the season to get back into the middle of the ACC conference race. NC State currently has an overall record of 15-13 while being 5-7 in ACC play. The top hitter in the everyday lineup is Drew Martin who is hitting .282 with a homer and 14 RBI. The top starting pitcher is Jimmy Gillheeney who is 3-1 with a 4.05 ERA. Boston College enters the weekend with a 17-9 record while being 5-5 in ACC play after losing two out of three games to Clemson. Junior catcher Tony Sanchez has been the heart and soul of the Boston College offense this season as he has a .406 average with 10 homers and 32 RBI. He is currently on a power surge as he has five homers in his last five games. JB McDonald has been the number 1 starter thoughout the season as he has 3-2 record with a 2.16 ERA in 41.2 innings of work.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: RHP JB MacDonald (3-2, 2.16) vs. LHP Jimmy Gillheeney (3-1, 4.05)
Saturday: RHP John Leonard (1-1, 7.20) vs. RHP Jake Buchanan (2-2, 4.87)
Sunday: RHP Mike Dennhardt (2-0, 6.65) vs. TBD
Brian’s Prediction: BC sweeps NC State
Boston College Series Notes
NC State Series Notes
Wake Forest at Virginia Tech
Wake Forest heads to Virginia Tech for the final series of the weekend. Wake Forest has a 15-11 overall record while being 3-9 in the ACC while Virginia Tech is 16-10 overall while being 3-8 in ACC play. The loser of this series will need a slight miracle to get into the ACC conference tourney.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: LHP Austin Stadler (Fr., 2-2, 3.45) vs. RHP Rhett Ballard (R-Sr., 3-1, 3.22)
Saturday: RHP Phil Negus (Jr., 2-2, 5.34) vs. RHP Mathew Price (Fr., 2-1, 5.40)
Sunday: LHP Garrett Bullock (Sr., 1-0, 8.40) vs. LHP Justin Wright (So., 1-1, 4.87)
Brian’s Prediction: Wake Forest takes 2 out of 3 games.
Wake Forest Series Notes
Virginia Tech Series Notes
