The ACC enters their seventh weekend of conference play with Clemson leading the Atlantic Division with a record of 11-7 while Georgia Tech leads the Coastal Division with a 10-5-1 record.
The Atlantic Division this season has been in turmoil as Florida State got off to a horrible start and Clemson started off with a series opening loss to North Carolina. Boston College is in the race this year for the conference title as they are one game behind Clemson with a 9-7 record. Florida State is behind the Eagles with a 9-7 record as BC holds the tiebreaker while NC State (7-11), Wake Forest (6-12), and Maryland (4-14) round out the division.
The Coastal Division has been the better conference during the first six weeks of the season as the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets lead the division with a 10-5-1 record. The Miami Hurricanes are in second place with a 11-7 record while Virginia is in third place with a 9-6-1 mark. The bottom two teams in the division are Duke with a 9-9 record and Virginia Tech at 7-10.
The best series of the weekend in the conference is without a doubt is Miami (FL) heading to North Carolina in a battle between two top 10 teams. The best pitching matchup in the series is Alex White taking on Chris Hernandez on Friday evening. The series also features two of the best relief pitchers in the country with Brian Moran of UNC facing off against Kyle Bellamy.
Virginia heading to Boston College is the only other series that features two teams with above .500 records. The Virginia pitching staff will be tested this weekend by a strong hitting Boston College lineup while Virginia’s offense should have a field day against Boston College’s starting pitchers on Saturday and Sunday which have struggled off and on throughout the season.
The rest of the conference series sees Georgia Tech heading to Wake Forest, Florida State going to NC State, Clemson heading to Virginia Tech and finally Duke heads to a struggling Maryland squad.
WEEKEND PREDICTIONS AND PITCHING PROBABLES
#9 Miami (FL) at #4 North Carolina
Friday: UM LHP Chris Hernandez (4-2, 5.89 ERA) vs. UNC RHP Alex White (5-1, 3.67 ERA)
Saturday: UM RHP David Gutierrez (2-4, 3.63 ERA) vs. UNC RHP Alex Warren (4-2, 3.19 ERA)
Sunday: UM LHP Iden Nazario (4-1, 6.45 ERA) vs. UNC RHP Matt Harvey (4-1, 6.75 ERA)
Brian’s Prediction: Miami takes two out of three games.
Colin’s Prediction: UNC 2-1
Miami (FL) Series Notes
UNC Series Notes
#11 Georgia Tech at Wake Forest
Friday: LHP Garrett Bullock (Sr., 1-0, 5.34) vs. RHP Deck McGuire (So., 5-0, 2.73)
Saturday: TBA vs. RHP Zach Von Tersch (Jr., 5-1, 5.68)
Sunday: TBA vs. RHP Brandon Cumpton (So., 1-0, 5.33)
Brian’s Prediction: GT sweeps Wake Forest
Colin’s Prediction: GT 2-1
Wake Forest Series Notes
Georgia Tech Series Notes
#15 Florida State at NC State
Friday: Florida State LHP, Sean Gilmartin (6-1) vs. NC State LHP, Jimmy Gillheeney (5-1)
Saturday: Florida State LHP, Brian Busch (1-2) vs. NC State LHP, John Lambert (1-1)
Sunday: Florida State RHP, Mike McGee (2-2) vs. NC State TBA
Brian’s Prediction: FSU takes 2 out of 3 games.
Colin’s Prediction: FSU sweep
FSU Series Notes
NC State Series Notes
#17 Virginia at Boston College
Friday: RHP JB MacDonald (4-3, 2.70) vs. LHP Danny Hultzen (5-0, 2.39)
Saturday: RHP John Leonard (1-1, 6.88) vs. RHP Andrew Carraway (4-0, 2.98)
Sunday: LHP Pat Dean (4-2, 3.67) vs. RHP Robert Morey (0-0, 3.63)
Brian’s Prediction: UVA sweeps Boston College to get back on pace.
Colin’s Prediction: BC 2-1
UVA Series Notes
BC Series Notes
#18 Clemson at Virginia Tech
Friday: Chris Dwyer LHP Fr. 4-2 4.40 vs Rhett Ballard RHP *Sr. 4-2 4.28
Saturday: Justin Sarratt RHP Jr. 3-1 4.96 vs. Justin Wright LHP So. 3-1 3.96
Sunday: TBA vs. Mathew Price RHP Fr. 3-1 5.00
Brian’s Prediction: Clemson takes two out of three games.
Colin’s Prediction: Clemson 2-1
Clemson Series Notes
Virginia Tech Series Notes
Duke at Maryland
Friday: Duke Andrew Wolcott (5-2, 2.18 ERA) vs. Maryland Scott Swinson (2-5, 6.00 ERA)
Saturday: Duke Christopher Manno (3-4, 5.27 ERA)vs Maryland Brett Harman (3-4, 5.70 ERA)
Sunday: Duke TBA vs Maryland Brett Jones (0-1, 8.49 ERA)
Brian’s Prediction: Duke sweeps Maryland
Colin’s Prediction: Duke 2-1
Duke Series Notes
Maryland Series Notes
2 comments
You had FSU with a 9-8 conference record entering this weekend, which was incorrect. FSU was 9-7 entering this weekend (2 rainouts @ UVA), and was tied w/ BC entering the weekend (w/ BC having the tiebreaker). After tonight’s win, and losses by both Clemson and BC, FSU is in first, percentage points ahead of Clemson.
My bad…I think the ACC had the record wrong yesterday or I typed it wrong…
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