The ACC continues their nonconference portion of the schedule this weekend with Boston College heading to Florida for a Thursday, Friday, and Sunday series while Miami will host a three game set against Appalachian State. I will put out a preview for the rest of the ACC games later this week.
Boston College at #2 Florida
The Eagles enter the weekend with a 2-1 record after losing to Coastal Carolina 9-6 before defeating Indiana 6-1 and Tennessee Tech 6-1. Freshman outfielder Tom Bourdon led the offense on the opening weekend gettng three hits in nine at-bats picking up two doubles. The rest of the offense struggled for the Eagles as they enter the weekend with a team batting average of .247. Senior RHP John Leonard had the best start of the opening weekend for the Eagles giving up two hits in his five innings of work against Tennessee Tech.
Florida enters the weekend coming off a three game sweep of South Florida (7-2, 4-1, and 5-0) and a midweek victory over Florida Atlantic (13-2) as they have a perfect 4-0 record. The Gators are led on offense by shortstop Nolan Fontana who has a .529 batting average while scoring a team high seven runs. Preston Tucker (.471 BA) and Josh Adams (.429 BA) are two other players to watch this weekend. The Gators offense is extremely deep as they have a team batting average of .359. The top pitcher on the opening weekend was Karsten Whitson who pitched five innings giving up only one hit and striking out nine batters.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Thursday: RHP Mike Dennhardt (0-0, 6.75) vs. LHP Brian Johnson (1-0, 0.00)
Friday: TBA vs. RHP Hudson Randall (1-0, 1.50)
Sunday: RHP Mike Dennhardt (0-0, 6.75) vs. RHP Karsten Whitson (1-0, 0.00)
Predictions
Brian Foley: Florida 3-0
William Knox: Florida 3-0
Sean McCarty: Florida 2-1
Kyle Tait: Florida 3-0
Appalachian State at #22 Miami (FL)
Appalachian State enters this weekend with a perfect 4-0 record as they swept Maryland Eastern Shore in the opening weekend before defeating Gardner-Webb on Tuesday. Trey Holmes has led the offense through the first four games by hitting .438 with a homer and a team high nine RBI. Tyler Tewell also has to be watched as he is hitting .400 with six RBI. Ryan Arrowood leads the starting rotation as he has made two appearances including one start with a 1-0 record and a 0.00 ERA in 7.1 innings of work.
Miami enters the weekend with the number 22 ranking in the most recent NCBWA poll with a 2-2 record after taking two out of three games from Rutgers and losing a midweek game on Wednesday to Florida Atlantic. The offense has been led by Zeke DeVoss who is hitting .400 with three runs scored on the year. After him, the top hitter on the team is Brad Fieger who is hitting .250 on the year. The team is all around struggling at the plate with the new bats with a .218 team batting average. The good news is that freshman Bryan Radziewski was outstanding on Friday night against Rutgers. He went six innings giving up one run on three hits but was unable to get the win.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Thursday: TBA
Friday: TBA
Saturday: TBA
Predictions
Brian Foley: Miami Sweep
William Knox: Miami Sweep
Sean McCarty: Miami Sweep
Kyle Tait: Miami Sweep
I will be posting the other ten series previews early on Friday.
