ACC Weekend Preview for May 17th-May 19th

Florida State at Georgia Tech

The Florida State Seminoles head to Atlanta GA for a weekend series with the Yellow Jackets. Florida State has already wrapped up the Atlantic Division title and at worst will be the number 2 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament. The Seminoles offense is still led by All-American candidate Tony Thomas Jr who is hitting .449 in the first 52 games of the season. Bryan Henry has continued his role of being the number 1 starter as he leads the team in wins with 13 and has the lowest ERA among the Seminoles starting pitchers at 2.47. Florida State has been having troubles with their third weekend starter role which has become unsettled recently. The Seminoles have the spot listed as TBA right now and they could go with anyone from Danny Rosen to Ryan Strauss.

Georgia Tech enters the weekend as the fourth seed for the upcoming ACC Tournament but could miss the tourney if some crazy scenarios come true. Georgia Tech is led by Matt Wieters (.376 BA, 10 home runs) and Danny Payne (.393 BA) who have been thorns in the side of every team that faces the Jackets. David Duncan has become the ace of the squad as he has a 6-3 record and a respectable ERA of 3.34.

The CBB predicts that GT takes two out of three games.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Thursday: David Duncan (6-3, 3.34 ERA) vs Bryan Henry (13-0, 2.47 ERA)
Friday: Eddie Burns (3-2, 2.89 ERA) vs Michael Hyde (9-2, 3.37 ERA)
Saturday: Ryan Turner (5-3, 4.65 ERA) vs TBA

FSU Game Notes
GT Game Notes

Virginia at Boston College

The Virginia Cavaliers enter the weekend series in Chestnut Hill looking to break a short three game losing streak as they lost the final two games of last weekend's series with NC State and lost a mid-week game to Coastal Carolina. UVA also is only a half-game back of North Carolina for the Atlantic Division title. The Cavaliers are dealing with the loss of their top hitter Greg Miclat who leads the team in hitting at .376. He will be visiting Dr. James Andrews this weekend and will likely miss the rest of the season with arm surgery. The Cavs are led by Jacob Thompson who has a perfect 10-0 record and a microscopic 1.48 ERA. Sean Doolittle is also a player that should be watched as he is hitting at .311 and is 7-3 on the mound.

Boston College enters this weekend in a tie with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons for the final spot in the ACC Tournament. BC holds the tiebreaker over the Deacons by way of the three game sweep by the Eagles earlier in the year. BC is led by Eric Campbell who has come around recently to get his average up to .356 as he leads the team in hitting. Johnny Ayers has also recently returned to the lineup after some shoulder issues and he is hitting .345 on the year. Kevin Boggan has been the Eagles top starter throughout the year as he made the transition to the starting rotation where he has a 5-5 record and a 3.84 ERA.

The CBB predicts that UVA takes all three games from the Eagles. The College Baseball Blog will be in attendance on Thursday and potentially Saturday if the game has any impact on the ACC race.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Thursday: Kevin Boggan (5-5, 3.84 ERA) vs Jacob Thompson (10-0, 1.48 ERA)
Friday: Terry Doyle (4-4, 5.24 ERA) vs Matt Packer (3-3, 3.75 ERA)
Saturday: Nate Jeanes (2-4, 4.61 ERA) vs Sean Doolittle (7-3, 2.67 ERA)

UVA Game Notes
Richmond Times-Dispatch Article on Brian O'Connor
Charlottesville Daily Progress Preview of BC series
BC Season Stats

Clemson at NC State

Clemson enters the weekend series with an overall record of 35-18 and 17-10 in the ACC. The Tigers are entering the series coming off a 19-7 victory over the College of Charleston on Tuesday. The Tigers have been led on offense recently by Doug Hogan who leads the starters with a .328 average. He also has ten homers on the season. The Tiger pitching staff has been up and down throughout the year as they have moved All-American closer Daniel Moskos to the starting rotation. He currently has a record of 3-4 with an ERA of 2.63. D.J. Mitchell has taken over the final spot in the rotation he picked up a big 11-6 victory on Sunday over FSU.

NC State still has not clinched a spot in the ACC Tournament but is likely going to get into the tournament barring a disastrous weekend. NC State took two out of three games over last weekend from Virginia and picked up a 7-4 victory over UNC-Asheville this week in non-conference action. The Wolfpack have been led by Eric Surkamp who has been having tough luck picking up wins as he is only 4-3 with a 2.73 ERA. Andrew Brackman is a potential first round pick but is very raw in his pitching as he only has a 6-4 record with a 3.81 ERA. He is not listed to pitch this weekend though as two out of the three games NC State has listed as TBA.

The College Baseball Blog predicts that NC State takes two out of the three games.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Thursday: Daniel Moskos (3-4, 2.63 ERA) vs TBA
Friday: David Kopp (5-2, 3.69 ERA) vs Eric Surkamp (4-3, 2.71 ERA)
Saturday: D.J. Mitchell (4-0, 3.16 ERA) vs TBA

Clemson Game Notes
Clemson Series Preview from Scout.com
NC State Game Notes
Brackman talks about the Draft

Duke at Miami

The Duke Blue Devils are heading down to Coral Gables to end their season as they no chance of making the ACC Tournament or get an NCAA berth this season. They have a respectable 29-22 overall record but have struggled in the ACC all year as they are only 8-19. The leading hitter for the Blue Devils has been Jimmy Gallagher who is hitting .369 on the year. Tony Bajoczky is the leading pitcher for the Devils as he has an impressive 9-2 record with a 2.92 ERA.

The Miami Hurricanes come into the series in a tie with NC State for the sixth spot in the upcoming ACC Tournament. The Canes picked up a series victory over Wake Forest last weekend by taking two out of three games. The biggest issue that came out of that series was the lack of a bullpen the Hurricanes have. They blew two leads of over five runs in two separate games but were able to win the series. Yonder Alonso (.360 BA, 17 home runs) and Mark Sobolewski (.344 BA, 6 home runs) are the main catalysts of the offensive attack. Eric Erickson is the ace of the pitching staff with a 8-3 record and a 1.93 ERA.

The College Baseball Blog predicts that Miami takes two out of three. Tony Bajoczky will win the only game for the Devils with a strong pitching performance.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Friday: Jonathan Anderson (3-3, 2.49 ERA) vs. Scott Maine (4-5, 2.95 ERA)
Saturday: Tony Bajoczky (9-2, 2.92 ERA) vs. Eric Erickson (8-3, 1.93 ERA)
Sunday: Alexander Hassan (2-5, 5.19 ERA) vs Enrique Garcia (6-3, 2.87 ERA)

Duke Game Notes
Miami Game Notes

Wake Forest at Virginia Tech

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons head to Blacksburg VA to take on the Virgina Tech Hokies. The Deacons are in a battle with Boston College for the final spot in the ACC Tournament. Both teams are tied with a conference record of 12-15 but BC holds the tiebreaker with a sweep of the Deacons earlier this season. Wake Forest is led by Allan Dykstra who is hitting .333 with 16 home runs. Willy Fox has also returned to the lineup after a leg injury which was caused by an intruder in his apartment. He is hitting .348 on the season in 38 games. Wake Forest top starting pitcher is Garrett Bullock who is 3-1 with a 4.62 ERA.

The Virginia Tech Hokies will close out the season under first-year head coach Peter Hughes as they try to spoil the Deacons ACC Tournament hopes. The Hokies have struggled throughout the year as they have a 22-29 overall record and 6-21 in the ACC. The Hokies top offensive player throughout the season has been Sean O'Brien who has a batting average of .327 BA. The Hokie pitching staff has been horrible all year with former closer Adam Redd leading the team with a 3-5 record and 3.84 ERA.

The College Baseball Blog believes that the Hokies will take two out of three games from the Deacons as the Hokies will play hard under Peter Hughes.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Thursday: Garrett Bullock (3-1, 4.62 ERA) vs. Greg Fryman (2-9, 8.05 ERA)
Friday: Brad Kledzik (4-3, 5.09 ERA) vs. Andrew Wells (3-4, 4.82 ERA)
Saturday: Ben Hunter (5-6, 4.76 ERA) vs. Adam Redd (3-5, 3.84 ERA)

Wake Forest Game Notes
Virginia Tech Game Notes

North Carolina at Maryland

The North Carolina Tar Heels enter their final series of the year at Maryland with slight half game lead over the Virginia Cavaliers. North Carolina has been led all year by strong pitching from Robert Woodard who has an 8-2 record and a 2.91 ERA. The offensive star throughout the year has been freshman sensation Dustin Ackley who is hitting an outstanding batting average of .441.

Maryland enters their final series of the year with no hopes of making the ACC or NCAA Tournaments. The best they can do is to ruin North Carolina's chances of winning the Atlantic Division. The Terps have been led by All-American closer Brett Cecil (5-5, 2.88 ERA) who made a start last weekend against Florida State. The leading hitter is Mike Murphy who is hitting .317 on the season.

The College Baseball Blog predicts that UNC sweeps the Terps.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Friday: Robert Woodard (8-2, 2.91 ERA) vs TBA
Saturday Game 1: Alex White (4-4, 3.63 ERA) vs TBA
Saturday Game 2: Luke Putkonen (6-1, 4.80 ERA) vs TBA

North Carolina Game Notes
Maryland Game Notes