Wake Forest releases 2008 schedule

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons have announced their 2008 schedule this past week. They will open the season on February 22nd when they head to Malibu CA to take on the Pepperdine Waves for the beginning of a four game set over three days. The next weekend the Deacons will head to Troy to take part in a tournament where they will play Kennesaw State and Penn State for single game and Troy for two games. The Deacons will host conference opponents Clemson, Maryland, Florida State, Virginia Tech, and Duke. Wake will head on the road to face conference opponents Miami, Boston College, NC State, Virginia, and Georgia Tech. The full schedule is available here.

Fall Ball Update for October 18th

Here is your update on Fall Baseball Scrimmage Action for October 18th. Click on the links below for more information.

Wake Forest
Georgia Tech
Washington
Xavier
Miami (OH)
Wayne State

Weekend Scrimmages Updates

Many schools are finishing up their fall seasons with intra-squad scrimmages. We have linked to all the weekend recaps below.

Wake Forest (Game 2)
Wake Forest (Game 1)
Indiana Fall Recap
Southeast Missouri State (Game 2)
Southeast Missouri State (Game 1)
Marshall Fall Series Recap
Villanova Fall Series Recap
UNC Fall Series Recap
Illinois State Fall Series Recap
Michigan State Fall Series Recap

FSU releases 2008 Schedule

The Florida State Seminoles have released their 2008 schedule. They will play a 56 game schedule in 2008 which opens up on February 22nd when Duquesne University visits for a four game series over three days. They will follow that up with an exhibition game against the Philadelphia Phillies. They will then travel to Auburn to take on the Tigers for two games before coming back to Tallahassee to host the Tigers for two games. The Seminoles will open ACC play on March 7th when Maryland visits Tallahassee. The Seminoles will also host ACC series against Georgia Tech, Virginia, Miami, and NC State. They will head on the road this season to face Virginia Tech, Boston College, Wake Forest, North Carolina, and Clemson. They will not play Duke in 2008 or 2009 due to the rotating ACC schedule. The 2008 ACC Baseball Championship will take place in Jacksonville Florida again. The full schedule is available in HTML and PDF formats.

What's In Store for 2008

Kendall Rogers of Rivals.com has been busy churning out quality content. Some of his latests items include:

- A rundown of the issues for SEC teams in 2008

- The same rundown for Big 12 squads

- A pre-Fall listing of the top 25 teams heading into the next season (not really a top 25, but rather a 25 teams to watch, listed in alphabetical order).

In his latest Mailbag, Kendall also discusses Irvine, Wake Forest, Oregon and Oregon State, and the differences between Fresno State and San Diego.

CCBL Series Preview: Chatham vs Yarmouth-Dennis

The Cape Cod Baseball League playoffs start on Friday when Chatham visits Yarmouth-Dennis in the Eastern Division playoff series.

The Chatham A's are led by Allan Dykstra (Wake Forest) who hit .308 this summer with five homers and 31 RBI in 40 games. Tom Milone (Southern Cal) leads the team with a 6-1 record on the mound with a 2.92 ERA. Milone is also tied with Terry Doyle of YD for the league lead in wins. Bryan Shaw (Long Beach State) has seven saves which leads the team.

The Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox enter the playoffs with the best regular season record after winning the 2006 title. They went 31-12-1 in 2007 and according to Perfect Game are one of the top Summer League teams in the nation. are led by one of the top prospects in the CCBL in Gordon Beckham (Georgia). He hit .284 on the year with nine homers and 35 RBI in 42 games. Jason Castro (Stanford) finished second in the league in hitting with a .341 average. Terry Doyle (Boston College) is tied for the league lead with six victories and a 2.35 ERA. Eddie Burns (Georgia Tech) has also had a strong summer with a 5-1 mark with a 2.86 ERA. Nick Cassavechia (Baylor) has 11 saves which is top in the league.

Friday: Chatham at Yarmouth Dennis at 3 pm
Saturday: Yarmouth-Dennis at Chatham at 7 pm
Sunday (if necessary): Chatham at Yarmouth-Dennis at 3 pm

The College Baseball Blog predicts that Yarmouth-Dennis wins the series in two games.

The entire playoffs will be webcasted for free through Leaguestream. The games can be accessed by clicking here.

Marshals, Copperheads Sweep into the TCL Championship

Coppell and McKinney swept through their respective TCL Divisional series and head into the Championship series which begins on Friday. The night was filled with critical home runs hit by Coppell's Brandon Belt and McKinney 's Derek Wiley (Belmont) and Dustin Hood (Wake Forest). McKinney won their sixth straight playoff game including the undefeated run during the 2006 playoffs. The Copperheads will own home field advantage during the Championship series due having a better regular season record than the Marshals.

Texas Collegiate League

The Eagle Recap

Wynn Pelzer Update

Baseball America is reporting that Wynn Pelzer (South Carolina) broke his right kneecap after taking a line drive off the bat from Allan Dykstra (Wake Forest) in Cape Cod action this week. Pelzer was a ninth round pick by the San Diego Padres who was playing this summer to increase the amount of money that he could get for a signing bonus. He likely will stay unsigned with this injury and pitch next season for the Gamecocks.

Baseball America

Round Rock Regional Day 2!

Wake Forest eliminates the Brown Bears 4-2!

Converted reliever Ben Hunter continued his brilliance as a starter for Wake Forest, pitching the Demon Deacons past Brown, 4-2, in the NCAA Regional Tournament Saturday afternoon at The Dell Diamond.

Hunter (8-6) led the Deacons to victory, allowing just one run in a career-long eight innings of work. The righthander tied his career-high with 10 strikeouts in his eighth start of the season.

Wake Forest spotted Hunter two runs in the first inning but didn't score again until the ninth. Hunter made the runs hold up, though, as he allowed just a run in the third inning before giving way to relievers Eric Niesen and Josh Ellis in the ninth.

The win advances the Deacs (34-28) in the loser's bracket and eliminates Ivy League champion Brown (27-21). Wake will now face the loser of tonight's game between top-seeded Texas and second-seeded UC Irvine on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT. The winner of that game will advance to the Regional championship on Sunday at 6 p.m. CT. If the Deacons advance that far, they would need to win on Sunday evening and then again on Monday afternoon to make the Super Regionals.

WakeForest Recap

Brown Bears Recap

They've said all year that they're better.

They have better hitting. They have better defense. They have a better attitude.

The Texas Longhorns have sworn all year that 2007 is not 2006. But one year later, they're in the same place, the same scary situation.

A flat Longhorns team was taken out of its game Saturday, frustrated by strong pitching by Scott Gorgen and an aggressive UC Irvine team, which sent Texas to the loser's bracket with a 3-1 victory in the Round Rock Regional at Dell Diamond.

It was in the second game of regional play last year that Stanford shocked Texas 12-8, sending the Longhorns into the loser's bracket and headed toward elimination.

The Horns swear this is not a repeat of last year.

"It's not," Texas coach Augie Garrido said. "This team has a different attitude. I see it in the way they carry themselves, in the way they approach the game and in the way they stay focused no matter what."

The Longhorns are going to need to stay focused for three straight games to advance. It starts at noon today when Texas (45-16), the top seed in the regional, takes on third-seeded Wake Forest at Dell Diamond in an elimination game. The winner will take on UC Irvine at 6 p.m.

The Anteaters (42-15-1) made it look easy Saturday. They made the plays defensively. They made the pitches.

Texas didn't.

UC Irvine opened the game with a triple by Taylor Holiday and an RBI single by Ben Orloff to take a 1-0 lead.

In Texas' first at-bat, the Longhorns were robbed of an RBI double off the bat of Russell Moldenhauer, as Anteaters center fielder Ollie Linton, who began the year on the bench but was inserted for his speed, made a beautiful catch in right-center field.

He took away another RBI double off Moldenhauer's bat in the sixth inning.

"The separation oddly enough was in the outfielder," Garrido said. "The two plays by the center fielder off of Moldenhauer's bat took away runs. It was all of their defense. Basically they did not give us an extra base or an extra out the entire game."

The Longhorns made three errors, including two by shortstop Chais Fuller. One of those miscues led to a run and a 2-0 deficit in the third inning.

"They put a lot of pressure on you with their guys in motion and the bunting, but I don't think that we were playing tight defensively," Fuller said. "I just made a couple of bad plays. It happens. I feel horrible about it."

The Longhorns got a run back in the bottom of the third, when Bradley Suttle hit his 11th home run of the season, a smash to left field, but that was it.

Gorgen pitched his third complete game of the season, fooling the Texas hitters with a changeup-fastball combination.

After Suttle's home run, the Longhorns failed to get a runner past second base.

"I'm feeling great. I feel like it's the middle of March again," Gorgen said. "I'm feeling stronger than ever. We're going to have to stay mentally tough."

So will Texas, which has a big hill to climb. Left-hander Austin Wood will start against Wake Forest for a pitching staff that will be extremely thin for the next three games. And the Longhorns' bats have to come around.

"Our pitching staff is solid, and we have a much better offense than we had last year," Suttle said. "We're just going to have to come out and do what we've been doing all year."

They might need more.

"We're going to have to have a hero," Garrido said. "We get in this position and somebody is going to have to step up and be the hero. Here's everybody's chance to make history at the University of Texas.

"It's going to be done around the country in the 16 regionals. Multiple teams are going to come out of the loser's bracket. It happens all the time, every year."

Texas.SCout.com

Texas Recap

UC Irvine Recap

Round Rock Regional!!

Longhorns rally to beat Brown in regional opener

After slow start, Texas wins 8-2 and advances to face UC Irvine!

Nick Peoples' arm. Chais Fuller's strength.

Say hello to both of them.

It's OK if you haven't noticed them before. They haven't really been used.

The two seniors used two assets that haven't been displayed much this season to propel Texas to an 8-2 victory over Brown on Friday in the opening round of the Round Rock Regional at Dell Diamond.

With the fourth-seeded Bears leading 2-1 in the sixth inning Fuller, one of four shortstops used by the Longhorns this season, showed some pop, sending an 0-1 pitch over the left-field wall for a two-run home run.

It was Fuller's second home run of the season. The first came Feb. 16 against Stanford. Both homers came at Dell Diamond.

"I didn't think it was out, so I was running full speed around the bases," Fuller said. "I saw the left fielder run into the wall, so I thought the ball was off the wall."

Fuller's blast loosened up top-seeded Texas (45-15), the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

"Chais Fuller changed the momentum in the game," Texas coach Augie Garrido said.

The Longhorns will take on UC Irvine at 6 p.m. today with a spot in the regional championship game on the line. The Anteaters routed Wake Forest 13-0.

Texas needed to scratch and claw Friday in front of 9,230 fans.

"So much for being the (regional's) top seed and getting an easy game to begin with," Garrido said.

The Longhorns, who took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Kyle Russell's home run, found themselves trailing 2-1 after the Bears put together five consecutive two-out hits in the fourth inning to take a 2-1 lead.

It could have been worse.

Brown had Robert Papenhouse on second and Dan Shapiro on first with two outs when Brian Kelaher singled to center field. Papenhouse tried to score on the hit.

That's when Peoples, who doubled off a runner at first base in the second inning and almost threw out a second batter at home, showed his arm strength, throwing the ball on the fly to catcher Brett Lewis in time to get a sliding Papenhouse.

It was one of the few times all season Peoples has had a chance to make a play at the plate.

"It's kind of weird, throughout the year I haven't had a play throwing-wise from center field," Peoples said. "Jordan (Danks) and Kyle (Russell) have had so many chances, and I can't remember any."

Peoples showed off his arm a few times Friday, skipping the cutoff man and hitting his targets on the fly.

"That's not always a good thing," Peoples said, "but today I really wanted to get those guys. Every run you get now is a big run. Luckily I was able to put a couple of them out tonight."

Brown (27-20) didn't have many scoring opportunities after the fourth inning because relievers Joseph Krebs and Randy Boone came in and shut the Bears down. They combined to pitch five scoreless innings, and they struck out seven consecutive batters at one point. The final nine outs by the Bears, who were playing in their first regional game, were strikeouts.

The Longhorns added to their lead with a run in the seventh inning, when Brown starter Jeff Dietz, who threw 131 pitches, started to wear down.

"He's a great pitcher," said Longhorn Travis Tucker, who was 4 for 4. "He hit his spots."

Texas broke it open in the eighth when the Bears went to the bullpen.

Tucker singled, and Jordan Danks and Russell followed with walks. Chance Wheeless ripped a two-run double to right center before Russell scored on a wild pitch. Wheeless then scored on Russell Moldenhauer's grounder to first base.

Some were surprised that four seniors — Peoples, Fuller, Krebs and Boone — pulled the Longhorns through their postseason opener. They shouldn't have been.

"Experience matters," Peoples said. "Guys who have been in situations like this before tend to be a little more comfortable than the other guys. You can see that. This team is pretty deep and everybody has experience.

"Hopefully this team can draw from the winning teams of the past."

Texas Recap

TExas.SCout.com
Brown Bears Recap!

Senior Cody Cipriano and freshman Jeff Cusick drove in three runs apiece and starter Wes Etheridge pitched eight shutout innings to lead second-seeded UC Irvine to a 13-0 win over third seed Wake Forest Friday at The Dell Diamond to open NCAA regional action. The win gave UCI its first regional victory in the program's Division I history as the Anteaters climbed to 41-15-1 and will face the winner of the Texas-Brown match-up Saturday at 5:00 p.m. (PT).

UC-Irvine Recap

WakeForest Recap

Round Rock Regional Preview!

The Field

(1) Texas [#5]

The Longhorns are again right where they've been for much of this decade, sitting at home for regional play with a national seed in their back pocket following a stellar regular season. The 2007 campaign saw UT claim first place in the Big XII after putting together a 21-6 league mark and 44-15 overall record.

(2) UC Irvine

You may not know much about the Big West Conference, but the Anteaters will attest that it's no easy task with the likes of Cal State-Fullerton, Long Beach State, and UC Riverside on the schedule from week to week. Irvine survived quite nicely though, going 15-6 in conference play and 40-15 overall to earn the at-large berth.

(3) Wake Forest

Though the Demon Deacons finished a pair of games below .500 in ACC play and actually just six games above the break-even mark overall, they were awarded one of the final at-large berths to this year's NCAA tournament after losing to UNC in the ACC Tournamnet title game.

(4) Brown

A 27-19 overall record and 14-6 mark in Ivy League play was enough to earn the Bears a matchup with Penn in the conference playoffs. Brown took that series 2-0 to earn the only automatic berth in this regional.

Southerncollegesports.com

Round Rock Regional!

Ranked as the number four national seed coming into regional play, the Texas Longhorns will host their weekend regional in neighboring Round Rock. Traveling to take on the 'Horns will be second-seeded UC Irvine and third-seeded Wake Forest, as well as Ivy League champ Brown. The winner of that bracket will take on the winner from Wichita next week. The Shockers, like all other hosts this spring, are the top seed at home, and they welcome in a tough number two seed in Arizona, as well as both Oral Roberts and New Orleans.

(1) Texas [#5]

The Longhorns are again right where they've been for much of this decade, sitting at home for regional play with a national seed in their back pocket following a stellar regular season. The 2007 campaign saw UT claim first place in the Big XII after putting together a 21-6 league mark and 44-15 overall record.

(2) UC Irvine

You may not know much about the Big West Conference, but the Anteaters will attest that it's no easy task with the likes of Cal State-Fullerton, Long Beach State, and UC Riverside on the schedule from week to week. Irvine survived quite nicely though, going 15-6 in conference play and 40-15 overall to earn the at-large berth.

(3) Wake Forest

Though the Demon Deacons finished a pair of games below .500 in ACC play and actually just six games above the break-even mark overall, they were awarded one of the final at-large berths to this year's NCAA tournament after losing to UNC in the ACC Tournamnet title game.

(4) Brown

A 27-19 overall record and 14-6 mark in Ivy League play was enough to earn the Bears a matchup with Penn in the conference playoffs. Brown took that series 2-0 to earn the only automatic berth in this regional.

Southerncollegesports

UNC wins ACC Title

The North Carolina Tar Heels won the ACC Championship with a 3-2 victory over Wake Forest. Josh Horton hit a run scoring triple in the eighth inning to bring home Dustin Ackley from second base which broke a 2-2 tie. Luke Putkonen started for the Tar Heels and gave up two runs in 6.2 innings but got a no decision. Matt Danford (5-0) faced one batter to end the seventh inning and got the victory. Andrew Carignan got his 13th save by working the final two innings without allowing a run. Charlie Mellies got the start for the Deacons and went five innings while only giving up one run on four hits. He picked up a no-decision but this was a good sign since Mellies is just coming back from Tommy John surgery. Josh Ellis (5-3) entered the game in the eighth inning and continued his recent struggles as he gave up the winning run on one hit and walked one.

UNC Recap
Wake Forest Recap

ACC Tournament Day 4 Recap

NC State 8 Georgia Tech 7 (Final)

In the opening game on Saturday, The NC State Wolfpack picked up an 8-7 victory over Georgia Tech. Both teams were eliminated before the game from making the championship game on Saturday so the game could only change the seedings for the upcoming NCAA Tournament as both teams are expected to receive at large berths. NC State started Jimmy Gillheeney who has been struggling recently and it continued on Saturday as he let up five runs in five innings. He ended up with a no-decision as Eryk McConnell picked up the victory by working the final 3.1 innings without allowing a run. His record goes to 3-2. Georgia Tech used this game to get some work for the pitching staff as they used six different pitchers. Matt Wieters (1-4) ended up getting the loss as he gave up a Caleb Mangum infield RBI single in the ninth. Marcus Jones went 4-5 and Dallas Poulk went 3-4 to lead the Pack offensive attack while Patrick Long led the Jackets by going 3-5 with three runs scored.

NC State Recap
GT Recap

North Carolina 5 Virginia 0 (Final)

Alex White (6-4) pitched seven shutout innings against the high powered offense of Virginia to give the Tar Heels a 5-0 victory and advance to the ACC Championship game on Sunday. White only gave up two hits and four walks over those seven innings. Andrew Carignan pitched two scoreless innings to get his 12th save. Casey Lambert (2-2) got the start for UVA and was effective but gave up two runs over seven innings as he was tagged with the loss. Reid Fronk led the Tar Heels with two RBI and two hits. John Scaglione was the only Cavalier with two hits in the game. UNC will take on Wake Forest for the ACC title at 1 pm on Sunday.

UNC Recap
UVA Recap
Daily Progress Recap

Clemson 5 FSU 1 (Final)

The Clemson Tigers kept their hopes alive of an ACC Championship game appearance as they defeated the Florida State Seminoles 5-1 in Day 4 of the ACC Tournament. Bryan Henry (14-1) picked up his first loss of the season by giving up four runs in 5.1 innings. David Kopp (6-2) pitched a complete game and gave up an unearned run in the top of the ninth while striking out seven strikeouts. Addison Johnson, J.D. Burgess, Taylor Harbin, and Marquez Smith each had two hits to lead the Tigers offense. Jack Rye went 3-4 to lead the Seminoles in the losing effort.

Clemson Recap
FSU Recap

Wake Forest 7 Miami 3 (Final)

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons picked up a big victory and got the help they needed to advance to the ACC Championship game as they defeated the Miami Hurricanes 7-3 in the final game of the round robin round of the ACC Tournament. Allan Dykstra finally did some damage tonight when I was watching as he hit a home run to tied the game at 2 in the third inning as he went 2-4 with 3 RBI including the homer. Ben Hunter (7-6) gave the Deacons six innings while giving up two runs to get the win. Enrique Garcia (7-4) got the loss for the Canes as he only lasted 4.1 innings while giving up five runs. Jemile Weeks went 2-4 in the losing effort. Wake Forest will play North Carolina at 1 pm for the ACC title and have likely clinched an at-large berth for the NCAA Tournament. Miami will wait until the brackets come out to find out where they will be heading.

Wake Forest Recap
Miami Recap

ACC Tournament Day 3 Recap

Wake Forest 3 Clemson 2 (Final)

Brett Linenkohl scored the tying run in the eighth inning and then in the bottom of the ninth drove home the winning run to lead Wake Forest to the 3-2 victory over Clemson. Brad Kledzik started for Wake Forest and gave them 7.1 innings while giving up six hits and two runs. Eric Nielsen picked up the victory by pitching the final 1.2 innings while giving up only one walk. Clemson starter Ryan Hinson 6.1 innings while giving up only one run but got a no-decision. Stephen Clyne pitched the ninth inning for the Tigers and gave up the winning run which was unearned in 0.2 innings. Wake Forest will take on Miami at 7 pm Saturday.

Wake Forest Recap
Clemson Recap

Miami 9 Florida State 3

Eric Erickson picked up his tenth victory of the season by giving up three runs in eight innings as the Hurricanes defeated Florida State 9-3 in Day 3 of the ACC Tournament. Ryan Strauss got the loss for the Seminoles as he gave up five runs in 4.2 innings. His record drops to 9-3. The Hurricanes were led on offense by Jemile Weeks who went 3-5 with 3 RBI and two runs scored. Tony Thomas Jr. led the Noles offense with a homer and a double while going 2-4. Florida State needs some help to get to the ACC Championship game as they need to defeat Clemson tomorrow at 4 pm and have Wake Forest defeat Miami in the nightcap.

Miami Recap
FSU Recap

ACC Tournament Day 1 Recap

Virginia 6 NC State 1 Final

Jacob Thompson pitched eight innings without allowing an earned run to up his record to 11-0 on the season. David Adams and Tyler Cannon each picked up two hits and drove in two runs to lead the Cavaliers offense. NC State starter Clayton Shunick went 5.2 innings while giving up nine hits and those six runs. He ended up tiring in the sixth as he held the Cavs scoreless in the first five innings but they finally got to him for all their runs in that inning. Virginia will

UVA Recap
The Daily Progress Game Article
NC State Recap
The Technician Game Article
News and Observer Game Recap

Georgia Tech 8 UNC 4 Final

Georgia Tech picked up an 8-4 victory over the second seeded North Carolina Tar Heels. David Duncan did a solid job on the mound as he scattered five hits over eight innings while giving up only three runs. The Tar Heels went unconventional by using mid-week starter Adam Warren on the mound. He gave up two runs on four hits in 4.1 innings of work. The Yellow Jackets did most of their damage in the seventh inning against Tar Heel reliever Rob Wooten who gave up three runs without getting a single out. Matt Wieters got two hits and drove in two runs to lead the Yellow Jackets offense while the Tar Heels were led by Time Fedroff who went 2-3.

GT Recap
Macon (GA) Game Recap
AJC Game Recap
UNC Recap
News and Observer Game Recap


Clemson 5 Miami 4 Final/13 innings

The Clemson Tigers got a suicide squeeze from Alex Lee to score the winning run in the bottom of the 13th inning to give the Tigers a dramatic 5-4 victory over Miami. The Hurricanes had taken a 4-3 lead in the top of the 13th on a Yonder Alonso sacrifice fly that brought home Roger Tomas with the lead run. The Tigers then came up with the two runs in the bottom of the 13th off of John Housey and Dennis Raben. JD Burgess hit an RBI single through the right side of the infield to tie up the game. The Hurricanes then loaded the bases on an intentional and unintentional walks. Alex Lee then put down a perfect suicide squeeze bunt to win the game for the Tigers.

Clemson Recap
The State Game Recap
Miami Recap
Miami Herald Game Recap

Florida State 7 Wake Forest 2 (Final)

Florida State jumped on Wake Forest starting pitcher Garrett Bullock for seven runs in 5.2 innings. The Demon Deacons made three errors in the game and failed to turn a routine double play in a five run fourth inning for the Seminoles. Michael Hyde went six innings while giving up both Deacon runs to up his record to 10-2 on the season. FSU was led on offense by Tony Thomas Jr. who went 2-4 with three runs scored to continue his All-American caliber season.

FSU Recap
Tallahassee Democrat Game Recap
Wake Forest Game Recap
Winston-Salem Journal Game Recap

2007 ACC Tournament Preview

Division 'A' Bracket

Florida State enters the ACC Tournament with a 46-9 overall record and 24-6 in the ACC. They won the Atlantic Division title for the first time in their history. They are led by ACC Pitcher of the Year Bryan Henry who is the ace of the pitching staff with a 14-0 record and an ERA of 2.50. Tony Thomas Jr. who recently was named the ACC Player of the Year leads the team in hitting with a .439 average from his leadoff spot. He has also stolen 28 bases in 33 attempts. Both players were recently named as Semi-Finalists for the Dick Howser Award. The Seminoles will take on Wake Forest on Wednesday at 7:00 pm, Miami at 7:00 pm on Friday, and Clemson at 4:00 pm on Saturday.

FSU Tourney Notes
Tallahassee Democrat article about new format

Wake Forest heads down to Jacksonville after taking two out of three games from Virginia Tech to get the eighth seed in the tournament. The Deacons have an overall record of 31-25 and went 14-16 in the conference. They are squarely on the bubble for an NCAA Tournament bid as many projections across the country have the Deacons in the tournament but CBB does not believe they should be in the tournament without a good weekend. The top hitters on the team are Willy Fox and Allan Dykstra. Fox only played in 41 games this season as he got injured in an encounter with an intruder at his apartment. Fox was able to lead the team in hitting with a .359 average. Dykstra was named to the Second team in the ACC as he hit .325 with 17 homers and 55 RBI in 56 games this season. The Wake pitching staff has been a question mark all season as the team's top weekend starter is Garrett Bullock who is only 4-1 with a 4.40 ERA. Josh Ellis has struggled recently also as he let up four runs in the ninth inning on Sunday against Virginia Tech. He enters the weekend with a 5-2 record and a 2.79 ERA with eight saves on the year. They will play FSU on Wednesday at 7 pm, Clemson at 4 pm on Friday, and Miami at 7 pm on Saturday.

Wake Forest Tourney Notes

Clemson enters the weekend with a 36-20 overall record and a conference record of 18-12. Clemson has been having problems all year with their starting pitchers. David Kopp has been the most consistent starter as he has made fifteen starts recording a 5-2 record and a 3.86 ERA. Jack Leggett has also moved Daniel Moskos to the rotation from a closing role and he now has a 3-5 record overall with an ERA of 3.07. D.J. Johnson has started in the back end of the rotation and has a perfect 4-0 record and 3.42 ERA. Doug Hogan who is in his junior season but his first year getting regular playing time is one of the top hitters on the team with a batting average of .333. Brad Chaulk will be returning to the lineup this weekend after recovering from a stress fracture in his back. He is still the leading hitter with a .407 average. Andy D'Alessio leads the team with 14 homers on the season. The Tigers will take on Miami on Wednesday at 4:00 pm, Wake Forest at 4 pm on Friday and Florida State at 4:00 pm on Saturday.

Clemson Tourney Notes
The State article about Chaulk
The State article about D'Alessio
Anderson Independent Mail preview of Clemson

Miami is entering the weekend with a 34-20 record and 16-13 record in the ACC. Miami swept the lowly Duke Blue Devils in Coral Gables to head into Jacksonville on a high note. Miami is led by Yonder Alonso who has hit 17 homers and batted at a .364 clip. The Hurricane starting pitchers are solid with Eric Erickson leading the team with a 9-3 overall record and an ERA of 1.85. Enrique Garcia (6-3, 2.87 ERA) and Scott Maine (5-5, 3.06 ERA) round out the rotation. The Hurricanes have been having problems throughout the year in the bullpen. Danny Gil leads the bullpen with five aves and a 4.05 ERA. Miami opens up against Clemson on Wednesday at 4 pm, Florida State at 7 pm, and Wake Forest at 7 pm in the final game of the round robin phase of the tournament.

Miami Tourney Notes
Palm Beach Post preview of the Hurricanes

The College Baseball Blog predicts that Clemson will win Division A and advance to the ACC Championship game.

Division 'B' Bracket

UNC (45-11) enters the weekend coming off a sweep over Maryland. UNC is led by Freshman sensation Dustin Ackley who is tied with Tony Thomas Jr. for the NCAA lead in hits with 101. He hit a solid .443 for the season with seven homers and 60 RBIs. The Carolina pitching staff is led by Robert Woodard who leads the starters with a 3.05 ERA and a solid record of 8-2. His stats have tailed off over his last five starts but he is still one of the top pitchers in the ACC. UNC opens on Wednesday against Georgia Tech at 1 pm. They will also play NC State on Thursday at 7 pm and Virginia on Saturday at 1 pm.

UNC Tourney Notes
Q & A with Mike Fox from Inside Carolina

Virginia (41-13) enters the weekend on a brief two game winning streak as they defeated Boston College twice in a rain-shortened series. The Cavaliers are led by Jacob Thompson who has a perfect record of 10-0 and an ERA of 1.46 ERA. He has tremendous control as the CBB witnessed last weekend when they attended one of the games versus Boston College. He never misses his spots and has a plus curveball. The Cavaliers also have one of the best lineups in the nation as there are no easy outs in the lineup. They are lead by First baseman/Pitcher Sean Doolittle who is hitting .318 at the plate with seven homers. Brandon Guyer is tied for the team lead in hitting with Greg Miclat at .376 but Miclat is out for the season with surgery on his torn labrum. Virginia opens the tournament on Wednesday at 10 am when they face NC State. They will take on Georgia Tech on Thursday at 4 pm and close out the round robin portion at 1 pm Saturday when they play North Carolina.

Virginia Tourney Notes
Daily Progress article about NC State/UVA matchup
Daily Progress article about the middle of UVA's lineup

Georgia Tech (31-23) heads down to the ACC tournament on a three game losing streak thanks to a weekend sweep by the hands of Florida State in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets are led by All-American candidates Matt Wieters and Danny Payne. Both players have seen time on the mound in addition to their regular fielding roles. Wieters has hit .366 this season with 10 homers and 56 RBI. Danny Payne leads the team in hitting with a solid .382 average with twenty stolen bases. The Georgia Tech pitching staff was lit up by the Florida State Seminoles for 44 runs in the weekend sweep. David Duncan has been the staff ace this season with a 6-4 record and a 3.84 ERA. GT will open the tourney at 1 pm on Wednesday against North Carolina. They will play Virginia on Thursday at 4 pm and close out the tourney on Saturday when they face NC State at 10 am.

GT Tourney Notes
Atlanta Journal-Constitution preview of GT

NC State (36-19) heads to the Conference tournament coming off a weekend series victory over Clemson when they won two out of three games. NC State is led by Ryan Pond at the plate as he is leading the team in hitting with a .339 average. Eric Surkamp is the ace of the starting pitchers but has not gotten the results this season as he only has a record of 4-3 and a 2.94 ERA. Eryk McConnell leads the team with eleven saves and a 1.29 ERA.

NC State Tourney Notes
NC State Scout.com Preview

The CBB predicts that Virginia wins Division 'B' and advance to the Championship Game.

The CBB also predicts that UVA will get the automatic bid for the conference.

Other previews of the tournament:
Rivals.com

2007 ACC Tournament Schedule

The ACC has announced the schedule for the upcoming conference championship in Jacksonville Florida. The ACC is trying out a new format this year which splits the eight teams into two separate divisions. Division A contains Florida State, Clemson, Miami, and Wake Forest. Division B has North Carolina, Virginia, NC State, and Georgia Tech. The full schedule for the tournament is available here.

Check Back on Tuesday evening for a full preview of the tournament from the College Baseball Blog.

ACC Recap for May 19th

North Carolina 12 Maryland 4
North Carolina 6 Maryland 3

The North Carolina Tar Heels swept a doubleheader from Maryland to clinch the number 2 overall seed in the upcoming ACC Tourney in Jacksonville. In Game 1, Reid Fronk went 3-4 with three runs scored and two driven in while starting pitcher Alex White gave them seven innings while only giving up three earned runs. Ryan Moorer started for the Terps and gave up five runs on eleven hits in only 4.2 innings. AJ Casario picked up three hits for Maryland in the game. In Game 2, Tim Federowicz went 3-5 with two runs and two RBI. Luke Putkonen pitched five innings while giving up one run. His record goes to 7-1. Brett Cecil got the start on senior day and gave them six innings while giving up six runs (five earned) as he ends the season at 5-6.

UNC Game 1 Recap
UNC Game 2 Recap
Maryland Recap

Florida State 17 Georgia Tech 11

FSU and Georgia Tech played the final game of their regular season and the Seminoles were able to complete a series sweep by winning 17-11. Omhed Danesh had a perfect night at the plate by going 3-3 with 2 RBI. Wally Crancer went 2-4 with an RBI. The Seminoles jumped on Yellow Jackets starter Eddie Burns for seven runs in the first two innings as his record ends the regular season 3-3. Ryan Strauss gave up one run in four innings as he picked up the win 9-2.

FSU Recap
GT Recap

Virginia 11 Boston College 3

The Virginia Cavaliers put the end to the Boston College season with an 11-3 victory. The Cavaliers knocked around BC starter Terry Doyle for six runs in 2+ innings of work. Doyle gave up home runs to Brandon Guyer in the first inning and David Adams in the third inning before being lifted for Nate Jeanes. Doyle's record finishes at 4-5. The Cavaliers sent All-American closer Casey Lambert to the mound as he allowed only one run in four innings to put his record at 2-1.

UVA Recap
BC Recap

Clemson 6 NC State 3

Ryan Hinson pitched two scoreless innings to get the victory as the Tigers picked up the 6-3 victory over NC State in the season finale. Doug Hogan led the offensive attack by going 3-5. Both schools used a bunch of pitchers as they were trying to set up their rotations for the ACC Tourney.

Clemson Recap
NC State Recap

Miami 14 Duke 5

Yonder Alonso and Roger Tomas each got four hits as the Hurricanes rolled over the Blue Devils in the regular season finale 14-5. Enrique Garcia (7-3) picked up the win by going five innings while giving up all five runs. Alexander Hassan (2-6) picked up the loss by giving up eight runs in 2.1 innings.

Miami Recap
Duke Recap

Wake Forest 9 Virginia Tech 8

The Demon Deacons survived a late ninth inning rally from the Virginia Tech Hokies but held on for the 9-8 victory. The victory clinches the eighth seed for Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament as they will play their first game on Wednesday.

Wake Forest Recap
VT Recap

ACC Recap for May 18th

Florida State 10 GT 2

Florida State continued their strong hitting from the next before as they jumped on the Yellow Jackets for six runs in the first inning as they cruised to a 10-2 victory in Atlanta GA. Every Seminole starter got on base at least once with four different players getting at least two hits in the game. Matt Fairel pitched 4.1 scoreless innings in relief to pick up his first collegiate victory to put his record at 1-0 on the year. David Duncan was rocked for eight runs in 4.1 innings and got the loss to put his record at 6-4.

FSU Recap
GT Recap

North Carolina 6 Maryland 3

UNC scored three runs over the final two innings to break a 3-3 tie and pick up a 6-3 victory over the Maryland Terrapins. Rob Wooten and Andrew Carnignan held Maryland to one base runner over the final 3.2 innings. Wooten picked up the win to put his record at 3-0 while Carnignan picked up his 11th save of the season. Dustin Ackley, Garrett Gore, and Tim Federowicz all had three hits in the game for the Tar Heels. Maryland starter Casey Baron was a tough luck loser as he gave up four runs in 7.1 innings. He picks up the loss in his last appearance at Shipley Field put his record at 4-5.

UNC Recap
UMD Recap

NC State 6 Clemson 5

The NC State Wolfpack got a walkoff homer from Dallas Poulk in the bottom of the ninth off of Clemson reliever Alan Farina to win 6-5. NC State reliever Sam Brown got the win as he got the final out of the ninth to put his record at 2-1 while Farina's record drops to 4-3.

NC State Recap
Clemson Recap

Miami 5 Duke 1

Eric Erickson pitched 7.2 innings while only allowing one run while Mark Sobolewski went 3-4 at the plate to lead the Canes to the 5-1 victory over Duke. Erickson's record goes to 9-3 while Duke ace Tony Bajoczky picked up his third loss of the season as he let up all five runs.

Miami Recap
Duke Recap

Virginia Tech 8 Wake Forest 2

The Virginia Tech Hokies picked up a key 8-2 victory over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons which kept Boston College's chances of making the ACC Tournament alive. Andrew Wells pitched 7.2 strong innings while only giving up both runs to up his record to 4-4. Wake starter Brad Kledzik was lit up for eight runs in six innings to drop his record to 4-4. Wake Forest is now 1/2 game up on Boston College in the standings heading into tomorrow. BC is scheduled to play UVA in a doubleheader but it might be canceled so Wake Forest might in for a do or die game on Sunday.

Wake Forest Recap
VT Recap

Virginia and Boston College was postponed and a doubleheader will be played on Saturday weather permitting.