Baseball America checks in on Duke and BC

Baseball America writer Aaron Fitt recently wrote an article on the Duke Blue Devils and Boston College Eagles baseball program. Both teams have been bringing up the rear of the pack through their history in one of the best conferences in the country. The Duke Blue Devils are led by third year head coach Sean McNally who led the Blue Devils to a 29-25 overall record in 2007 the first time they finished over .500 since 1998. The Blue Devils struggled in conference only picking up six wins in 30 conference games. Mik Aoki is entering his second season with the Eagles where he led them to a 24-27-1 overall record and 12-17 in the conference. The full article from Baseball America is available here.

Boston College finishes Fall World Series

The Boston College Eagles finished up fall practice with the Sonny Nictakis World Series. The Eagles played four games with the Gold team taking all four games. The star of the series was Freshman Matt Hamlet who picked up four hits in the series including two for homers in Game 3. Tony Sanchez also picked up two homers in the series with freshman Garrett Smith going 3-3 in Game 1 of the series. A full recap of the games and boxscores are available here.

Boston College releases 2008 Schedule

The Boston College Eagles have released their 2008 schedule which begins with a three game set against Georgia Southern which starts on February 22nd. Boston College then will play their annual game against the Boston Red Sox on February 29th. The Eagles will then play four games in two days against Mount St. Mary's, St. Bonaventure, Lehigh, and Notre Dame in Palm Beach, Florida. They will then make a trip to Florida International for a three game set before heading down to Coral Gables to take on the Miami Hurricanes in both team's conference opener. BC will play 31 games in the ACC conference in 2008 with other road series with Clemson, Georgia Tech, Virginia, North Carolina, NC State, and a single game with former BC head coach Pete Hughes with the Virginia Tech Hokies. BC will host Florida State, Duke, Wake Forest, and Maryland in their only home ACC series. Boston College will also take part in the Beanpot at Fenway Park on April 16th when they take on Northeastern and will play the championship game on April 23rd. The full schedule is available here.

UPDATE: BC will be hosting Georgia Tech as BC Media Relations made a mistake in the schedule.

Jett Ruiz turns up at San Diego

Jett Ruiz formerly a catcher with the Boston College Eagles has turned up with the San Diego Toreros. He left the Boston College program last season late in the year over the emergence of freshman catcher Tony Sanchez Jr. Ruiz will enter San Diego as a junior but will likely not see much time behind the plate with Logan Gelbrich expected to handle the pitching staff in 2008. Ruiz struggled mightily in the ACC the last two seasons. He showed a few glimpses of talent but could not become a consistent hitter.

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.

Yankees sign Brackman

The New York Yankees signed Andrew Brackman to a four year guaranteed deal which is worth a minimum of 4.5 million to a maximum of 13 million. The College Baseball Blog attended one of Brackman's starts in the 2007 season (sat about four people over from Keith Law of ESPN) and was less then impressed with his performance. He did not show me first round type material but throws a very hard fastball but his curveball needs a lot of work. The biggest issue that I have over Brackman is the arm issues he ran into at the end of the NC State season which hampered the Wolfpack's chances in the NCAA and ACC tournaments. There is not much mileage on his arm since he pitched in only 78 innings in 2007 while pitching in a combined 71.1 innings in his freshman and sophomore seasons. He was visiting famed surgeon James Andrews this week to look at his inflamed elbow where Tommy John surgery might be needed.

NC State Release
River Ave. Blues Article
CBB article on Brackman's start against Boston College

Boston College News

According to a source, Boston College's ace pitcher Terry Doyle is expected to come back next season for his senior season. He is coming off a strong summer for the second straight year as he won Game 1 of the Cape Cod Baseball League Championship series on Monday. Doyle had an injury hampered season in 2007 while compiling a 4-5 record with a 5.87 ERA. This is huge news for Boston College as he is expected to lead the team to their first apperance in the ACC Tournament in 2008. If something changes, The College Baseball Blog will be all over it.

Doyle leads YD to Game 1 victory over Falmouth

FROM CCBL RELEASE
SOUTH YARMOUTH, Mass.- The Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox were in control of game one of the Cape Cod Baseball League Championship Series from the first batter all the way to the end. After both teams swept their divisional series, the Red Sox kept their momentum going while taking the wind out of Falmouth’s sails winning 8-2.

Game two of the Championship series will be played at Guv. Fuller Field in Falmouth at 7 PM August 13 as the Red Sox will be looking to win their third title in four years. Tonight’s crowd of 4.335 is expected to matched tomorrow in what could be the last game of the 2007 season.

Falmouth starter Shooter Hunt (Tulane) was chased from the game after pitching just 2 1/3 innings giving up four runs on four hits. Hunt started the game by relinquishing a homer to the first batter he faced, Grant Green (Southern California) who also blasted a solo shot in the fifth inning off of reliever Preston Claiborne (Tulane).

The second year starter for Falmouth, who also allowed Buster Posey (Florida State) to score on a sacrifice fly by Gordon Beckham (Georgia) in the first, left the game in the third after giving up a single to Jason Castro (Stanford) and a walk to leftfielder Aaron Luna (Rice) to start the inning. Preston Claiborne, Hunt’s college teammate, came in and gave up a walk to load the bases, but the Red Sox could not cash in on the opportunity as Claiborne struck out Collin Cowgill (Kentucky) and induced a ground ball out from Joey Railley (University of San Francisco) to end the threat.

The Red Sox scored twice in the second off of Hunt thanks to an RBI double by second baseman Railley that drove in Cowgill and a ground ball by the tall middle infielder turned first baseman Green that plated Railley to go up 4-0. Green moved to first base for the postseason after an elbow injury to Sean Ochinko (LSU) in the last game of the regular season left a hole in the lineup for Y-D.

For Yarmouth-Dennis Terry Doyle (Boston College), the 2006 Co-Outstanding Pitcher of the Year, collected the win giving up just two runs on four hits. He struck out seven Commodores, walking three and racking up four wild pitches in his last Cape League start in 6 1/3 innings of work.

Two of those wild pitches led to a Falmouth run as second baseman David Adams (Virginia) took both third and home on pitches that hit the dirt in front of the plate and got by Buster Posey (Florida State). The 6 foot 2 inch 205 pound power hitter, who led the Commodores with 51 hits on the season, reached second base on a double that just missed leaving the park bouncing off the left field fence in front of the score board at Red Wilson Field.

Adam’s scored the second Falmouth run in the sixth inning after reaching on a single, stealing second base, advancing to third on another Doyle wild pitch and coming home on a sacrifice fly by third baseman Phil Carey (Winthrop).

The Red Sox collected three insurance runs in the eighth of off reliever Erik Bird (Nebraska). Green collected his fourth RBI of the night, and Posey and right fielder Matt Long (Santa Clara) each drove in one run putting the final tally at eight for the Red Sox.

DJ Mauldin (Cal Poly State) shut down the Falmouth Commodores to close out the game, pitching 2 2/3 shutout innings to keep Doyle’s seventh win of the season in tact.
For Doyle, there couldn’t be a better way to finish his Cape League career than with back-to-back championships.

“It would be great (to win again), last year was a lot of fun but to be able to go back to back, which nobody’s done in a while, would be great. I mean, everybody likes winning,” said Doyle.

Photo is courtesy of Codball

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.

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.

ACC Recap for May 17th

Florida State 17 GT 2

The Florida State Seminoles pounded out 15 hits and were able to put across 17 runs against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in a 17-2 blowout victory over Georgia Tech. Bryan Henry started for the Seminoles and gave up only two runs on six hits in six innings to up his record to a perfect 14-0. Jason Stidham led the Seminoles attack by going 4-5 with four RBI while Tony Thomas Jr. went 2-6 with two runs scored and two driven in also. Georgia Tech starter Ryan Turner only lasted four innings and gave up seven runs to drop his record to 5-4. Wally Crancer picked up two hits including a homer as he was the only Yellow Jacket with multiple hits in the game.

FSU Recap
GT Recap

UVA 5 BC 4

The CBB attended this game and it can be read here.

NC State 11 Clemson 4

The NC State Wolfpack welcomed Clemson to Raliegh NC for an ACC showdown. The Wolfpack were able to pick up the 11-4 victory. NC State starter Clayton Shunick made the spot start which was only his second of his career. He was able to deliver on the mound as he only gave up two hits in five innings to get the win. His record is now 5-2. Eryk McConnell pitched two perfect innings to close out the game and pick up his 11th save. Caleb Mangum went 2-4 with four RBIs to lead the offensive attack for the Wolfpack. Daniel Moskos started for the Tigers and gave up four runs in four innings. His record drops to 3-5 on the season. Addison Johnson got two hits in four at bats as he was the only Tiger with more then one hit on the day.

NC State Recap
Clemson Recap

Miami 9 Duke 3

The Miami Hurricanes exploded for five runs in the bottom of the seventh to blow a tight 4-3 game into a comfortable 9-3 victory for the Hurricanes over Duke. The Canes got six innings from Scott Maine while giving up only three runs to even his record at 5-5. Roger Tomas, Yonder Alonso, Dennis Raben, and Gus Menendez all had two hits to lead the Hurricanes offense. Duke starter Jonathan Anderson gave up four runs in 5.2 innings and got the loss to put his record at 3-4. Nate Freiman went 4-4 with 2 RBI in the losing effort.

Miami Recap
Duke Recap

Wake Forest 5 VT 2

Wake Forest defeated Virginia Tech 5-2 in the first game of their series with Virginia Tech on Thursday evening. Willy Fox went 3-4 with an RBI as his Wake Forest Demon Deacons moved into sole possession of eighth place in the ACC after a Boston College loss earlier in the day. Garrett Bullock gave the Deacons a strong start by giving up two runs in eight innings. His record is now 4-1. Josh Ellis picked up the save as he struck out all three batters in the bottom of the ninth. Virginia Tech starter Greg Fryman pitched a complete game while allowing all five runs earned and drops his record to 2-10 on the season. The Hokie offensive star was Warren Schaeffer as he picked up two hits.

Wake Forest Recap
Virginia Tech Recap

The CBB checks out BC-UVA Game 1

The College Baseball Blog took advantage of an opportunity to take a look at Jacob Thompson who entered the day with a 10-0 record. The Eagles countered with senior pitcher Kevin Boggan who was making his last appearance at Shea Field. The Cavaliers came out and took it to Boggan by getting three hits and bringing across two runs to jump out to a 2-0 lead. The Eagles then came out in the bottom of the first and were able to scratch across two runs on one hit, one error, one walk, and a hit by batter to tie the score at 2. The game became a classic pitching duel between Boggan and Thompson until the sixth inning when Brandon Guyer lead off with a high fly ball to right field which was dropped by Johnny Ayers allowing Guyer to get on second base with no outs. David Adams followed the lead-off error with a single up the middle to drive Guyer in to make the score 3-2. BC was held in check by Thompson until the eighth inning when Ryan Hutchinson led off the inning with a single through the infield. He stayed on first after Johnny Ayers flew out to left field. Jared McGuire then hit a double down the left field line to put runners on second and first with only one out. The Cavaliers finally made a move to the bullpen as they brought in Jake Rule to face the hot-hitting Eric Campbell. He proceeded to hit a sacrifice fly to right field which brought home the tying run in Hutchinson. The teams stayed tied until the top of the tenth inning when the Cavaliers struck for two runs on a David Adams single to take a 5-3 lead. Boston College was able to work around the single and get out of the inning while only allowing those two runs. Virginia brought in closer Casey Lambert who got into some trouble as he allowed a run and needed a double play off the bat of Eric Campbell to get the final two outs and pick up his 11th save of the season.

Jacob Thompson was extraordinarily in his 7.1 innings on the mound. He was able to locate all his pitchers including a strong fastball and a solid curveball. Sean Doolittle went 3-4 on the day with an RBI as he has a good solid bat and should be a drafted this upcoming spring.

Boston College's starter Kevin Boggan started out rusty but was able to get in a groove as he went seven strong innings while only allowing two earned runs. He has become a tough luck loser or no-decision guy as he is still 5-5 on the season. Eric Campbell and Jared McGuire both have come alive recently at the plate. If the Eagles are able to get into the ACC Tourney, both players could cause some trouble for their opponents.

BC Recap
UVA Recap

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

ACC Recap for May 13th

Clemson 11 FSU 6

The Clemson Tigers got two homers from Andy D'Alessio who also drove in five runs to hammer the FSU Seminoles 11-6. The victory by the Tigers clinched FSU's first series loss of the season. FSU starter Ryan Strauss was knocked out after 3.1 innings while giving up four runs. His record drops to 8-2. D.J. Mitchell started for the Tigers and was able to give them six innings where he allowed five runs.

Clemson Recap
FSU Recap

Georgia Tech 9 UNC 5 (Saturday's game)

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were able to finish off the Tar Heels and pick up a 9-5 victory in a suspended game from Saturday afternoon which was finished on Sunday. The Yellow Jackets received three hits from Wally Crancer including a homer to lead the Jackets to the victory and tie the series at a game a piece.

GT Recap
UNC Recap

UNC 14 Georgia Tech 11

Benji Johnson grabbed four hits to lead the Tar Heels to the 14-11 victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the rubber game of their series. Luke Putkonen and Ryan Turner both lasted only 1.2 innings while giving up five runs a piece for their respective teams. Tim Federowicz got the victory in relief to even his record at 2-2 while Brad Rulon got the loss to drop to 2-3.

UNC Recap
GT Recap

NC State 8 Virginia 6

The NC State Wolfpack took game 3 of their series with Virginia to pick up a big conference series victory which basically clinched a spot in the ACC Tournament for the Wolfpack. NC State broke a 6-6 tie on a two run single by Ryan Pond to produce the winning runs for the Pack. Jake Rule get the loss for the Cavs by pitching 1.2 ineffective innings and giving up four walks and two runs to drop to 4-4. Andrew Taylor gets the win to put his record 3-2 and Erik McConnell got his 10th save of the season.

NC State Recap
UVA Recap

Duke 7 Virginia Tech 1 (Saturday's suspended game)
Virginia Tech 8 Duke 4

The Duke Blue Devils were able to clinch a series victory with a 7-1 victory in their suspended game from Saturday which was continued on Sunday. The Devils scored five runs in the sixth inning to take control and cruise to the victory in Game 1. In Sunday's originally scheduled game, the Hokies were led by Warren Schaffer and Sean O'Brien each put up three hits in the game as the Hokies were able to salvage the final game of the series 8-4.

Duke Recap
VT Recap

Game 1: Boston College 12 UMES 5 (7 innings)
Game 2: Boston College 12 UMES 3

The Boston College Eagles headed out of conference this weekend as they hosted the Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks. They ended up finishing up the sweep of the Hawks on Sunday with 12-5 and 12-3 victories. Jared McGuire led the Ealges by going 4 for 7 on the day and Tony Sanchez drove in four runs in Game 1 as the Eagles cruised to the victory.

BC Recap

ACC Recap for May 12th

Clemson 7 Florida State 6

The Clemson Tigers got to Luke Tucker for three runs in the top of the ninth to erase a two run deficit and turn it into a 7-6 victory over the second ranked Seminoles. The Tigers took advantage of two walks by Tucker sandwiched around a single from Marquez Smith to load the bases for Taylor Harbin. He proceeded to hit a two run double down the left field line to tie the game at 6. Mark Martin then brought in Michael Hyde who intentionally walked the first batter he faced in Ben Paulsen. (I hate seeing relief pitchers coming into games to throw intentional walks). Doug Hogan then hit a sharp groundball to third baseman Jason Stidham who threw to second base but the relay throw to first was not in time to let the runner on third score the winning run. The Tigers got the final three outs from Alan Farina who ended up pitching 4.1 shutout innings of relief to pick up the win and up his record to 4-2. Luke Tucker picks up his first decision of the season who puts his record at 0-1.

Clemson Recap
FSU Recap

Virginia 4 NC State 2 (completion of yesterday's game)

Tyler Cannon was left on third base in a game tied at 2 when the rains came on Friday. When the game resumed on Saturday, Cannon promptly came home on a wild pitch from Jeff Stallings to take a 3-2. One batter later, Jeremy Farrell hit a homer to left to set up the final scoreline of 4-2.

Virginia Recap
NC State Recap

NC State 10 Virginia 7

The NC State Wolfpack scored eight runs in the first four innings to grab control of the second game of their weekend series with Virginia. The Wolfpack were led on offense by Marcus Jones who went 3-4 with two RBI. Sean Doolittle led the Cavs at the plate by going 2-4 with four RBI. Matt Packer got the loss for the Cavs as he was rocked for three runs in 1.2 innings with his record evening up at 3-3 while Jimmy Gillheeney got the win in relief to up his record to 4-2.

NC State Recap
UVA Recap

Miami 9 Wake Forest 8 (14 innings, completion of yesterday's game)

Jemile Weeks with one out in the 14th inning hit a single up the middle. After a strikeout to Dave DiNatale, Dennis Raben walked to force Weeks to second base. Gus Menendez then hit a line drive that landed in left field that drove in the speedy Weeks with the winning run. Eric Erickson picks up the victory by pitching three scoreless innings to put his record at 8-3. Eric Nielsen picks up the loss by going the final 4.1 innings to drop his record to 5-5.

Miami Recap
Wake Forest Recap

Wake Forest 12 Miami 10

Austin Jones hit a walk-off two run homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the Deacons a huge victory over the Miami Hurricanes in ACC action on Saturday. The Deacons came back from three two run deficits on the day and were able to get the win as they are battling for the final spot in the ACC Tournament with Boston College. Josh Ellis picked up the win to put his record at 5-2 while Michael Rudman got his first decision of the season to put his record at 0-1.

Wake Forest Recap
Miami Recap

Boston College 10 Maryland-Eastern Shore 2

The Boston College Eagles came back from the finals break and were able to pick up a 10-2 victory over the lowly Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks. Kevin Boggan only allowed 2 hits as he only pitched four innings to get some work in before an important series with Virginia this upcoming week. Ted Ratliff also pitched four innings and allowed both runs on three hits. Boston College blew open the game by scoring seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings to let the BC Eagles cruise to the victory.

BC Recap
UMES Recap

Suspended Games

GT 6 UNC 1 Bottom of the fifth

GT Recap
UNC Recap

Virginia Tech 1 Duke 0 Top of the fifth

Virginia Tech Recap
Duke Recap

ACC Recap for May 6th

Florida State 3 Maryland 2

Brett Cecil made his first start of the year for the Terrapins as he went 7.1 innings while also striking out six Seminoles but that was not enough as the Seminoles picked up a tough 3-2 victory. Danny Rosen started for the Noles and gave them 7.1 innings limiting the Terps to four hits and two runs to pick up his first win of the season as a starter. The Noles offense was led by Mark Hallberg who went 2-3 with the only RBI for the Seminoles. Dan Benick hit a two run single in the eighth inning to set up the final scoreline of 3-2. FSU will be back in action on Friday when they host Clemson while Maryland will host West Virginia on Tuesday before taking time off for finals.

FSU Recap
Maryland Recap

Game 1: BC 8 Clemson 6

The Boston College Eagles scored three runs in the top of the ninth to take an 8-6 lead and hold on in the bottom of the ninth to pick up a key ACC victory in the race for the final spot in the ACC Tournament. BC was led by Jared McGuire and Eric Campbell who each led the team with three hits in the first game of the doubleheader. Senior relief pitcher Ted Ratliff got the win by working the final 1.2 innings while allowing two runs on three hits. His record goes to 6-2. Alan Farina blew the save opportunity and picked up the loss to drop his record to 3-2. Taylor Harbin led the Tigers with two homers in the game.

BC Recap
Clemson Recap

Game 2: Clemson 7 BC 6

Marquez Smith hit a two run homer in the third inning and a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh to give the Tigers a 7-6 lead which Tiger reliever Matt Vaughn was able to hold onto to give the Tigers a great come from behind victory over the Eagles. Vaughn picks up the win to up his record to 4-0 while Terry Doyle pitched the entire game for the Eagles but gave up all seven runs to drop his record to 3-4 on the season. Jared McGuire continued his recent hot streak with three hits, two RBI, and two runs scored in the losing effort. BC will be off all week for exams and will host UMES Saturday and Sunday for a three game set while Clemson will head to Greenville SC to face Wofford on Tuesday.

BC Recap
Clemson Recap

Georgia Tech 12 South Florida 2

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets picked up a 12-2 victory over the South Florida Bulls in Tampa on Sunday. The Jackets exploded for 12 runs over the final two innings to give the Bulls their second straight loss to Georgia Tech in as many days. The GT offense was led by Luke Murton who went 3-5 with four RBI in the win. GT reliever Jared Hyatt picked up the win by pitching 1.2 scoreless innings to put his record at 8-0. South Florida starter Shawn Sanford got the loss to put his record at 1-4. GT and South Florida will finish their series on Monday at noon.

GT Recap
South Florida Recap

Miami 13 Wright State 5

Eric Erickson pitched five strong innings while only allowing three hits and one unearned run to put his record at 7-3 and give the Hurricanes a 13-5 sweep over the Wright State Raiders. Mark Sobolewski and Yonder Alonso each picked up three RBI to lead the Canes offense. Wright State starter Kyle Kearcher gave up eight runs in 3.0 innings to drop his record to 7-4. Wright State was led on offense by Dan Biedenharm who got two hits. The Canes will be back in action next weekend when they travel to Wake Forest while Wright State will face Bowling green on Tuesday.

Miami Recap
Wright State Recap

ACC Recap for May 5th

Florida State 20 Maryland 5

The FSU offense continued their recent hot hitting on Saturday by pounding out 26 hits and putting 20 runs on the board to crush the Maryland Terrapins 20-5. Florida State shortstop Mark Hallberg went 5-7 with four runs scored and two RBI in the win. Michael Hyde gave the Seminoles 5.2 innings while giving up five runs (3 earned) to up his record to 9-2. Ryan Moorer started for the Terps but the Noles got to him early for eight runs in 2.2 innings of work. Moorer's record drops to 3-5. The teams will finish the series at 1:00 pm.

FSU Recap
Maryland Recap

Clemson 4 Boston College 3

The Boston College Eagles and Clemson Tigers got together at Doug Kingsmore Stadium for a key ACC series in terms of seeding for the NCAA and ACC Tourneys. Andy D'Alessio broke a tie at three with a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Tigers a 4-3 lead which ended up being the final score. Daniel Moskos started for the Tigers and gave up three runs in 7.1 innings in the longest outing for a Clemson starter this season. He picks up a no decision as Stephen Clyne gets the win by working the final 1.2 innings without allowing a run to get his record to 5-1. Kevin Boggan started for the Eagles and gave up four runs on ten hits but got the complete game as his record drops to 4-5. The teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday starting at 2 pm.

Clemson Recap
BC Recap

NC State 7 Campbell 3

The NC State Wolfpack finished off a two game sweep over the Campbell Camels on Saturday by a 7-3 scoreline. Marcus Jones continued his strong hitting since getting into the lineup by going 4-4 with 2 RBI and six pitchers combined on a three hitter. NC State pitcher Nate Kearns got the victory to put his record at 3-2 while Quinn LeSage gets the loss to go to 1-8. NC State returns to action on Wednesday at UNC-Wilmington.

NC State Recap
Campbell Recap

Georgia Tech 11 South Florida 3

The Yellow Jackets headed down to Tampa to take on the South Florida Bulls in a rare non-conference road series for the Yellow Jackets. The Jackets came out after a week off for final exams and jumped on USF starter Danny Otero (transfer from Duke) for six runs in five innings. Otero record drops to 7-6 while David Duncan picked up the win by going six innings while giving up three runs (two earned) to put his record at 6-2. Matt Wieters who is likely a first round pick this upcoming draft hit a homer and drove in five runs in the victory. The teams will be back in action on Sunday at noon.

GT Recap
USF Recap

Miami 11 Wright State 2

The Miami Hurricanes clinched an out of conference series victory by knocking off visiting Wright State 11-2 on Saturday. Yonder Alonso led the Hurricanes with four hits and six RBI while Enrique Garcia struck out seven batters in seven innings to up his record to 5-3 while Wright State starter Garret Holleran got the loss to put his record at 3-5. The teams finish their series at noon on Sunday.

Miami Recap
Wright State Recap

ACC Weekend Preview for May 4th-May 6th

Florida State at Maryland

The Florida State Seminoles head to College Park this weekend to take on the Terrapins in a battle between the first place and last place in the ACC Atlantic Division. FSU heads to UMD with an all-time record of 48-3 and 20-1 in College Park. Maryland picked up their only victory in College Park on May 2, 1993. FSU last loss to Maryland was on March 26th 1998. Florida State enters with a 39-7 overall record and 17-4 in the ACC. Florida State has been led by number 1 pitcher Bryan Henry who has a perfect 11-0 record and a solid ERA of 2.45. Michael Hyde has been holding down the number 2 starter role with an 8-2 record and a 2.79 ERA. Hyde picked up a loss earlier this season against Duke ace Tony Bajoczky. The Seminoles have made a change in their rotation with Danny Rosen taking over the Sunday starter role with a 1-1 record and a marginal ERA of 3.77. Rosen started his first game for the Seminoles last weekend against the Miami Hurricanes and gave up four runs (three earned) on four hits. Maryland enters with a 25-24 overall record but are struggling in the ACC at 7-17 and are virtually out of the ACC Tournament hunt. Brett Cecil is the team's best pitcher with a 5-4 record and eight saves. His ERA is 3.12 but should be lower since he had some rough outings at the beginning of the season. The CBB predicts FSU to sweep the Terps.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Friday: Bryan Henry (11-0, 2.45 ERA) vs. Casey Baron (4-3, 3.56 ERA)
Saturday: Michael Hyde (8-2, 2.79 ERA) vs Ryan Moorer (3-4, 4.45 ERA)
Sunday: Danny Rosen (1-1 3.77 ERA) vs TBA

FSU Recap
Maryland Recap

Boston College at Clemson

The Boston College Eagles head down to Clemson for the first time as an ACC opponent. Boston College has been on a recent hot streak winning eight of their last ten games. BC enters in a tie for the eighth spot in the ACC with Wake Forest with identical conference records of 11-13. BC's overall record is 20-23-1 after picking up two non-conference wins over Quinnipiac and Dartmouth. Boston College has been getting solid pitching from both Kevin Boggan (4-4, 4.01 ERA) and Terry Doyle (3-3, 4.83 ERA) the last few weeks. The other starting spot has been going to Nate Jeanes (1-4, 5.09 ERA) who has been up and down throughout the season. Johnny Ayers has been the Eagles top hitter and returned to the lineup last weekend series with Virginia Tech. He leads the team with a .380 BA. Clemson enters as the 14th ranked team in the country and have an overall record of 29-15 and 13-8 record. Doug Hogan picked up player of the week from the ACC this week after batting .500 in four games. All-American closer candidate Daniel Moskos has made the move to the starting rotation and enters with a 3-3 record and a 1.94 ERA in four starts and 21 appearances. Brad Chalk is the leading hitter for the Tigers with a .407 batting average but is nursing an injury so is questionable for the weekend series. The CBB predicts that Clemson takes two out of three from the Eagles.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Saturday: Kevin Boggan (4-4, 4.01 ERA) vs Daniel Moskos (3-3, 1.94 ERA)
Sunday Game 1: Terry Doyle (3-3, 4.83 ERA) vs David Kopp (5-2, 3.16 ERA)
Sunday Game 2: Nate Jeanes (1-4, 5.09 ERA) vs Ryan Hinson (4-2, 2.05 ERA)

Clemson Game Notes

I will be posting an Out of Conference preview for the other teams that are in action outside of the ACC.

ACC Recap for May 2nd

Boston College 12 Dartmouth 6

Boston College continued their recent winning ways with a 12-6 victory over regional rival Dartmouth. BC was led by Ryan Hutchinson and Eric Campbell who each went 3-5. Kurt Hayer picked up his first career victory by pitching the first 2.2 innings while giving up five runs. Dartmouth starter Chase Carpenter picked up the loss by giving up seven runs in 1.1 innings of work.

BC Recap
Dartmouth Recap
Maryland 7 UMES 2

Brett Jones pitched two perfect innings in relief to pick up a 7-2 victory over local rival UMES. Maryland was led on offense by Dan Melvin and Joe Palumbo who each went 2-4 at the plate. Maryland Eastern Shore starter Tyler Winch got the loss by going seven innings while giving up four runs.

Maryland Recap
UMES Recap

Wake Forest 6 UNC-Greensboro 5

Wake Forest held off a late comeback attempt by UNC-Greensboro to pick up a 6-5 victory. Brett Linenkohl led off the game with a homer and finished the game 2-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Wake Forest starter Kirby Wedekind picked up the win by working four innings while only giving up a run. Josh Ellis got his seventh save by pitching a perfect bottom of the ninth. Alex Shelton got the loss for UNC-Greensboro by giving up two runs in two innings.

Wake Forest Recap
UNC-Greensboro Recap