Clemson Announces 2008 Baseball Schedule

FROM PRESS RELEASE
Thirty-two home games, 23 games against 2007 NCAA Tournament teams, and a game at West End Field in Greenville, SC highlight Clemson's 56-game, 2008 regular-season baseball schedule, released Wednesday.

The first week of play for all Division I teams has been pushed back to the weekend of February 22-24. Clemson will open the season with a three-game series against Mercer at Doug Kingsmore Stadium that weekend.

After a Wednesday home game against High Point, the Tigers will travel to the South Carolina coast to take on College of Charleston on February 29. The following day, Clemson will take on South Carolina at Sarge Frye Field before facing the Gamecocks again on Sunday, March 2 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

After a March 5 home contest versus Wofford, Clemson will play 10 consecutive weekends of conference play, starting with Wake Forest at Winston-Salem, NC from March 7-9. Then for six of the next seven weeks, Clemson will play five games.

The Tigers will play host to North Carolina-Greensboro twice on March 11,12 before Boston College comes to town for a three-game series from March 14-16.

The following week, Clemson will welcome Coastal Carolina and Furman to Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, in the Tigers' first night games of the season. From March 21-23, N.C. State will visit Tigertown for a three-game set.

Clemson will play Elon in a two-game midweek series on March 25,26 to conclude a 12-game homestand, then the Tigers will travel to Maryland for a weekend series. It will be the beginning of a stretch of 13 games away from home in a 19-game span.

The Tigers' annual midweek, home-and-home series with Georgia will begin on Tuesday, April 1 at Athens before the two play at Clemson the following day. Then the Tigers will travel southward to take on Miami (FL) from April 4-6.

After traveling to South Carolina for the third of four regular-season matchups on April 9, Clemson will take on two-time College World Series runner-up North Carolina at Doug Kingsmore Stadium from April 11-13. The two have not met during the regular season since the Tigers opened their 2005 ACC schedule against the Tar Heels at Clemson.

Press Release

For the full schedule

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.

Article about Daniel Moskos

MLB.com has released a great article about Daniel Moskos. He was the number 4 overall pick in the 2007 draft out of Clemson University. He made the mid-season switch to the starting rotation from the closer's role. The article also discusses how influential Moskos' family was during his development by moving the family all over the country. The article is available here.

Daniel Moskos Interview

I want to be a Sports Agent has an interview with Daniel Moskos of Clemson who was the number 4 overall pick in the 2007 MLB Draft. The College Baseball Blog saw Moskos in 2006 when he was closing for the Tigers and he impressed the staff mightily. The Full interview with Matt Vuckovich is available here.

Mississippi State advances to CWS

The Mississippi State Bulldogs advanced to the College World Series with an 8-5 victory over Clemson which clinched the sweep for MSU. The Bulldogs used a four run second inning in which they got four hits and took advantage of a Tiger error to take control of the game with a 5-2 lead. St. Louis Cardinal second round draft pick David Kopp started for the Tigers but was lit up for five runs (two earned) in 1.2 innings. He ended up getting credited with the loss to end his season with a 6-3 record. Bulldog starter Justin Pigott got the start and went six innings while giving up five runs (four earned) to up his record to 7-6. Mitch Moreland was able to get the final two outs of the game with the tying run up to bat to get his second save of the season. Clemson ends the season with a 41-23 and the Bulldogs will head to Omaha to take part in the College World Series.

Mississippi State Recap
Clemson Recap

Mississippi State takes Game 1

The Mississippi State Bulldogs picked up an 8-6 victory over the Clemson Tigers in the opening game of their Super Regional match-up. The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning after Wilson Boyd led off the inning by reaching on an error by Jet Butler. Boyd was put in motion on the basepaths as Marquez Smith hit the ball where the second base would have been to put runners on the corners with no outs. Andy D'Alessio then proceeded to single to center to drive home Boyd and put runners on the corners again. Taylor Harbin then hit a sacrifice fly to right field to give the Tigers the 2-0 lead. Mississippi State then responded in the fifth inning with a two run homer from Connor Powers to tie the game at 2. In the top of the sixth inning, Marquez Smith got a lead-off walk and brought home on a homer from Andy D'Alessio to give the Tigers the 4-2 lead but the Tigers were not done as they tacked on another run to give them a 5-2 lead after 5.5 innings. The Bulldogs would come right back with a big rally in the bottom of the sixth which was started by a lead-off double by Joseph McCaskill. He was brought home by Edward Easley on a single to left field. Mitch Moreland then hit a two run homer to center field to tie the game at 5. Brandon Turner would follow with a double in the left-center gap which was followed by an error by J.D. Burgess putting runners on first and third. The Tigers would finally take out starter Daniel Moskos for Stephen Clyne. He promptly got Russ Sneed to hit into a double play which allowed the lead runner to score and give the Bulldogs a 6-5 lead. The Bulldogs tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the seventh on three hits as the Bulldogs led 8-5. Doug Hogan hit a homer in the top of the eighth to get the Tigers within two runs but they would not get closer.

The teams will be back in action at noon on Saturday.

Mississippi State Recap
Clemson Recap

Super Regional Preview: Clemson at MSU

The Clemson Tigers and Mississippi State Bulldogs will meet with a berth in the College World Series on the line. The games will be played in Starkville Mississippi at Dudy Noble Field, Polk-Dement Stadium starting on Friday at 12 pm on ESPN, Saturday at 12 pm on ESPN 2, and Sunday at 1 pm also on ESPN.

Clemson (41-21)

The Clemson Tigers went to the Myrtle Beach Regional and had a perfect weekend after defeating St. John's 3-2, Coastal Carolina in the winner's bracket 11-8, and played Coastal Carolina again in the Regional Championship in which they beat them again 15-3. The Tigers are led by head coach Jack Leggett who is 649-280 in his 14 seasons at Clemson. He was also the head coach at Western Carolina for nine years and Vermont for five seasons. His career record at all schools combined is 1026-570. The Tigers offense is led by catcher Doug Hogan who is hitting .339 for the season which is top on the team. Andy D'Alessio leads the Tigers with 16 homers on the season. Daniel Moskos leads the pitching staff as he made the transition from closer to the starting rotation in the middle of the season. He has only a 3-5 record with a 2.91 ERA. Ryan Hinson (6-2, 2.61 ERA) and David Kopp (6-2, 3.57 ERA) round out the rotation with D.J. Mitchell (5-0, 3.27 ERA) as a solid fourth starter. The Tigers have only said that Daniel Moskos will start Game 1.

Clemson Tourney Notes
Clemson Season Stats

Mississippi State (36-20)

The Bulldogs were the champions on the Tallahassee Regional after defeating Stetson 6-3, Florida State 3-0, and in the Regional Championship defeated the Seminoles again this time 9-4. The Bulldogs are led by legendary head coach Ron Polk who has been with Mississippi State for 28 years in two different stints. He has accumulated an 1,114-555-2 all-time record at MSU and has a career record of 1,348-667-2 with stints at Georgia and Georgia Southern included. The Bulldogs offense is led by Brandon Turner who is hitting .400 in 51 games. Edward Easley is second on the team with a .367 batting average while leading the team with 12 homers. The Bulldog pitching staff is led by lefty Justin Pigott who pitched seven innings while only giving up three hits in the 3-0 victory over the Seminoles. He has a 6-6 record with a 4.31 ERA. Chad Crosswhite will start the opening game of the Super Regional with his 8-4 record with a 4.16 ERA. Aaron Weatherford picked up a save last weekend against FSU as he has four saves on the season with a 3.34 ERA.

Mississippi State Series Notes
Mississippi State Season Stats

Pitching Match-ups

Friday: CU Daniel Moskos (3-5, 2.91 ERA) vs MSU Chad Crosswhite (8-4, 4.16 ERA)
Saturday: CU TBA vs MSU Justin Pigott (6-5, 4.31 ERA)
Sunday: CU TBA vs MSU TBA

The CBB predicts that Clemson takes the Super Regional in three games behind a solid weekend from Andy D'Alessio.

Myrtle Beach Regional Day 4 Recap

Clemson 15 Coastal Carolina 3

The Clemson Tigers finished off Coastal Carolina by a 15-3 scoreline. The Tigers were led by starting pitcher D.J. Mitchell who pitched five innings while only giving up one run on six hits to put his record at a perfect 5-0. The Tigers offense was led by Marquez Smith and Andy D'Alessio. Smith went 4-6 including a home run with four runs scored and drove in three. D'Alessio also picked up a homer as he went 3-4 with three runs scored and two driven in. Clemson will head to Mississippi State for the Super Regional while Coastal Carolina ends the season with a 50-13 record.

Clemson Recap
Coastal Carolina Recap

Myrtle Beach Regional Day 3 Recap

St. John's 5 VCU 4

Chris Anninos hit two homers including the walk-off homer to lead the Red Storm to a 5-4 victory over VCU 5-4. VCU scored a run in the top of the ninth to tie the game at four before Anninos hit the walkoff homer. St. John's advances in the loser's bracket to take on Coastal Carolina at 7 pm on Sunday while VCU ends the season with a 37-23 record.

St. John's Recap
VCU Recap

Clemson 11 Coastal Carolina 8

The Clemson Tigers advanced to the Regional Championship game on Monday by knocking off Coastal Carolina 11-8. Andy D' Alessio led the Tigers by getting three hits including two doubles and a homer while driving in four runs. Clemson will play the winner of the St. John's/Coastal Carolina elimination game on Monday while Coastal plays St. John's later tonight.

Clemson Recap
Coastal Carolina Recap

St. John's vs Coastal Carolina at 7:30 pm

Myrtle Beach Regional Day 1 Recap

Clemson 3 St. John's 2

The Clemson Tigers scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to walk-off with a 3-2 victory over St. John's. Brad Chaulk hit a single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to break a 2-2 tie and give the Tigers the walk-off victory. The Tigers will face Coastal Carolina in the winner's bracket on Saturday while St. John's will play VCU.

Clemson Recap
St. John's Recap

Coastal Carolina 7 VCU 1

The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers picked up a 7-1 victory over VCU to advance in the winner's bracket. Coastal Carolina was led by Tommy Baldridge who went 2-4 with two RBI. Bobby Gagg let up one run in 7.1 innings and picked up the win. Coastal Carolina will take on Clemson in the winner's bracket while VCU will play St. John's in an elimination game.

Coastal Carolina Recap
VCU Recap

Myrtle Beach Regional

Coastal Carolina was selected to host an NCAA Regional in Myrtle Beach SC at the home of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. They will be joined by Clemson, St. John's, and Virginia Commonwealth.

Coastal Carolina

Coastal Carolina comes in as a number 1 seed and hosting the Regional for the first time after going 48-11 this spring. They are led by David Sappelt who is hitting .366 with 49 RBI. Coastal Carolina's top starting pitcher is Bobby Gagg who went 11-2 with a 2.75 ERA. They open up against Virginia Commonwealth at 4 pm on Friday.

Coastal Carolina Tourney Notes

Clemson

The Tigers (38-21) enter the weekend after winning two out of three games in the ACC Tournament but did not advance as they lost the tiebreaker to Wake Forest. They are led by Brad Chaulk who has a .385 average in forty games this season. He is also getting on base at a .514 clip. The Tigers are led by All-American closer Daniel Moskos who was moved to the starting rotation halfway through the year. He has a 3-5 record with a 3.12 ERA. Clemson opens the tournament against St. John's at noon on Friday.

Clemson Tourney Notes

St. John's

The Red Storm (40-17) recieved an at-large berth out of the Big East. Gil Zayas is leading the team in hitting with a .363 batting average. Bryan Kemp also has a .361 batting average to give the Red Storm two solid hitters. George Brown has made 13 starts this season accumulating a 6-2 record and a 2.93 ERA.

St. John's Tourney Notes

Virginia Commonwealth

The Rams (37-21) are led by Jared Bolden who has a .393 average with 49 RBI. He has also stolen 17 bases throughout the season. Phillip Deane leads the starters in ERA at 4.02. He only has a 3-5 record on the season. Luke Pisker leads the team in ERA at 1.87 and has a 9-1 overall record including 11 saves.

VCU Tourney Notes

The CBB predicts that Clemson will come through the regional with superior talent.

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.

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

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