NCAA Tourney Projections on Selection Show-Eve for ACC Baseball

Posted by Brandon Rink on May 31, 2010 under ACC Baseball | Comments are off for this article

FSU's Gilmartin got the win for an ACC Championship Sunday, but will be starting on the road for the NCAA regionals.

We’re close to the unveiling of the NCAA Tournament bracket…here’s what the experts are saying…

First, what we do know, and that’s the regional hosts who are Virginia, Georgia Tech, and Miami. Yahoo! Sports did a solid profile on all the regional hosts that you should check out. Florida State is the notable snub after taking the ACC Championship–there’s a great argument for them being one of the best 16, but being swept at Clemson put their fate in the NCAA’s hands.

Baseball America has 8 ACC teams in the field with a few potential all-ACC supers…

		Atlanta	Auburn, Ala.
		1. (8) Georgia Tech^	1. Auburn^
		2. Alabama	2. Florida State*
		3. Baylor	3. Southern Mississippi*
		4. Jacksonville State*	4. Mercer*

	Coral Gables, Fla.	Louisville
	1. Miami^	1. (7) Louisville^
	2. Louisiana State*	2. Virginia Tech
	3. Florida International*	3. Kentucky
	4. Minnesota*	4. Saint Louis*

Charlottesville, Va.	Norwich, Conn.
1. (2) Virginia^	1. Connecticut^
2. College of Charleston	2. Vanderbilt
3. St. John’s*	3. North Carolina
4. Virginia Commonwealth*	4. Central Conn. State*

		Myrtle Beach, S.C.	Columbia, S.C.
		1. (5) Coastal Carolina^*	1. South Carolina^
		2. Clemson	2. The Citadel*
		3. Elon	3. North Carolina State
		4. Bucknell*	4. Kent State*

Analysis: With 8 teams in the field, five ACC teams could make the CWS field in this scenario. Georgia Tech and Florida State would be paired together, but face two hot SEC teams in Alabama and Auburn before then. Virginia has a fairly easy draw and would play UNC if the Heels can win their way out of Connecticut. Miami barely got the host, and BA rewards them with the SEC Champion LSU–good luck. The Hokies are sent to national seed Louisville, which might not be the worst draw (though playing not one, but two Kentucky teams in a regional could be tough). The final potential super regional of ACC teams is Clemson and NC State. The Tigers have to win their way out of national seed Coastal Carolina’s regional which will be challenging–they’ve only won 51 games, defeated 5 ACC teams(Clemson being one of them), and won every single Big South Conference game. NC State plays in Columbia against two tough local teams in South Carolina and The Citadel.

*Edited in at 1 AM* Yahoo! College Baseball’s Kendall Rogers put up his final projections with UNC in the last five to make it in.

CHARLOTTESVILLE REGIONAL
Host: Virginia

1. Virginia (2)
4. Bucknell*

2. College of Charleston
3. St. John’s

CORAL GABLES REGIONAL
Host: Miami (Fla.)

1. Miami (Fla.)
4. Bethune-Cookman*

2. LSU*
3. Florida International*

ATLANTA REGIONAL
Host: Georgia Tech

1. Georgia Tech
4. Milwaukee*

2. Mississippi
3. Kansas State

AUBURN REGIONAL
Host: Auburn

1. Auburn
4. Jacksonville State*

2. Virginia Tech
3. Southern Mississippi*

COLUMBIA REGIONAL
Host: South Carolina

1. South Carolina (8)
4. Saint Louis*

2. The Citadel*
3. N.C. State

NORWICH REGIONAL
Host: Connecticut

1. Florida State*
4. Central Conn. State*

2. Connecticut
3. Oregon State

GAINESVILLE REGIONAL
Host: Florida

1. Florida (4)
4. Mercer*

2. Florida Atlantic
3. North Carolina

MYRTLE BEACH REGIONAL
Host: Coastal Carolina

1. Coastal Carolina* (5)
4. Va. Commonwealth*

2. Clemson
3. Elon

SE Baseball put there picks up the other day and also have eight in the field, but have the ACC teams in a few different region/potential supers matchups.

Atlanta Regional
Host: Georgia Tech
1. Georgia Tech (ACC at large)
4. Tennessee Tech (OVC Automatic*)

2. Alabama (SEC Automatic*)–(Now at-large)
3. Cal (P10 at large)

Charlottesville Regional
Host: Virginia {2}
1. Virginia (ACC at large)
4. Bucknell (Patriot Automatic)

2. College of Charleston (SoCon at large)
3. St. John’s (BE Automatic*)

Coral Gables Regional
Host: Miami
1. Miami (ACC at large)
4. Minnesota (B10 Automatic*)

2. LSU (SEC at large)–(now champion)
3. Oregon State (P10 at large)

Myrtle Beach Regional
Host: Coastal Carolina {5}
1. Coastal Carolina (BSC Automatic*)
4. Stony Brook (NEC Automatic*)

2. Clemson (ACC at large)
3. Elon (SoCon at large)

Auburn Regional
Host: Auburn
1. Auburn (SEC at large)
4. Mercer (A-Sun Automatic*)

2. Florida State (ACC at large)–(now champion)
3. Kansas State (B12 at large)

Louisville Regional
Host: Louisville {6}
1. Louisville (BE at large)
4. Wright State (Horizon Automatic*)

2. Virginia Tech (ACC Automatic*)–(Now at-large)
3. Kentucky (SEC at large)

Columbia Regional
Host: South Carolina {7}
1. South Carolina (SEC at large)
4. VCU (CAA Automatic*)

2. The Citadel (SoCon Automatic*)
3. North Carolina (ACC at large)

Norwich Regional
Host: Connecticut
1. Vanderbilt (SEC at large)
4. Dartmouth (Ivy Automatic)

2. Connecticut (BE at large)
3. NC State (ACC at large)

Analysis: A few differences in this one–first, UNC and NC State swap places from BA’s assessment. Georgia Tech is paired with Clemson in this scenario. Clemson is familiar with both Coastal and Elon from the Myrtle Beach regional, but they also went 0-3 against them (a loss at home to Coastal, two losses to Elon).

*Edited in 1:30 AM* College Baseball Blog only has 7 ACC teams in the field with UNC being left out in the cold. After the weekend sweep of Virginia Tech, UNC’s berth in the NCAAs seemed to be a lock, but the conference tourney upsets could put them just outside–ah, I still think they’re in.

NCAA Tourney bids up tomorrow–see any surprises coming down the line? The amount of tournament upsets over the weekend probably eliminated BC’s slim chance.

Championship Sunday in Greensboro: ‘Noles vs. ‘Pack

Posted by Brandon Rink on May 30, 2010 under ACC Baseball | Comments are off for this article

Noles probable starter Geoff Parker took the loss in Clemson last week, but will have the ball with an ACC Championship on the line today.

NC State played an alternate version of double elimination play with two games in one day and advanced to the ACC Championship Game (though the games technically stretched over 3 days due to weather). FSU had the day off yesterday to rest up for a potentially crucial game towards hosting a regional. Who wins?

First, I’ll take credit when I’m right, and take the hit when I’m wrong–these are the two teams I said to stay away from in each division for picks. They proved me wrong for sure. Just a great run by the ‘Noles and Pack in this ACC Baseball Championship.

Florida State Seminoles vs. NC State Wolfpack, 1 EST, NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro

For Starters: NC State is throwing lefty Alex Sogard (2-2) again after his six innings in a win over Clemson on Wednesday. Florida State coach Mike Martin said he would go with either righty Geoff Parker (4-1, 4.48 ERA) or righthander Hunter Scantling (3-2, 4.30 ERA). Parker got the win over Virginia on Thursday with 3 1/3 innings in relief giving up a run and striking out 3 ‘Hoos. Scantling pitched a scoreless inning in the game as well. I would say the matchup is fairly even as Sogard had a decent start against the Tigers.
Season Series Record: The Seminoles and Wolfpack met for the second-to-last regular season ACC series where the Wolfpack took game one 5-2 in Tallahassee, but dropped 7-5 and 12-9 decisions (NC State had an eight run lead in the 12-9 loss).
ACC Tourney Performances: NC State defeated Clemson 13-8 behind 8 RBI singles on Wednesday, dropped a 17-5 game on Friday and Saturday to Georgia Tech, and won a early-Sunday morning thriller over the Hokies 10-9. Florida State was drilled in game one 9-3 by Miami, knocked off Virginia 11-4 in game two, and mercy-ruled BC 12-2 on Friday.
What You Should Expect: Mayhem. These are both very capable hitting teams and have shown that in the ACC Baseball Championship — and against each other just two weekends ago. The NC State hitters will be a little more weary after yesterday’s doubleheader and extra innings finale, but Florida State’s pitching, before the last two games, gave no indication of having a shutout handy deep (or anywhere really) in the rotation like today with Parker or possibly Scantling. This game comes down to who has the arms available to shut the door on a lead in the late innings, and that’s why Florida State is the more viable choice. Sure, they have the extra rest on the hitters’ side too, but pretty much the whole staff will be available to close out a lead in today’s game due to how the schedule worked out. As for NC State, Buchanan saved arms in last night’s game with 6 strong innings, but even rested, can’t put much trust in the Pack bullpen as it is.
Pick: FSU wins ACC Baseball Championship 8-6.

Should be a great game…we’ll have a NCAA Projections blog up later today/early tomorrow after the game.

After 3 Days at the ACC Championship–Everything Still on the Line

Posted by Brandon Rink on May 28, 2010 under ACC Baseball | Comments are off for this article

FSU looking to the 'Hoos for a shot at the ACC Championship Game.

Wondering what’s on the line on the final day of ACC round-robin play…here you go…

10 am – Georgia Tech 1 vs. NC State 0, bottom 1st

What’s on the line: Sets the table for who’s in position to win Division B. Scenarios…

GT Wins

• Georgia Tech stays alive in ACC Tourney.

NC State Wins

• Georgia Tech is eliminated.
• NC State clinches division with win over Virginia Tech.

2ish – Virginia vs. Miami

What’s on the line: Division A. Scenarios…

Virginia Wins

• Florida State advances to ACC Championship Game.

Miami Wins

• Miami clinches trip to ACC Championship Game.

5ish – Clemson vs. Georgia Tech

What’s on the line: Georgia Tech still playing for a national seed and ACC Championship bid if the score holds against NC State–just pride regardless for Clemson.

GT Win:

• Eliminates NC State if Georgia Tech wins in morning.
• Georgia Tech advances to ACC Championship Game with NC State win over Virginia Tech.

9ish pm – Virginia Tech vs. NC State

What’s on the line: Division B–one way or another.

VT Win:

• Virginia Tech advances to ACC Championship Game.

NC State Win:

• If they beat Georgia Tech, NC State advances to ACC Championship Game.
• If they lose to Georgia Tech and Georgia Tech loses to Clemson, NC State advances to ACC Championship Game.
• If they lose to Georgia Tech and Georgia Tech beats Clemson, the Yellow Jackets advance to the ACC Championship Game

Should be an excellent day of baseball–setting up an interesting ACC Championship Game, thoughts?