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.