DURHAM -- N.C. State came to Durham Bulls Athletic Park today needing a victory over Clemson to play for the ACC baseball championship.
Maybe next year.
Richie Shaffer's two-out, three-run homer in the sixth helped propel the sixth-seeded Tigers to a 6-3 victory over the seventh-seeded Pack in the ACC tournament.
Among those in attendance for the start of the ACC baseball tournament in Durham today will be a number of scouts from major league teams.
This year’s MLB draft, which will be held June 6-8, is likely to include several ACC players again. The league has emerged as a primary professional pipeline in baseball.
Virginia baseball coach Brian O'Connor won the Cavaliers' first ACC baseball championship since 1996 on Sunday. But even before the Cavaliers had beaten Florida State 6-3 in the title game by scoring three runs in the ninth at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, the NCAA had released the list of 16 regional tournament hosts.
No regional in Charlottesville, the NCAA announced about halfway through the ACC title game. No problem, O'Connor said.
Duke coach Sean McNally made his case for the Blue Devils to be included in the 64-team NCAA Tournament field when it is announced on Monday after Duke fell to Virginia in the ACC Baseball Championship on Saturday night. But an RPI of around 70 is likely to keep Duke from grabbing an at-large spot in the NCAA field.
The Blue Devils (35-24) equated themselves well in the five-day event at Duham Bulls Athletic Park, going 1-2 with a win over Clemson. And Duke was oh-so-close on Saturday night to beating eventual ACC champion Virginia and earning the Blue Devils' first-ever spot in an ACC
tournament final.
Duke, playing in its first ACC Tournament since 2005, rolled past Clemson 10-4 on Friday to score its first tourney victory since 2004.
For fourth-year Blue Devils coach Sean McNally, it was another important step in the rebuilding of the Duke program. And, when North Carolina was upset by Virginia in Friday's final game, the seventh-seeded Devils suddenly have a potential pathway to the tournament final on Sunday.
North Carolina baseball fans should be cheering hard for Duke in today's 4 p.m. game that matches the Blue Devils and Clemson at the ACC Baseball Championships.
A Duke win today at Durham Bulls Athletic Park would give the Tar Heels a chance to clinch a berth in the championship game with a victory Friday night against Virginia.
Boston College came to the ACC Baseball Championships with a solid resume that inlcuded victories over every team in the league except Georgia Tech. With an RPI in the mid-30s, they were in the running for an at-large bid to the NCAAs.
But Eagles coach Mik Aoki wanted to get at least one victory in the tournament at Durham Bulls Athletic Park to pad the ledger just a little bit more. He got that victory on Thursday, a 7-3 decision over 14th-ranked Georgia Tech.
Top-seeded Florida State had a shot to clinch a berth in the title game of the ACC Baseball Championship on Thursday. And the Seminoles didn't waste the opportunity to seal the deal on the second day of the tournament, defeating Miami 4-2 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in a classic battle of two of college baseball's biggest rivals.
The ACC Baseball Championships returned to Durham Bulls Athletic Park
this week, bringing some of the best college baseball teams in the
country to the DBAP. And they did not disappoint on Wednesday, the
opening day of the five-day event.
North Carolina and Duke are home this weekend for ACC series as the conference season heads down the stretch.
North Carolina, ranked No. 1 in two national polls, hosts Maryland in the Tar Heels' final home conference series of the season. Duke, looking to hold onto the eighth spot in the league standings and final slot for the ACC Tournament, is home against Boston College in a pivotal matchup.
