ACC Baseball Roundup, Week 2

Around the ACC....

New Baseball America Rankings - Clemson up to #13.

#1 Virginia 6-1

#1 UVA beat George Washington 5-2 Wednesday night, jumping out to an early lead and coasting to the win. The Cavs began a weekend series against URI and won 13-0 Friday behind another good performance of starter Danny Hultzen (2-0, 7 IP, 2H, 0 BB, 12K). Catcher Franco Valdes went 2-4 with 3 RBIs on a bases-clearing triple and Hultzen went 1-3 himself with a 2-run 2B. Every UVA starter got a hit.

Virginia baseball rolled to a 22-2 victory over Rhode Island Saturday afternoon. Every Virginia starter had at least one hit by the fourth inning, and 13 Cavaliers recorded hits.

UVA finished the sweep 8-5 Sunday afternoon. Phil Gosselin went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI to lead the Cavaliers’ offense. He finished the week 9-for-17 with six RBI. Keith Werman added a pair of hits as he went 6-for-7 in the series. John Hicks also had a three-run double to key the Cavaliers’ big first inning.

UPCOMING

Tuesday vs. James Madison at home, then a weekend Tournament at home with Dartmouth and Wright State.

NC State 6-1

NC State beat Campbell 9-8 in 11 innings in their midweek clash, with the Pen blowing a 8-4 lead late. Russell Wilson had to pitch to get the 4-out save and his arm rust became apparent, and lost all control, blowing the game open. Dallas Poulk (ACC PoW) singled in the 11th and NC State found a way to win.

This weekend, NC State began a big tournament in Myrtle Beach against highly-ranked UC-Irvine. On Friday afternoon the woofers beat them 7-4 behind a 3-run HR by Russell Wilson in the bottom of the 10th. Drew Poulk added 2 2B's and a RBI.

 NC State made the most of its eight hits, got solid pitching from four different hurlers, and slammed the door in the ninth when Friday’s offensive hero, Russell Wilson, earned his first college save as a pitcher in their 2nd win over James Madison 6-2.

Coastal Carolina beat NCSU Sunday afternoon by a final of 6-3. Dallas Poulk finished the game 3-for-3 with a HR, 2 Runs, and 2 RBI. Coastal finished the Beach Tournament 4-0.

UPCOMING

Midweek game against UNC-Greensboro at home, then Quinnipiac at home this weekend.

 

#4 Georgia Tech 7-1

GT beat Ga. Southern 10-0 on Tues, 8-5 on Weds. GT scored 5 runs in the last two innings to come back, behind a 3 RBI day from Jacob Esch.

Over the weekend, they beat Xavier 5-4 (Deck McGuire: 7IP, 7H, 2ER, 2 BB, 6K). Brandon Cumpton pitched seven shutout innings of one-hit ball, and they erupted for a season-high five home runs in a 15-0 win over Xavier Saturday afternoon.

Xavier handed GT their first loss and avoided the sweep with a 7-6 win Sunday.

UPCOMING

A midweek against Western Carolina, and a weekend series against Rutgers at home.

#20 UNC 6-1

NC whooped up on UNC-G 12-2 midweek,

Matt Harvey struck out nine batters in just 6.1 innings as North Carolina defeated Maine 11-1 Friday. Maine struck back to even the series Saturday with a 5-3 win at UNC. NC pounded out 14 hits and struck out a combined 15 batters to defeat Maine 8-4 Sunday.

Colin Bates (2-0) earned the victory throwing five innings and allowing three runs on three hits and striking out a career-best seven batters. Jimmy Messer and Michael Morin each were masterful in relief, combining to strike out eight. Morin earned his second save of his career and the season allowing only one hit in 2.2 innings pitched.

UPCOMING

Midweek against Gardner-Webb, then Michigan for the weekend at home.

#16 Miami 5-1

Miami's midweek against Florida-Gulf Coast was postponed.

Chris Pelaez continued his hot hitting going 3-for-3 with three runs scored and lefty Eric Erickson struck out nine in another solid start as Miami knocked off Manhattan, 7-3, Friday night. Freshman left fielder Michael Broad drove in two runs – including what proved to be the game-winner – and finished 2-for-3 on the night.

Lefty Chris Hernandez struck out nine and junior catcher Yasmani Grandal drove in five runs in their 18-1 win Saturday.

Manhattan pounded out 17 hits and won their first game of the season against Miami 12-7 Sunday. The win marked Manhattan’s first over a ranked opponent since 2006 when the Jaspers defeated #6 Nebraska and Cornhuskers starter Joba Chamberlain in the NCAA Tournament.

Thats a head scratcher....

UPCOMING

USF at their place Tuesday, the Marlins Wednesday, and the Florida Gators in Coral Gables this weekend.

WF 3-6

Wake lost to ranked Coastal Carolina 2-0, then opened up a series against Kent State. The Golden Flashes scored seven of the games’ final eight runs in a 7-6 win over the Preachers Friday. On saturday they played a doubleheader and split it, Kent State 11-5 in 12, and WF won the 2nd 8-7. Kent State jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back in a 13-8 win over Wake Forest Sunday to win the series 3-1. The Golden Flashes improve to 4-2 on the season while Wake Forest Falls to 3-6.

UPCOMING

A midweek vs. Winthrop, and a weekend series vs. Xavier all at home.

Boston College 3-3

Auburn's Brian Fletcher hit two home runs, including a walk-off solo shot in the bottom of the 10th, to lead the Tigers to a 6-5 win against the Boston College baseball team Friday night. The Eagles had plenty of opportunities to score but could not come up with timely hits. Ten of the 12 men they left on base were in scoring position.

Fletcher finished the game 3-for-5 with three RBI. Justin Bryant went 3-for-3 and Justin Hargett went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and an RBI. Austin Hubbard picked up the win on the mound.

FAU defeated BC 13-2 after a 7 run 2nd inning, and BC pounded Mizzou 14-6 behind John Spatola. Spatola finished the day 3-for-4 with those two homers and a double. It marked the first time in his career that he had a multiple home run game and his seven RBI were a career high.

UPCOMING

A midweek game against the Boston Red Sox in Fla., then a weekend series against FAU in Boca Raton (good idea).

Maryland 1-5

Maryland split the Saturday doubleheader, getting demolished 17-3 in game 1 by Delaware, and 10-6 in game 2. Adam Kolarek and Matt Marquis hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning as Maryland rallied from an early deficit.  Kolarek went 2-for-4 with four RBI and two runs and Marquis went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI as Maryland (1-4) scored four runs in both the fifth and seventh innings to get its first win of the season. The Blue Hens finished it up with a 4-1 pitching gem Sunday.

UPCOMING

Two midweeks at home, VMI and Towson. Hofstra this weekend.

Duke 4-3

Puke beat Fordham 5-4 on a 2-out RBI single in the 9th Friday at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. On Saturday the bats delivered 11-4 in Duke's favor, Sophomore Will Piwnica-Worms drove in four runs and scored three times in the contest. Duke won the third game 8-3 Sunday on the arm of Jonathan Foreman. Foreman (1-0) sat down the side in five of his seven innings and ended his start by retiring 10 straight batters. The 6-0, 200 pound senior racked up four strikeouts and held the Rams (0-6) hitless in all but one inning.

UPCOMING

A midweek vs. Xavier, and then a weekend series against Temple.

#6 Florida State 6-0

FSU's midweek game was postponed.

Florida State (5-0) completed the sweep of Saturday’s doubleheader blanking Hofstra (0-5) 13-0 in game two Saturday afternoon after beating them 13-1 earlier in the day. The Seminoles reached double-digit runs and hits in their first five games. John Gast came through with another solid outing to up his record to 2-0 on the year. The junior southpaw scattered two hits and two walks over five innings of work. Gast finished the game with a career-high six strikeouts. Like Sherman Johnson did in game one, Tyler Holt finished game two a triple short of hitting for the cycle.

FSU finished their sweep of Hostra 14-4. Freshman Justin Gonzalez paced the Seminole offense in the series finale going 3-for-4 with a double, four runs scored and four RBI. As a team, Florida State tied a season-high with 14 runs while pounding out a season-high 17 hits. Stephen Cardullo and Rafael Lopez also contributed with three hits a piece in the win.

"It feels great right now," said Gonzalez. "We are playing great baseball - defense, pitching - all around we are playing well. I just want to continue contributing to the team. I just want to keep playing hard, that's all they ask of me and that's all I can do."

FSU outscored Hofstra 40-5.

UPCOMING

A midweek clash against #5 Florida in Tampa and an exhibition game against the Philadelphia Phillies, then a weekend series against #25 Georgia at home.

Virginia Tech 4-2

Fueled by two home runs each from left fielder Steve Domecus and catcher Anthony Sosnoskie, the Virginia Tech baseball team pounded out 19 hits en route to a 17-2 victory over Charleston Southern on Friday at CSU Ballpark in Charleston, S.C.

Every starter scored at least one run for the Hokies (2-2), with Domecus, Sosnoskie and shortstop Tim Smalling (2-for-4) crossing home three times apiece. Domecus (2-for-4) and Sosnoskie (2-for-5) each drove in three runs, as did center fielder Sean Ryan (2-for-4). First baseman Austin Wates and third baseman Ronnie Shaban each went 4-for-6.

Tech got a strong performance out of starting pitcher Jesse Hahn for the second consecutive week, as the 6-foot-5 right-hander went seven innings, allowing two runs on eight hits. He walked just one and tied a career high with five strikeouts to pick up his second win in as many starts Saturday as VT won 4-2.

VT finished thesweep 13-1 Sunday. The Hokies scored 34 runs over the weekend to improve to 4-2 on the season. Redshirt junior shortstop Tim Smalling accounted for six of those runs on Sunday, going 3-for-6 with a Tech season-high six RBIs, including a grand slam that served as his first home run of the season.

UPCOMING

Radford in midweek, Long Island this weekend at home.