ACC Baseball Tournament

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NC State, following a three game sweep of Boston College, is heading into the 2011 ACC Baseball Tournament on a 5 game winning streak and is playing their best baseball of the year. The Wolfpack are the 7th seed in the tournament. Here is the setup of the tournament:

Pool A
1. Virginia
4. North Carolina
5. Miami
8. Wake Forest

Pool B
2. Florida State
3. Georgia Tech
6. Clemson
7. N.C. State

Each team will play all the other teams in their respective pool, in a full round robin setup. The winners of each pool will then play on Sunday for the championship. Here is the schedule of the tournament:

Wednesday’s Games
11 a.m. – Georgia Tech vs. Clemson
3 p.m. – Virginia vs. Wake Forest
7 p.m. – Florida State vs. NC State

Thursday’s Games
11 a.m. – North Carolina vs. Miami
3 p.m. – Florida State vs. Clemson
7 p.m. – Georgia Tech vs. NC State

Friday’s Games
11 a.m. – Virginia vs. Miami
3 p.m. – Florida State vs. Georgia Tech
7 p.m. – North Carolina vs. Wake Forest

Saturday’s games
11 a.m. – Clemson vs. NC State
3 p.m. – Miami vs. Wake Forest
7 p.m. – Virginia vs. North Carolina

Sunday’s Championship
1 p.m. – Pool A winner vs. Pool B winner

The Pack, who as of last week needed some wins to make sure they would qualify for the ACC tournament and be selected for the NCAA tournament, had a very good weekend. After beating Florida State on Sunday and William and Mary during the week, the Pack was on put up or shut up notice.

North Carolina State
Record: 30-23, 12-15 ACC
This weekend: at Boston College
What’s at stake: Hard to believe a team that beat Clemson and North Carolina in three-gamers is in jeopardy of having its season end. But now the Pack is tied with Wake Forest for seventh place, and both are trying to stave off ninth-place Virginia Tech, which is on a 10-4 run since mid-April and is 10-17 in the ACC. By the way, the Pack is just 6-11 in road games this year.

Mission accomplished. Winning in Chestnut Hill this weekend by scores of 9-4, 10-0, and 6-1, the Pack got back to .500 in the conference.

And just because they are seeded seventh, doesn’t mean the team doesn’t have the ability to take the next step after getting to the ACC title game last year. Granted, the top 6 seeds are all ranked no lower than 17th (and the three teams in Pool B are no lower than 14th) in this week’s Baseball America rankings. It will be a challenge but with players like 1st team All-ACC Pratt Maynard, along with veterans Harold Riggins, Andrew Ciencin, and ace Corey Mazzoni, anything is possible.

If you get a chance, go out to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and support the Wolfpack. The DBAP is a great place to watch a college baseball game. You can buy tickets online here.

About ruffles31

1996 NC State graduate who is still waiting on his first ACC conference championship in any of the four main revenue sports (football, men's basketball, women's basketball, and baseball) since enrolling. All I want is a ACC Champions t-shirt.

ACC ACC Teams Baseball General NC State

16 Responses to ACC Baseball Tournament

  1. 61Packer 05/24/2011 at 9:46 AM #

    I simply don’t get it when it comes to the setup of the ACC Baseball Tournament. Why don’t they play a double-elimination tourney involving all 12 league teams instead of a pool play tourney with just two-thirds of the ACC members? They’re playing the ACC Tourney in Durham, and Duke’s not even playing.

    Put all 12 ACC teams in one bracket, 1 vs 12, 2 vs 11 and so on, with the winners advancing until there is only one unbeaten left. Then, from the loser’s bracket one team emerges, and that team must beat the lone unbeaten team twice for the title.

    I don’t understand the present concept, which leaves out a third of the league members and ends up with pre-scheduled tourney games involving two teams who can’t advance to the title game. This isn’t soccer.

    With this tourney setup, plus a grinding 40+ game regular season that won’t allow but 3 games against your chief rival but tons of games against no-name schools, does the ACC really care about baseball? What’s wrong with State and UNC hosting each other for 3 games every season?

    And now they have this tourney that makes this matchup impossible unless both teams win their respective pool. Stupid. Absolutely stupid.

  2. Dr. BadgerPack 05/24/2011 at 10:43 AM #

    A part of the change was to limit need to have teams play two games in one day, and to have a bit of protection in the event of rain. The double elimination format is nice, but can be absolute hell on pitchers.

    Additionally, this format protects the RPI of the participants somewhat, and gives the opportunity to squeeze another team in the tourney. (Which, by the way is just as cheap and bogus as the ridiculous crap the Big East does with their basketball tourney, but- it’s legal, so why not).

  3. hball57 05/24/2011 at 11:56 AM #

    I also think a couple of other issues are in play. One is travel costs for non-revenue sports. Also a double-elimination tournament wears out your pitching staff. Get it the loser’s bracket and you can use up your staff, not just for the ACC, but for the NCAA’s as well.

  4. Packfan28 05/24/2011 at 12:08 PM #

    Since it’s at the DBAP, does anyone know if beer will be sold? (hey, I have my priorities).

  5. panic83 05/24/2011 at 12:34 PM #

    61Packer:

    Don’t be such a Debbie Downer. I think the new format is better and the fact that it’s played at DBAP is good for the conference. Who cares if Dook isn’t playing?? The stadium is probably the nicest in the state and has fuller capacity than any other venue. Its a whole lot better for pack fans to travel to Durham than to somewhere in Florida. I hope they sell beer as well!

  6. MP 05/24/2011 at 12:35 PM #

    I agree with 61Packer’s point in principle about some teams not even going to the conference tournament. But on the other hand, every year I am more and more underwhelmed by ACC basketball tourney ‘Thursday edition’. This year I didn’t even bother to watch any games on Thursday but took time off on Friday even though State was not playing that day. The way I figured, why get fired up to watch State just try to ‘qualify for the real tournament’ – I’ll just watch them if they actually make it.

    So while I would like to commit to all schools that make up the conference being involved in the tournament, I would be more likely to support dropping the hammer on the 4 bottom feeders in every sport for its respective conference tournament.

  7. ruffles31 05/24/2011 at 1:01 PM #

    61Packer, most all of the BCS conference tournaments have a smaller than full field. Look at the SEC and Big 12 as well. It isn’t just the ACC.

    Not saying I agree with it, but I understand the rationale.

  8. TheCOWDOG 05/24/2011 at 3:04 PM #

    My question would be; as a #1 seed, would you want to be forced to use any arms against the #12 seed in a five or six day stretch?

    As for pool play? On the forums pages, I give three good reasons why I like double elimination.

    However, while double elimination may lend exciting conference titles, it doesn’t help the pitching staff any when it comes NCAAT time as already mentioned by DBP and hball.

  9. Akula Wolf 05/24/2011 at 4:25 PM #

    “Since it’s at the DBAP, does anyone know if beer will be sold? (hey, I have my priorities).”

    They had a beer tent set up at last year’s tournament, so my guess is yes.

  10. highstick 05/24/2011 at 4:33 PM #

    Anyone else going tomorrow night? I’m working in Chapel Hole through tomorrow and thought about staying over tomorrow night to go to the game.

    Cowdog, interested?>>

  11. Wolfman 9806 05/24/2011 at 5:00 PM #

    So it begins. The Russell Wilson courtship:

    http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6584148

    Keep the RW discussion in the forum thread and off the baseball thread.

  12. BJD95 05/24/2011 at 7:03 PM #

    The Wolfpack Club publicity e-mails should mention beer availability. Who cares if Swofford would furrow his brow. We would have great fan representation.

    I would probably make one of the evening sessions if the weather was even borderline humane.

  13. wolfonthehill 05/25/2011 at 6:19 AM #

    Sort of amazed there’s a beer tent – thought the “no alcohol” thing was specifically an ACC rule – but evidently I was mistaken.

    And agree that that’s a huge selling point for… well… us.

  14. Packfan28 05/25/2011 at 10:58 AM #

    So what is the current outlook for an NCAA bid? Do they have to win some games here to be selected, ie, are they on the bubble right now?

  15. ruffles31 05/25/2011 at 2:51 PM #

    I think State is pretty safe to get a bid. Unless they get beat something like 10-0 in all three games, a #3 seed is likely in a regional. Get to a final and a #2 seed is possible. Win it, and a #2 seed is probably a given. Zero chance to be a #1 seed or host a regional.

    Clemson beat GT today 9-0.

    Our game is at 7 tonight against FSU and can be followed online here:

    http://www.theacc.com/gametracker/launch/gt_mbasebl.html?event=999031&school=acc&sport=mbasebl&camefrom=&startschool=&

  16. JaxPackMan 05/26/2011 at 9:50 PM #

    Anybody watching tonight’s game with GaTech? I’m sure I have a biased view, but this ump is about the worst I’ve seen at calling balls and strikes — very inconsistent.

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