The regular season is over. The Pack finishes a half game back of Atlantic Divsion Champs FSU. Lotsa “what if’s” and “woulda, shoulda, coulda’s” that could be pointed to.
But here at SFN, we’re all about being optimistic and looking forward 😀
The post-season is where it’s at. Time to make some noise.
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The 2013 ACC Baseball Tournament gets underway this Wednesday, May 22.
For those of you who haven’t followed the ACC Baseball Tournament recently, or those who have just forgotten from last year, the ACC uses pool play format. What this means is that the teams from each pool play a round robin format, playing each team in their respective pool once, with the winners from each pool advancing to the championship game. If a given team wins all three of their games, they’re assured of advancing.
It’s when two (or more) teams roll in at 2-1 that things get interesting. In the event of a two way tie, the head to head result determines the tiebreaker. If it’s a three way tie, the highest seeded team moves on.
Hence why letting FSU come into Raleigh and take our lunch money last weekend might come back to bite us, as that has slotted us behind Carolina as far as seeding in our pool. Had we won the division and taken the number two seed, we’d be the frontrunner in the other pool. But hey, like I said, no “what if’s” around here (eff you ‘Noles).
The pools for the tourney are:
POOL A – No. 1 North Carolina, No. 4 NC State, No. 5 Clemson, No. 8 Miami
POOL B – No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 Virginia, No. 6 Virginia Tech, No. 7 Georgia Tech
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The Competition
Pool A (Ours)
North Carolina Tar Heels
2013: 1-1 vs The Pack
48-8 (21-7 ACC, 1st Coastal, #1 overall seed, Rank #6, RPI #2)
Carolina finds itself in an unusual position entering the ACC Tourney. That is to say, for the first time all season they’re not ranked #1. Not even in the top 5. That’s stupid. As much as I hate them, they are one of the best three teams in the country. To get by them in a one and done situation (which Saturday night likely will be for both teams) we’ll have to have our A+++ game going.
Miami Hurricanes
2013: Did not face The Pack
35-21 (14-16, 5th Coastal, #8 overall seed, Unranked, #19 RPI)
The ‘Canes are one of those ACC teams that could jump up and beat anybody. Or sink down and lose to anybody. Case in point, they’re the only team this year to have lost a series to Boston College. Still, their #19 RPI isn’t by accident. None of the top teams (UNC, UVa, FSU) managed to sweep them, and they won their series vs Clemson.
Clemson Tigers
2013: 2-1 vs The Pack
39-17 (18-12 ACC, 3rd Atlantic, #5 overall seed, Rank #18, RPI #12)
Eff you Clemson. I still feel dirty for having pulled for you in Tallahassee last weekend. When we could have used your help you came up empty and looked like a deer in the headlights in the process (on Saturday at least). For your efforts you get the 5 seed. Hope you choke on it. The Pack lost their series to Clemson this year at home, 2 games to 1. Game one of that series (3/8) also happens to be when Trea Turner sustained his freak injury (on the very last play of the game no less). Now I know Clemson isn’t really responsible for that….but they are. Time to skin a Tigger. No mercy.
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Pool B (The Other Side)
Florida State Seminoles
2013: 2-1 vs The Pack
44-12 (20-10 ACC, 1st Atlantic, #2 overall seed, Rank #7, RPI #5)
What more needs to be said about the ‘Noles? Came to Raleigh and took our lunch money. Overcame a Thursday loss to Clemson to take two straight from the toothless Tiggers and hang on (barely) to the Atlantic Division crown. They took our hardware, IMHO. But…and this is key…we LET them do it. If we get a shot at them on Sunday I hope we pound their arses. But I suspect UVa will beat us to that privilege.
Virginia Cavaliers
2013: 3-0 vs The Pack
45-9 (22-8 ACC, 2nd Coastal, #3 overall seed, Rank #5, RPI #3)
I told you way back before they swept us in late March that they were good. Most of you didn’t believe me. Can you hear me now? Closed the season by winning their series in Chapel Hill. One of the best three teams in the country IMHO. If we manage to get to Sunday, we’ll likely have to go thru the Cavs to get to the trophy.
Virginia Tech Hokies
2013: 0-3 vs The Pack
35-19 (15-14 ACC, 3rd Coastal, #6 overall seed, Rank #21, RPI #15)
VT is one of those teams like Miami. Jeckyl and Hyde, though maybe not to the same degree. The best of the rest in a top heavy ACC Coastal division. Still a very good team. But probably not good enough to get past both FSU and UVa.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
2013: 0-3 vs The Pack
33-23 (15-15 ACC, 4th ACC Coastal, #7 overall seed, Unranked, RPI #22)
The defending ACC Champs (they won it from the in #8 seed in 2012, for those that don’t remember). Probably not enough pitching to withstand the rigors of UVa and FSU, but one never knows. Swept by the Pack just over a month ago in Atlanta, so probably looking for some payback should both teams reach Sunday.
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So, for those not paying close attention, all eight teams in this year’s ACC Tourney are in the top 25 of the current RPI, with #7 seed GT the lowest at #22. That should make for a heckuva weekend of baseball.
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Schedule (road vs home)
5/22 Wednesday
- 11am – GT vs FSU
- 3pm – VT vs UVa
- 7pm – Clemson vs NCSU
5/23 Thursday
- 11am – UVa vs GT
- 3pm – Miami vs UNC-CH
- 7pm – FSU vs VT
5/24 Friday
- 11am – NCSU vs Miami
- 3pm – GT vs VT
- 7pm – UNC-CH vs Clemson
5/25 Saturday
- 11am – FSU vs UVa
- 3pm – Miami vs Clemson
- 7pm – UNC-CH vs NCSU
5/26 – Sunday – ACC Championship
- 1pm – Pool A Winner vs Pool B Winner
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Pack Pitching
As I surmised on the forums, it appears that we are looking at Saturday’s tilt vs Carolina as THE must win. For those that missed my comments on the forums (shame on you, btw), even if we arrive on Saturday at 2-0 in our pool, we likely will still have to beat Carolina to advance due to tiebreakers.
At the same time, we can afford to go 1-1 in the first two vs Clemson and Miami, as long as we do beat Carolina on Saturday, again due to those pesky pool play tiebreakers.
Thus, I think this pitching schedule makes a boatload of sense.
- Wednesday – Brad Stone vs Daniel Gossett (Clemson)
- Friday – Logan Jernigan vs TBD (Miami)
- Saturday – Carlos Rodon vs Hobbs Johnson (Carolina)
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TV Coverage
All tournament games are scheduled to be streamed via ESPN3 (with blackouts if covered locally by RSN)
For the Pack’s games, the following is the best info I can find at this time regarding REAL TV coverage:
- 5/22 Wednesday, 7pm – vs Clemson – FoxSportsSouth, Comcast Mid-Atlantic, Sun Sports, FoxSportsAZ (yay!)
- 5/24 Friday, 11am – vs Miami – FoxSportsSouth, FoxSportsFla, Comcast Mid-Atlantic, FoxSportsAZ (yay again!)
- 5/25 Saturday, 7pm – vs Carolina – FoxSportsSouth, FoxSportsFla, Comcast Mid-Atlantic (Looks like I’ll be ESPN3’ing that one with no FSNAZ…doh!!!)
- 5/26 Sunday, 1pm – ACC Championship Game – ESPN2
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Links/Info
2013 ACC Baseball Championship Home (TheACC.com)
Pack Set for ACC Tournament (GoPack.com)
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Let’s Go Pack!!! Bring Home Some Hardware!!!!
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