ACC Baseball Tournament 2021: Thursday Scores, Updated Bracket and Schedule
May 27, 2021
With just two days left in pool play at the 2021 ACC baseball tournament, the pressure is mounting on teams as they look to clinch a berth in the semifinals.
No. 1 seed Notre Dame had no problems in its first game of the tournament on Wednesday. The Fighting Irish shut out Virginia Tech 8-0 to set up a showdown with Virginia tomorrow to determine the winner of Pool A.
Duke, which is playing its best baseball of the season, continued its Cinderella run on Thursday against Miami. The Blue Devils advanced to the semifinals with an upset of the Hurricanes.
Other teams that can advance with a win Thursday include Louisville and Pittsburgh.
Pool A
No. 1 Notre Dame (1-0)
No. 8 Virginia (1-0)
No. 12 Virginia Tech (0-2)
Pool B
No. 2 Georgia Tech (1-1)
No. 7 Louisville (1-1)
No. 11 Clemson (1-1)
Pool C
No. 3 North Carolina State (1-0)
No. 6 North Carolina (0-1)
No. 10 Pittsburgh (1-1)
Pool D
No. 4 Miami (0-1)
No. 5 Florida State (0-1)
No. 9 Duke (2-0)
ACC Tournament Results/Schedule - Thursday
No. 9 Duke def. No. 4 Miami 3-2
No. 2 Georgia Tech def. No. 7 Louisville 9-8 (F/12)
No. 3 North Carolina State def. No. 10 Pittsburgh, 3-2
No. 9 Duke 3, No. 4 Miami 2
Duke continues to be the biggest story of the ACC tournament after its 3-2 walk-off win over Miami on Thursday.
Michael Rothenberg's homer in the bottom of the ninth off Carson Palmquist provided the difference in the game.
Both starting pitchers were terrific in the game. Jack Carey held the Hurricanes scoreless for five innings before they finally broke through against him in the sixth. Jake Smith shut out the Blue Devils during his five innings of work.
Yohan Morales' RBI double and a fielding error by Duke shortstop Ethan Murray put Miami up 2-0 in the sixth.
The Blue Devils finally got on the board in the bottom of the seventh. After RJ Shreck singled and Peter Matt doubled to lead off the inning, Rothenberg followed with a two-run single that tied the game.
Miami did put two runners on base in both the eighth and ninth innings, but it was unable to score either time. The Hurricanes left 11 runners on base, compared to just four for Duke.
The Blue Devils were swept in a three-game series against Miami last month and finished the regular season fifth in the ACC Coastal with a 16-17 conference record. Now, they are two wins away from their first conference tournament title since 1951 and an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.
No. 2 Georgia Tech 9, No. 7 Louisville 8 (F/12)
Andrew Jenkins' two-out RBI hit propelled Georgia Tech to a 9-8 win over Louisville in 12 innings and pushed the Yellow Jackets into the ACC semifinals.
With runners on first and second, Jenkins smoked a single into center field, but the ball was bobbled. That allowed both baserunners to score, with Justyn-Henry Malloy posting the winning run.
A seesaw affair took place at Truist Field in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Louisville jumped out to an early 4-0 lead courtesy of a Lucas Dunn two-run homer, a Ben Metzinger RBI single and a Henry Davis solo blast.
Georgia Tech responded in the bottom of the third after Jenkins slashed the lead in half with his own two-run bomb.
Davis got another RBI on a fourth-inning single for a 5-2 Cardinals lead, but Georgia Tech fired back with a Luke Waddell sacrifice fly that scored one.
Cameron Masterman put Louisville back up three with an RBI infield single for a 6-3 edge in the fifth. The score stayed that way until the eighth, when Georgia Tech's Kevin Parada smoked a three-run shot to tie the score.
In the 11th, Alex Binelas put Louisville on top with a solo home run.
Undeterred, Georgia Tech knotted the game at seven with a Drew Compton RBI double. The Yellow Jackets were unable to plate Compton, though, pushing the game into the 12th.
Metzinger's solo home run lifted Louisville to an 8-7 lead. In the bottom half, Georgia Tech got two runners on base courtesy of a single and a walk, leading to Jenkins' game-winning hit.
The Yellow Jackets have now emerged as the Pool B winner in ACC tournament group play and will face Pool C victor North Carolina State on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.
No. 3 North Carolina State 3, No. 10 Pittsburgh 2
North Carolina State starting pitcher Reid Johnston struck out 10 batters over eight innings as the Wolfpack defeated Pitt 3-2 and advanced to the ACC tournament semifinals.
Johnston retired his final 13 batters before closer Evan Justice shut the door in the ninth, striking out Brock Franks to end the game.
The Wolfpack scored all three of their runs in the second inning courtesy of J.T. Jarrett, who smacked a two-RBI triple before scoring on a wild pitch.
Ron Washington Jr. did all the damage for Pitt as he hit a first-inning RBI double and brought home another run in the third off a fielder's choice groundout.
Pitt starting pitcher Matt Gilbertson was also sensational, twirling a complete game on 134 pitches while striking out 10:
Only one Woflpack batter (Tyler McDonough) got on base after the second inning, and it was courtesy of a bunt single in the fifth. Jonny Butler proceeded to line out into a double play, though, so Gilbertson faced the minimum of 21 batters in the final seven innings.
North Carolina State will play UNC on Friday at 3 p.m. ET to close out Pool C play, but the Wolfpack will advance to the semifinals on Saturday at 5 p.m. against Pool B winner Georgia Tech regardless of the result against their in-state rival.