ACC Baseball Tournament 2015: Schedule, TV Info and Thursday Bracket Predictions
The ACC tournament continues on Thursday, where three more games pack the field's round-robin play.
Florida State, Miami and Louisville notched victories during Wednesday's action, beginning pool play on a high note. Another three days remain before determining Sunday's championship matchup at Durham, North Carolina.
As eight squads battle for the conference title, here's an updated look at each pool leading up to Thursday's slate:
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
| No. 1 Louisville (1-0) | No. 2 Miami (1-0) |
| No. 4 Florida State (1-0) | No. 3 Notre Dame |
| No. 5 Clemson (0-1) | No. 6 NC State |
| No. 8 North Carolina (0-1) | No. 7 Virginia (0-1) |
| 6 | No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 6 NC State | 11 a.m. | RSN | NC State 6-4 |
| 7 | No. 1 Louisville vs. No. 5 Clemson | 3 p.m. | RSN | Louisville 3-2 |
| 8 | No. 4 Florida State vs. No. 8 North Carolina | 7 p.m. | RSN | FSU 5-3 |
Note: All games can be seen via live stream on Watch ESPN.
Game of the Day: No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 6 NC State
Notre Dame and NC State get their first taste of competition this tournament, forcing each club to play all three games in a three-day span.
Although the Fighting Irish netted a No. 3 seed with a 35-19 record, the NCAA RPI doesn't view them as favorably, per ACC Baseball's official Twitter page:
Despite boasting a 3.03 staff ERA, offensive shortcomings fuel the metric's skepticism. According to NCAA.com, Notre Dame's .345 team on-base percentage ranks No. 219 among all Division I teams. Florida State, seeded at No. 4, sported a .391 clip entering tournament play.
With 38 home runs and a .383 slugging percentage, the lineup doesn't feature a significant power punch, either. Cavan Biggio, son of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, presents the group's most notable bat, leading the club with eight homers and a .414 on-base percentage driven by 48 walks.
Much like his father, the second baseman packs a powerful punch along with a keen batting eye and a team-high 14 stolen bases.
While nobody hit .300 or better for Notre Dame, NC State contains four .300 hitters, and that's leaving behind Brock Deatherage's .299 mark. Senior Logan Ratledge leads the way, finishing his final season with a scorching .335/.440/.569 slash line and eight homers.
The unexpected star registered a .375 slugging percentage as a junior for a team ousted in the tournament play-in game by North Carolina. Coach Elliott Avent marveled over Ratledge's turnaround earlier in the season, singing his praises to the Charlotte Observer's Chip Alexander after snapping a 21-game hitting streak.
“He’s been sensational,” Avent said. “You can’t play much better than he’s played this season. He’s kind of been our glue. He’s just a mentally tough person.”
The Wolfpack also have a powerful pitching staff, which netted 474 strikeouts through 460 innings. Brian Brown, who clocked a 1.87 ERA, will likely get Thursday's nod.
Notre Dame has its own ace in Ryan Smoyer, who holds a 2.06 ERA. Yet the sophomore has collected 29 strikeouts through 65.2 innings, a poor rate that doesn't bode well for sustaining his high level of run prevention.
In order to emerge victorious, the Fighting Irish must stay patient at the plate, their one advantage over the lower seed. Although NC State possesses stronger hurlers, its pitchers are also prone to issuing too many walks, having allowed 238 free passes throughout the year.
Otherwise, the Wolfpack are the more dangerous squad despite what the records and seeding say. Expect them to show it with a strong offensive display.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
