ACC Baseball Tournament 2015: Championship Schedule and Predictions

The North Carolina State Wolfpack or the Florida State Seminoles are just nine innings away from an ACC title in the 2015 conference baseball tournament.

The Wolfpack clinched a berth in the title game Friday following a 5-4 win over the Miami Hurricanes. They needed a little bit of luck in the game, with Preston Palmeiro capitalizing on a throwing error. Miami catcher Zack Collins also dropped the throw at home plate, allowing Palmeiro to score.

The NC State first baseman spoke about his good fortune, per Aaron Fitt of D1Baseball:

That victory and a 3-0 shutout against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish meant that nobody from Pool B could catch NC State.

Florida State had to wait until Saturday to learn of its ACC tournament fate. The Seminoles faced off with the Louisville Cardinals to determine who would advance to the championship. A 6-0 win for the 'Noles put them through to the final.

FSU's last ACC title came back in 2010. If the Seminoles prevail, they'll tie the North Carolina Tar Heels for the second-most championships in conference history.

NC State hasn't tasted nearly as much success. The Wolfpack last won the conference in 1992. Before that, they captured three straight championships between 1973 and 1975. A win today would certainly be a big feather in the cap of head coach Elliott Avent.

Here's a quick look ahead to today's title clash.

ACC Championship Schedule

Time (ET)	Matchup	TV Info	Live Stream	Prediction
1 p.m.	No. 4 Florida State vs. No. 6 North Carolina State	ESPN2	Watch ESPN	FSU, 3-1

Championship Preview

These two teams met three times during the regular season with Florida State winning the first two games in Raleigh, North Carolina. NC State got some measure of revenge with an 11-7 victory in the final game of the series.

The Seminoles have flipped the proverbial switch in the ACC tournament. They had lost five in a row and six of their last eight before postseason play began but went a perfect 3-0 in Pool A. Florida State's pitching has shown up in a big way, holding Clemson to one run Wednesday and shutting out the Cardinals yesterday.

According to Noles247's Chris Nee, Bryant Holtmann will take the hill for FSU. In 57.2 innings this year, the senior left-hander has gone 6-1 with a 3.12 earned run average. Somewhat scarier from a Seminoles perspective is that Holtmann has 30 strikeouts to 19 walks, while opposing hitters are batting .271 against him.

That last number could be somewhat concerning heading into the game against NC State. The Wolfpack are fourth in the conference in batting average (.278) and third in slugging percentage (.423).

North Carolina State does, however, lack a ton of pop in the lineup. Logan Ratledge leads the team in home runs with just eight, while Palmeiro's 48 runs batted in are good enough for first.

This obviously isn't a serious concern, but should Holtmann find himself in trouble, the Wolfpack may be unable to capitalize and leave ducks on the pond.

In comparison, Florida State has scored 398 runs this season, good enough for second in the ACC.

In DJ Stewart, the Seminoles have somebody who can put the team on his back and shoulder the offensive burden. He was the driving force behind Florida State's win over Clemson this past Wednesday. His triple in the bottom of the third brought home two of his team's runs in a 3-1 victory.

Seminoles.com's Tim Linafelt was a big fan of Stewart's celebration after the three-bagger:

Stewart leads FSU in almost every major category, including batting average, slugging percentage, home runs and runs batted in. One of his best traits is his ability to wait for the right pitch. His 64 walks lead the country.

This game could go either way. The difference between the Wolfpack and Seminoles is marginal at best, and neither team owns a discernible advantage in an overwhelming number of categories.

I'm putting my money on Florida State but just slightly. Holtmann should do enough to keep the Wolfpack at bay and let his offense win the game.

Prediction: Florida State 3, NC State 1

Note: Team stats are courtesy of TheACC.com unless otherwise noted.