ACC Baseball Tournament 2016: Wednesday Scores, Updated Bracket and Schedule
With the first round in the books, pool play officially began Wednesday at the 2016 ACC baseball tournament in Durham, North Carolina.
Both the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were victorious Tuesday, thus earning them places in each of the two tournament pools. They'll face off with the top seeds in their respective pools Wednesday.
The Demon Deacons get the No. 2 Louisville Cardinals, while the Yellow Jackets are drawn against the No. 1 Miami Hurricanes. The North Carolina State Wolfpack and Florida State Seminoles also kicked off the day Wednesday morning.
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The tournament bracket and pool-play standings are both available on the ACC's official website. Here's a quick recap of Wednesday's action.
Wednesday Results
| 11 a.m. | No. 4 Florida State | No. 5 NC State | Florida State, 7-3 |
| 3 p.m. | No. 1 Miami | No. 9 Georgia Tech | Miami, 4-0 |
| 7 p.m. | No. 2 Louisville | No. 10 Wake Forest | Louisville, 9-5 |
Thursday Schedule
| 11 a.m. | No. 3 Virginia | No. 6 Clemson |
| 3 p.m. | No. 4 Florida State | No. 8 Georgia Tech |
| 7 p.m. | No. 5 NC State | No. 1 Miami |
Wednesday Recap
Florida State 7, North Carolina State 3
On the strength of a four-run eighth inning, Florida State earned a 7-3 win over NC State to begin Wednesday's ACC tourney play.
The Wolfpack were cruising through the first five-and-a-half innings, holding on to a 3-1 lead. Then the Seminoles got runners on second and third with one out in the bottom of the sixth. Sophomore right fielder Steven Wells Jr. popped out, but sophomore first baseman Dylan Busby singled to right field to drive in two runs.
Play-by-play announcer Eric Luallen encountered two Wolfpack fans who were less than enthused to see their team's lead cut to one run, 3-2:
Following a scoreless seventh, FSU made its move. Freshman left fielder Jackson Lueck led off the bottom half of the eighth with a double. Senior designated hitter Nick Graganella walked to put runners on first and second, and junior center fielder Ben DeLuzio loaded the bases with a single.
After the game, sophomore shortstop Taylor Walls identified Graganella's walk as the turning point, per the ACC: "I think Nick Graganella's at-bat did that. To come in a pinch-hit situation, trying to get a bunt down, move the runner to third. He has a very good at-bat and ends up drawing a walk, and then fortunate enough to load the bases up and blow the inning open, so I really think that at-bat was very key."
A sacrifice fly by Wells brought Lueck home, and three batters later, Walls scored two more with a single to right. Busby ran home on a wild pitch to conclude Florida State's offensive outburst.
Senior right-hander Tyler Warmoth came on in the ninth to shut the door for the Seminoles.
Florida State will face off with Georgia Tech on Thursday in its second pool-play game, while NC State will grapple with the tournament's top seed, Miami. The Wolfpack have their backs against the wall, since a defeat to the Hurricanes would all but eliminate their hopes of reaching the championship game.
Miami 4, Georgia Tech 0
Miami struck for three runs in the bottom of the first inning, and that proved more than enough to pick up a win over Georgia Tech. Sophomore Jesse Lepore and freshman Frankie Bartow combined to shut out the Yellow Jackets, allowing three hits and two walks and striking out three batters.
The Hurricanes did a great job of manufacturing offense in the first. Junior catcher Zack Collins and junior first baseman Christopher Barr walked to put runners on first and second with one out. Senior shortstop Brandon Lopez singled to center, and a throwing error by Georgia Tech center fielder Keenan Innis allowed everybody to move an extra base. Barr scored, Collins went to third and Lopez advanced to second.
Junior second baseman Johnny Ruiz then walked to load the bases, and junior right fielder Willie Abreu singled to bring Collins home.
With the bases still loaded, junior designated hitter Randy Batista sacrificed Lopez home on a bunt to give Miami an early 3-0 lead.
Collins tacked on a fourth run in the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run to left field. According to ACC Baseball, the ball traveled 390 feet:
SB Nation's State of the U will be content to see opposing pitchers continue failing to pitch around the left-handed slugger:
Georgia Tech threatened in the top of the ninth, getting the bases loaded with two outs. However, junior Arden Pabst, who was pinch hitting for freshman catcher Joey Bart, struck out swinging to end the game.
Louisville 9, Wake Forest 5
Trailing 2-1 early in the game, Louisville broke things open in the fourth and fifth innings en route to a 9-5 victory over Wake Forest.
The Demon Deacons scored twice in the top of the first, with the Cardinals halving the deficit in the bottom half of the inning. Following two-and-a-half scoreless innings, the Louisville offense awoke.
Sophomore third baseman Blake Tiberi hit a two-run homer in the fourth to put the home team up 3-2. A single by junior right fielder Colin Lyman and a walk to junior center fielder Corey Ray put runners on first and second with one out in the fifth. With the game on the verge of slipping out of reach, Wake Forest coach brought on sophomore right-hander Chris Farish to pitch.
Cardinals junior catcher Will Smith sent Morse's first pitch over the center-field wall for a three-run home run. Junior second baseman Nick Solak stepped to the plate next and sent a Farish pitch out of the yard and over the famous bull in left field to give Louisville a 7-2 lead.
According to ACC Baseball, the home run measured an impressive 403 feet:
Wake Forest added three runs in the eighth to trim the deficit to three runs, 8-5, but Smith added a second home run in the bottom of the eighth to add an insurance run for the Cardinals. Baseball America's Michael Lananna found the appropriate GIF for the occasion:
Louisville laid down a major marker Wednesday in the ACC tournament. Pitching often trumps offense in the postseason, but the Cardinals can topple any team in the country on the strength of its balanced starting lineup.
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