Although the teams fought a war of attrition in league play, they were very successful outside the conference, combining to go 18-2 against non-conference teams this week.
-
Louisville (21-7, 11-1 ACC)
The newcomers to the ACC scene look mighty good. The Cardinals received strong pitching performances from junior RHP Kyle Funkhouser (7 innings, 1 ER) and sophomore LHP Josh Rogers (6 innings, 1 ER) on Friday and Sunday and stole a whopping eight bases on Saturday during their sweep of Georgia Tech.
2. Florida State (22-7, 9-3 ACC)
The Seminoles scored 29 of their 33 runs last week in the seventh, eighth or ninth innings. The ‘Noles used five runs in the final three innings to escape Alabama State last Tuesday, then exploded in an 11-run 8th inning Saturday in a 19-9 win over Virginia Tech. Finally on Sunday the Seminoles treated their fans to a walk-off win after they had trailed by four runs entering the seventh inning.
3. Miami (Florida) (20-9, 8-4 ACC)
The Hurricanes were also in the mood for late-game heroics. They defeated UNC-Chapel Hill 4-3 Friday night behind a three-run ninth inning, and then sophomore slugger Zack Collins crushed a game-winning home run Saturday in the 11th inning. They did drop Sunday’s finale at 10-3 and lost 8-1 to Florida Gulf Coast Wednesday, so they drop to third in our rankings.
4. Virginia (18-8, 6-6 ACC)
In their first trip to Notre Dame in the program’s history, the Cavaliers swept the Fighting Irish behind a barrage of strong pitching performances and timely hits. Sophomore RHP Connor Jones had career highs in innings and strikeouts in the first day of a doubleheader Saturday. In the night cap, the Cavaliers brought home two in the top of the ninth to win 4-2.
5. Georgia Tech (17-10, 5-7 ACC)
The Yellow Jackets were overmatched by Louisville in a three-game sweep. The Yellow Jackets’ offense never gained traction in the cold weather against Louisville’s strong pitching. They stay in the fifth spot because of their loss to Louisville.
6. UNC-Chapel Hill (16-11, 6-6 ACC)
The Tar Heels had two heartbreaking losses wedged in between two blowout wins last week. The Tar Heels lost in the ninth and 11th innings to Miami (Florida) Friday and Saturday, but bested the Hurricanes 10-3 Sunday and beat Appalachian State 9-0 earlier in the week.
7. NC State (17-9, 6-5 ACC)
What a great week for the Wolfpack, which makes the biggest jump in our rankings. NC State swept Pittsburgh and drubbed Elon and NC A&T in mid-week games. If the Wolfpack is playing at home, the team is hard to beat. We’ll see if that trend continues against Florida State this week.
8. Wake Forest (19-11, 6-6 ACC)
The Demon Deacons received a stellar outing on the mound from senior RHP Matt Pirro (7 innings, 1 ER) Friday night and INF/RHP Will Craig hit his 10th home run of the year and earned the win on the mound Saturday to give Wake Forest the series win in Clemson.
9. Clemson (13-13, 5-7 ACC)
The Tigers continued their disappointing 2014-15 campaign with two losses at home to Wake Forest over the weekend. The Tigers aided Wake Forest with two bases-loaded walks during a seven-run Demon Deacon rally on Friday night and will welcome UNC-Chapel Hill to Doug Kingsmore Stadium this weekend.
10. Virginia Tech (15-14, 6-6 ACC)
Virginia Tech took the first game at Florida State but late-inning implosions cost the Hokies the series. The Hokies face Georgia Tech this weekend.
11. Notre Dame (16-10, 3-9 ACC)
The Fighting Irish were swept by Virginia in blustery conditions to drop to 3-9 in the ACC. They will have the chance to turn it around against Pittsburgh this week.
12. Boston College (11-13, 4-7 ACC)
Add Boston College to the list of teams that had a terrific week. The Eagles started with a 22-1 drubbing of Northeastern before beating Holy Cross and sweeping Duke in Newark, Delaware.
13. Duke (19-9, 4-8 ACC)
The Blue Devils are the biggest droppers in our rankings this week after being swept by Boston College to drop their ACC record to 4-8. Ace RHP Michael Matuella lost his first game since the 2014 ACC Tournament on Friday night.
14. Pittsburgh (11-15, 4-8 ACC)
The Panthers continue to struggle this spring, this week being swept by NC State on the road. The Panthers are just 6-13 in away or neutral games.
