No. 8 FSU Baseball Hunts Top of ACC Atlantic Division
This past weekend’s ACC conference action saw its most notable performance by ACC basement dweller, Boston College (11-13, 4-7 ACC). The Eagles reeled off three straight road wins in a sweep of the Duke Blue Devils.
Entering last week, the Eagles saw a lowly record of 6-13 (1-7 ACC). It appeared as if the Eagles may have very well been a weekend series away from finding themselves in a hole too large to dig out of. That narrative didn’t seem to sit well with BC, though. In a span of seven days, Boston College found itself victors of an impressive five straight road games. BC’s success in the sweep of Duke was fueled by a five-run fifth inning in game one, walk-off home run in game two, and quick 4-0 lead in game three.
Is this success sustainable? Or were the Eagles beneficiaries of an under-performing Duke club? Another series away from home this weekend may very well answer this. Boston College travels to Wake Forest to face the hot bats of the Demon Deacons.
Down in Tallahassee, the ‘Noles did enough to earn the 2-1 series victory over Virginia Tech. However, dropping game one to the Hokies didn’t help No. 8 FSU’s chasing of No. 7 Louisville in the Atlantic division. UL enjoyed a series sweep of Georgia Tech at home. The sweep of the Yellow Jackets put the Cards (11-1 ACC) an additional game up on Florida State (9-3 ACC).
More from Chop Chat
- FSU football: Q&A with Clemson experts at Rubbing The Rock 2023
- FSU football: 3 reasons Noles beat Clemson, two reasons they lose
- FSU football: QB Brock Glenn out with an injury for ‘a few weeks’
- FSU football: Which TV announcers will call Clemson game?
- FSU football: Is Jared Verse ready to make an impact versus Clemson?
Coming into the season it was predicted that the Atlantic division would come down to the ‘Noles and Cards. If both teams can sustain their current success then the head-to-head match-up between these clubs just over a week before the ACC tournament may very well serve as a winner-takes-all series that will determine the division. While this match-up is still well over a month away, it should be noted that Louisville will benefit from home-field advantage.
Another noteworthy series that transpired over the weekend pitted a free falling Virginia team against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at ND’s Frank Eck Stadium. After losing eight of its last 12 games, the ACC clash served as a gut check for No. 12 UVA. Needless to say, Virginia answered the bell by sweeping the Irish in a series that saw a Sunday bout which followed Saturday’s doubleheader. After running away with game one of the doubleheader, UVA won game two and game three by a total margin of just three runs.
ACC STANDINGS:
ATLANTIC
| SCHOOLS | CONF W-L-T | CONF PCT | W-L-T | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville | 11-1-0 | .917 | 21-7-0 | .750 | |
| Florida State | 9-3-0 | .750 | 22-7-0 | .759 | |
| NC State | 6-5-0 | .545 | 17-9-0 | .654 | |
| Wake Forest | 6-6-0 | .500 | 19-11-0 | .633 | |
| Clemson | 5-7-0 | .417 | 13-13-0 | .500 | |
| Boston College | 4-7-0 | .364 | 11-13-0 | .458 | |
| Notre Dame | 3-9-0 | .250 | 16-10-0 | .615 |
COASTAL
| SCHOOLS | CONF W-L-T | CONF PCT | W-L-T | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | 8-4-0 | .667 | 20-9-0 | .690 | |
| Virginia | 6-6-0 | .500 | 18-8-0 | .692 | |
| North Carolina | 6-6-0 | .500 | 16-11-0 | .593 | |
| Virginia Tech | 6-6-0 | .500 | 15-14-0 | .517 | |
| Georgia Tech | 5-7-0 | .417 | 17-10-0 | .630 | |
| Duke | 4-8-0 | .333 | 19-9-0 | .679 | |
| Pitt | 4-8-0 | .333 | 11-15-0 | .423 |
If Florida State can avoid errors against a hot NC State team that is in the midst of a six-game winning streak against vastly inferior opponents, it may perhaps be able to catch up with Louisville in the Atlantic division this weekend. This thought is relevant as No. 7 Louisville travels to No. 12 UVA for a pivotal ACC showdown. The tilt could really be huge for either FSU or Louisville. At worst, FSU could fall five games behind the Cards. At best, the ‘Noles could finish the weekend one game ahead of Louisville.
Games to watch this weekend:
No. 8 Florida State @ NCSU
No. 7 Louisville @ No. 12 UVA
Georgia Tech @ Virginia Tech
All rankings taken from USA Today Coaches’ Poll. (March 30th)