No. 8 FSU Baseball Amid Top Teams in ACC Standings
The descent of No. 16 UVA baseball (19-12, 6-9 ACC) has been the surprise story in the ACC as of late. This narrative didn’t see much of a change following a series with No. 6 Louisville (25-7, 14-1 ACC) that saw its finale take play under the lights on Monday night. Coming off a loss to VMI, UVA was seemingly handled by ACC sophomore Louisville.
Game one saw the Hoos put up a formidable fight through six innings of play. This was until UVA’s Nathan Kirby crumbled in the seventh. The star pitcher allowed a career-high six runs on nine hits through 6.1 innings of work. The end result saw the Cards run away with the 8-1 victory. Games two and three saw Louisville sustain success as the Cards won game two by a score of 11-4 and Monday’s evening finale by a score of 4-0.
No. 8 FSU (25-8, 11-4 ACC) made the trip to NC State’s Doak Field following a road victory over rival UF in Jacksonville. Just a season ago the ‘Noles enjoyed the sweep of NC State in Tallahassee. Last year’s series featured a 13-inning marathon that saw Florida State come away as the 9-8 victor in the series finale.
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Florida State didn’t enjoy a sweep in this year’s contest. However, the ‘Noles didn’t require a game three rubber match either. By the conclusion of game two, the series had been decided with FSU coming away as the victor in Raleigh, North Carolina. This decisive game two was highlighted by a masterful performance on the mound from FSU’s Drew Carlton. The freshman pitcher threw 106 pitches on the day walking just one Wolfpack batter, while striking out four.
In the Coastal, there’s not a single team providing No. 11 Miami (24-9, 11-4 ACC) with much of a challenge for the division lead. Miami finished the week with a perfect 4-0 record which included a sweep of the Duke Blue Devils (19-13, 4-11 ACC). The Hurricanes are appearing to be the closest thing to a sure bet as it pertains to winning the division. With an identical 11-4 ACC record as FSU, the ‘Canes are four games up on second place Georgia Tech. To contrast, Florida State is chasing first place Louisville in the Atlantic, still three games behind the Cards.
ACC STANDINGS:
ATLANTIC
| SCHOOLS | CONF W-L-T | CONF PCT | W-L-T | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville | 14-1-0 | .933 | 25-7-0 | .781 | |
| Florida State | 11-4-0 | .733 | 25-8-0 | .758 | |
| Wake Forest | 8-7-0 | .533 | 21-13-0 | .618 | |
| NC State | 7-7-0 | .500 | 19-11-0 | .633 | |
| Clemson | 7-8-0 | .467 | 16-15-0 | .516 | |
| Notre Dame | 6-9-0 | .400 | 20-10-0 | .667 | |
| Boston College | 5-9-0 | .357 | 13-16-0 | .448 |
COASTAL
| SCHOOLS | CONF W-L-T | CONF PCT | W-L-T | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | 11-4-0 | .733 | 24-9-0 | .727 | |
| Georgia Tech | 7-8-0 | .467 | 21-11-0 | .656 | |
| North Carolina | 7-8-0 | .467 | 18-13-0 | .581 | |
| Virginia Tech | 7-8-0 | .467 | 17-17-0 | .500 | |
| Virginia | 6-9-0 | .400 | 19-12-0 | .613 | |
| Duke | 4-11-0 | .267 | 19-13-0 | .594 | |
| Pitt | 4-11-0 | .267 | 11-19-0 | .367 |
This upcoming weekend will see Florida State travel to South Bend for a conference showdown against Notre Dame (20-10, 6-9 ACC). Just a season ago, Notre Dame gave the ‘Noles all they could handle. FSU came away with the sweep last season. But, it was no cakewalk. The Irish and ‘Noles saw last year’s series feature two one-run decisions.
With home-field advantage favoring the Irish, the ‘Noles will have to find a way to win. Notre Dame knows the importance of conference games, and can ill afford falling down to last place in the Atlantic division standings. Despite the respectable overall record that Notre Dame sees, the Irish are just a game ahead of basement dweller Boston College in the Atlantic division standings.
Games to watch this weekend:
No. 8 Florida State @ Notre Dame
No. 6 Louisville @ Duke
Virginia Tech @ No. 11 Miami
No. 16 Virginia @ Georgia Tech
All rankings taken from USA Today Coaches’ Poll. (April 7th)