ACC Release: https://theacc.co/accBB23
ACC Info Guide:
https://theacc.co/23BBinfo
ACC Baseball Championship Media Credentials: https://theacc.co/23BBCREDS
Noting ACC Baseball – May 9
• Wake Forest is now the consensus No. 1 team in college baseball’s national rankings, rising to the top of every major poll after taking two of three from Boston College last weekend and becoming the first team to clinch a spot in the upcoming ACC Baseball Championship (May 23-28 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park). Wake Forest baseball had never been ranked No. 1 before Monday, as the Demon Deacons’ run to the College World Series title in 1955 predated national polls in the sport.
• Duke has won 16 of its last 19 games heading into a two-game non-conference midweek set versus Rider and will play host to Georgia Tech this weekend in the hope of maintaining its hold on the top spot in the ACC Coastal Division. The Blue Devils are ranked among the top 10 of five major polls, and as high as No. 6 (by Collegiate Baseball).
• In the 32 games that the Blue Devils have won this season, they have outscored their opponents by a combined 239 runs. On the flip side, their 13 losses have come by a combined total of 48 runs.
• Clemson owns a 15-4 record in its last 19 games as it prepares for Wednesday night’s trip to No. 8 Coastal Carolina. The Tigers will be looking for a season sweep of the Chanticleers following a 16-6 win at Clemson on April 4. The Tigers also continue to climb in the polls and are ranked as high as No. 9 nationally this week by Perfect Game.
• ACC teams head into midweek action with a 243-69 record in non-conference games, including a 185-29 (.864) mark in home games. Virginia owns a 24-0 non-conference record heading into Wednesday’s game versus visiting Radford and could join Texas A&M (2015) and Arizona State (2010) as the only NCAA Division I teams in the past two decades to post a perfect non-conference mark in a non-COVID shortened season. The Cavaliers have won 28 consecutive regular-season non-ACC games dating back to 2022.
• The ACC remains tied for the national lead with six teams among the top 15 of the latest NCAA RPI – No. 2 Wake Forest, No. 7 Duke, No. 8 Boston College, No. 10 Virginia, No. 13 Clemson and No. 15 Miami. The conference has nine among the top 35 with No. 19 NC State followed by No. 30 Louisville and No. 33 North Carolina.
• Georgia Tech will retire number 23, worn by former Yellow Jacket standout Mark Teixeira, in a special pregame ceremony on Saturday, May 20, before the Yellow Jacket’s regular-season finale against visiting Virginia.
ACC Player, Pitcher of the Week
Georgia Tech junior outfielder Stephen Reid has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Player of the Week for May 8, while Wake Forest junior righthander Rhett Lowder earned ACC Pitcher of the Week honors for the third time this season.
ACC baseball weekly honors are determined by a vote of a select media panel and announced on Monday throughout the regular season.
Reid put together a red-hot weekend at the plate to push Georgia Tech to a series win over Pitt. The Garwood, New Jersey, native tied the program record with three home runs on Sunday to lead the Yellow Jackets to a 15-3 series-clinching win and finished with four total homers for the series. He finished the series batting .643 with nine hits and added one double while piling up 10 RBI.
He compiled a 1.571 slugging percentage over the three games with just one strikeout for a .643 on-base percentage. Reid also contributed defensively with a diving snag in right field that saved a potential run.
Reigning ACC Pitcher of the Year Lowder earned his 10th win of 2023 in Wake Forest’s shutout victory to open its series against nationally-ranked Boston College on Friday night. The win clinched a spot in the upcoming ACC Baseball Championship for the now top-ranked Demon Deacons.
Lowder tossed seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and just five hits and one walk allowed in Wake Forest’s 6-0 win. The Albemarle, North Carolina, junior completed his start by striking out six of the last nine batters he faced. Lowder is the only pitcher in a Power Five conference with a 10-0 record this season and became just the fourth pitcher in Wake Forest history to post back-to-back double-digit win seasons.
ACC Baseball in the NCAA
• At least one ACC team has reached the College World Series each of the last 16 years in which the event has been held, and multiple ACC teams reached the CWS 10 times during that span.
• Led by College World Series participant Notre Dame, nine ACC teams were selected to compete in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, tying for the most of any conference.
• The ACC has placed at least six teams in the NCAA tournament for 18 straight years. The 2022 season marked the sixth year since 2010 that at least eight ACC teams landed spots in the field.
• The ACC has placed a total of 29 teams in the past 16 College World Series, an average of nearly two per season.
• Ninety-nine ACC teams have earned NCAA bids in the last 13 tournament years. The 14 current ACC teams have a combined 99 College World Series appearances.
• Three ACC teams rank among the top five nationally for most all-time tournament appearances: No. 2 Florida State (59), No. 3 Miami (48), and No. 5 Clemson (44).
Upcoming ACC Schedule
Tuesday, May 9
Vanderbilt at Louisville, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
Rider at Duke, 6 p.m.
Jacksonville at Florida State, 6 p.m.
UNC Greensboro at Wake Forest, 6 p.m.
Gardner-Webb at North Carolina, 6 p.m.
Richmond at NC State, canceled
Wednesday, May 10
Radford at Virginia, 1 p.m.
West Virginia at Pitt, 6 p.m.
FIU at Miami, 6 p.m.
Rider at Duke, 6 p.m.
Georgia Tech at Kennesaw State, 6 p.m.
Virginia Tech at Liberty, 6 p.m.
Clemson at Coastal Carolina, 6 p.m.
Thursday, May 11
NC State at North Carolina, 7 p.m. (ACCN)
Friday, May 12
Georgia Tech at Duke, 6 p.m.
Wake Forest at Florida State, 6 p.m.
Louisville at Virginia, 6 p.m.
Miami at Pitt, 6 p.m.
Akron at Notre Dame, 6 p.m.
Clemson at Virginia Tech, 7 p.m.
NC State at North Carolina, 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 13
Georgia Tech at Duke, 1 p.m. (ACCN)
Wake Forest at Florida State, 2 p.m.
NC State at North Carolina, 2 p.m.
Miami at Pitt, 3 p.m.
Akron at Notre Dame, 3 p.m.
Louisville at Virginia, 4 p.m. (ACCN)
Villanova at Boston College, 6 p.m.
Clemson at Virginia Tech, 7 p.m. (ACCN)
Sunday, May 14
Miami at Pitt, Noon (ACCN)
Georgia Tech at Duke, 1 p.m. (ACCN)
Wake Forest at Florida State, 1 p.m.
Akron at Notre Dame, 1 p.m.
Louisville at Virginia, 1 p.m. (ACCN)
Villanova at Boston College, 1 p.m.
Clemson at Virginia Tech, 3 p.m. (ACCN)
Tuesday, May 16
Gardner-Webb at Duke, 3 p.m.
Notre Dame at Northwestern, 4:30 p.m.
Wake Forest at UNC Wilmington, 5 p.m.
Maine at Boston College, 5:30 p.m.
Virginia Tech at James Madison, 6 p.m.
USC Upstate at Clemson, 6 p.m.
Northern Kentucky at Louisville, 6 p.m.
Penn State at Pitt, 6 p.m.
Kennesaw State at Florida State, 6 p.m.
Georgia Tech at Mercer, 6 p.m.
North Carolina at Coastal Carolina, 6 p.m.
Miami at FIU, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 18
Notre Dame at Boston College, 5:30 p.m.
North Carolina at Clemson, 6 p.m.
Virginia at Georgia Tech, 6 p.m.
Virginia Tech at Wake Forest, 6 p.m.
Pitt at NC State, 6 p.m.
Duke at Miami, 7 p.m.
Florida State at Louisville, 7 p.m.
Friday, May 19
North Carolina at Clemson, 6 p.m.
Virginia at Georgia Tech, 6 p.m.
Virginia Tech at Wake Forest, 6 p.m.
Pitt at NC State, 6 p.m.
Florida State at Louisville, 6 p.m.
Duke at Miami, 7 p.m.
Notre Dame at Boston College, 7 p.m. (ACCN)
Saturday, May 20
Notre Dame at Boston College, Noon
North Carolina at Clemson, 1 p.m. (ACCN)
Virginia at Georgia Tech, 1 p.m.
Duke at Miami, 1 p.m.
Florida State at Louisville, 1 p.m.
Pitt at NC State, 1 p.m.
Virginia Tech at Wake Forest, 4 p.m.
May 23-28
ACC Baseball Championship at Durham, N.C.