Baseball

This Week in ACC Baseball

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – For the first time during the 2024 season, all 14 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball teams will play a league series this weekend.
 
The weekend will feature two series between ranked squads. The sixth-ranked Duke Blue Devils will host 10th-ranked Clemson while the 17th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers will welcome the seventh-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons for three games.
 
Florida State is one of two remaining undefeated teams in the country, boasting a perfect 15-0 record going into the weekend, marking the third-best start in school history. On Tuesday, the Seminoles toppled eighth-ranked Florida in Gainesville, Florida, before turning their focus to a conference-opening series against Notre Dame.
 
Noting ACC Baseball – Feb. 29
  • Going into the weekend, the ACC boasts an 141-31 record - good for an .820 winning percentage.
  • As of Thursday, the ACC ranks second among Power Five conferences with 11 teams inside the top 100. Clemson leads the conference at No. 2, while No. 4 North Carolina, No. 6 Florida State, No. 18 Notre Dame, and No. 19 Virginia Tech all rank inside the top 25 nationally.
  • Florida State is one of two undefeated teams remaining in Division I baseball, joining No. 4 Texas A&M. The 15-0 Seminoles will begin ACC play this weekend with a three-game set against Notre Dame.
  • Going into weekend action, the ACC leads all conferences in batting average (.323), hits (2,446), home runs (405), total bases (4,268), and sacrifice flies (137).
  • Home runs have been flying throughout the ACC this season, as four teams rank in the top six nationally. Virginia Tech leads the ACC with 41 home runs, which ranks third nationally, while Duke’s 39 long balls rank fourth. Miami and Notre Dame have each hit 36 home runs, tying for sixth nationally.  
  • Four ACC teams also rank in the top eight nationally in batting average, led by Florida State, who is second with a .376 average. Virginia is fourth (.356), Louisville is sixth (.350), and Virginia Tech is eighth (.343) to pace the league.
  • Virginia was the first ACC team to reach 50 doubles on the season, a mark that currently ranks second nationally. The Cavaliers are recording 2.94 doubles per game to edge out Florida State, who averages 2.73 two-baggers per game.
  • Duke has posted a conference-leading .987 fielding percentage to begin the season, which ranks second nationally. Boston College remains in the top 10 across the country with a .983 fielding percentage.
  • Florida State pitching ranks second in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings, averaging 13.5 to begin the season, while Wake Forest sits in fourth, fanning 13.0 hitters per nine innings. Wake Forest’s Chase Burns leads the ACC with 43 strikeouts on the season, ranking second in Division I baseball.   
  • Virginia leads the ACC with 224 hits on the season, which ranks second across the country. Duke’s 207 hits are the third-best in the country while North Carolina’s 194 knocks rank 10th. The Seminoles’ Cam Smith is second in the country with 33 hits, while Miami’s Daniel Cuvet and Duke’s Ben Miller have 30 each, tying for eighth-best in the nation.
  • North Carolina’s Matthew Matthijs leads the country with seven wins on the mound this season. Seven other pitchers in the ACC have tallied three wins as well.
  • Duke’s Charlie Beilenson has been lights out from the bullpen and leads the country with seven saves this season. No other pitcher in the country, has more than five saves to date. Beilenson needs just five saves to tie the single-season record by a Duke pitcher. Belienson has posted a 0.00 ERA in 14 innings of work, striking out 22 batters.
  • NC State’s Alec Makarewicz has driven in a national-best 34 runs this season. North Carolina’s Casey Cook (30) and Florida State’s James Tibbs III (29) rank fourth and eighth, respectively, in the nation in the category.
 
Upcoming ACC Baseball Schedule
Friday, March 15
Boston College at Pitt, 3:00 pm, ACCNX
No. 10 Clemson at No. 6 Duke, 4 pm, ACCNX
No. 7 Wake Forest at No. 17 Virginia, 4 pm, ACCNX
Virginia Tech at Louisville, 6 pm, ACCNX
Notre Dame at Florida State, 6 pm, ACCNX
No. 13 NC State at Georgia Tech, 6 pm, ACCNX
No. 15 North Carolina at Miami, 7 pm, ACCNX
 
Saturday, March 16
Virginia Tech at Louisville, 1 pm, ACCNX
Notre Dame at Florida State, 3 pm, ACCNX
No. 10 Clemson at No. 6 Duke, 3 pm, ACCNX
Boston College at Pitt, 3 pm, ACCNX
No. 13 NC State at Georgia Tech, 4 pm, ACCNX
No. 7 Wake Forest at No. 17 Virginia, 4 pm, ACC Network
No. 15 North Carolina at Miami, 7 pm, ACCNX
 
Sunday, March 17
Virginia Tech at Louisville, 12 pm, ACC Network
No. 7 Wake Forest at No. 17 Virginia, 1 pm, ACCNX
No. 10 Clemson at No. 6 Duke, 1 pm, ACCNX
No. 15 North Carolina at Miami, 1 pm, ACCNX
Notre Dame at Florida State, 1 pm, ACCNX
No. 13 NC State at Georgia Tech, 1 pm, ACCNX
Boston College at Pitt, 1 pm, ACCNX