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As Tiki pointed out earlier today, the Day 1 action at the ACC Baseball Championships didn't mean a whole lot for the 'Hoos. Nonetheless, it's interesting to keep an eye on how the other teams are doing and see what we might face in the coming days.
In the latter game of the day, #9 seed Georgia Tech "upset" #8 seed Wake Forest 5-3. It's only really an upset because of their seed numbers. Georgia Tech was one game behind Wake in the ACC standings, but had a better overall record and a significantly better RPI.
The Yellow Jackets scored all of their runs in the second inning and held on as the Demon Deacons attempted to chip away at the lead. Wake ended up leaving 13 runners on base, a number that only N.C. State could be proud of (more on that later).
Georgia Tech moves on to face the #1 overall seed Miami in Pool A play tomorrow at 3pm.
The earlier game was the more interesting one for a number of reasons and that's why I saved it for second. North Carolina ended up beating North Carolina State 4-3. But that doesn't tell the whole story by a longshot.
In the fifth inning, State's Trea Turner attempted to steal home. I shouldn't say attempted. He stole home. Just... Mark Chapman happened to not be paying attention. And Mark Chapman is an important person in this scenario. He was the home plate umpire. And he called Turner out. The run would have tied the game at 4-all.
That wasn't the end of the controversy, though. In the 8th inning, with the Wolfpack threatening with runners on 2nd and 3rd and no outs, Chapman ruled that the batter went around when he attempted to check his swing on a clear ball that would have walked him and loaded the bases. It was the third strike. Chapman didn't check with the first base ump who should have had a good angle on it. I didn't see that call, so I can't say how questionable it was.
North Carolina moves into Pool A play, with Virginia, and will face the #2 overall seed Florida State tomorrow night at 7pm. The Cavaliers and Heels will face each other at 7pm on Friday.
As a reminder, Virginia, the #3 seed, has tomorrow off before facing #6 seed Maryland at 11am on Thursday.