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The 2016 ACC Tournament kicked off on Tuesday with the pair of play in games to see who would be sacrificial lambs to the upper echelon of the conference. Duke and Wake Forest started things in the morning, while Georgia Tech and Boston College finished things up in the afternoon. Here's how they played out:
Wake Forest 4 - Duke 3
When Duke remembers this game they'll only remember all the men they left on base. Leaving a few on base hurts, but leaving 12 on over the course of the game is heartbreaking. The Blue Devils had chances inning after inning, but could not push one or two more runs across to take control of the game. Wake on the other hand got a dominant start from Parker Dunshee and a stellar outing from their closer, Will Craig.
Duke has a pretty good RPI and might be ahead of UNC in the pecking order for NCAA Tournament appearance since they made the ACC Tournament. Having series wins over FSU, Clemson, and Georgia Tech will certainly help their cause as well.
Wake advances to pool play and will get the pleasure of facing Louisville tonight at 7 PM.
Georgia Tech 6 - Boston College 0
These two were becoming really familiar with one another. Yesterday's game was their fourth game in 6 days since Boston College closed out the season in Atlanta last weekend. Even though BC took that series, this game was all Georgia Tech from pitch one. Like Wake Forest, the Yellow Jackets got a dominant start and an even better appearance from their closer. Every starter in the GT lineup had at least one hit, and that's really all you need to know.
BC's 38 RPI might be good enough to get them in, but winning five of their last six series, including over UVa, Louisville, and GT should help more than enough. Couple that with the committee tries their hardest to put northeastern teams in, and the Eagles should be the 9th team in.
GT takes on Miami this afternoon at 3 PM.
The only other game on the docket for today is NC State - Florida State. These two are likely battling it out for one of the last ACC hosting spots, and a head to head win in Durham could be enough to push them over the edge.