UVa Falters while Clemson stays Hot: Day 4 ACC Tournament Recap

If you're reading this, you're likely a UVa fan. It's ok, there's next week.

Clemson 5 - Louisville 3
In the first game of the day, Clemson remained one of the hottest teams in the country taking down Louisville 5-3 to move to 2-0 in Pool B competition. The win also almost cements their case as a regional host and gets them in the conversation for a national seed. Clate Schmidt was the story for the Tigers going 8.2 innings just missing a complete game as he was pulled in favor of closer Pat Krall to face Louisville's Corey Ray with two on and two out in the top of the ninth. On the day Schmidt gave up three runs (two earned) on eight hits doing just enough to keep the potent Cardinals lineup at bay. Clemson has the upper hand in Pool B needing just a win over Wake Forest on Saturday to advance to the ACC Championship game.

Wake Forest 10 - Virginia 9
Woof. This was not the way Oak envisioned the ACC Tournament going. Although, I guess we should have seen this coming because whenever UVa ends the season well, they don't do well in the ACC Tournament. As mentioned, there will certainly be next week. However, with a loss on Saturday to Louisville, there's a chance the 'Hoos could go from National Seed contender to fringe host. The loss to Wake dropped their RPI to 18,behind 13 ACC or SEC teams. Fortunately, one of those is UNC, and they are certainly not going to be hosting.

NC State 7 - Georgia Tech 5
Both of these teams were eliminated before the first pitch, but needed wins to boost their NCAA Tournament seedings. The Wolfpack got on the board in the 2nd thanks to two home runs to take a 3-0 lead. The Yellow Jackets stormed back in the 4th with five runs over their own to take the lead, seemingly for good. In the 9th, Georgia Tech got two quick outs before the wheels fell apart. A walk and an E8 allowed a two out single to score two and tie it up. It would not be til the 12th for anyone to score again when State took the go ahead 7-5 lead with a two run home run to put them up for good.

Georgia Tech was a fringe host for next week, but after a 1-3 showing in Durham, they can kiss that thought good bye. They're still a likely 2 seed, but they'll be in a pretty tough regional. The Wolfpack on the other hand might have salvaged their hosting possibilities. Their Top 10 RPI  will certainly help their cause.

The Hoos take on Louisville in the night cap tonight. If Wake is unable to upset Clemson, the game will truly be meaningless to both teams. If Wake can upset Clemson, Louisville could win, force a 3-way tie, and advance to Sunday via being the higher seed. The premier matchup in Durham is surely Miami-Florida State. There is no love lost between the two sunshine state programs, and with a trip to the championship game on the line, it will surely be a game to be seen.