Pool Play Finishes up Day 5 in Durham

Pool play came to an end Saturday, even though the Cavaliers' tournament ended Friday morning. Luckily for the ACC, two of the game actually mattered.

Clemson 5 - Wake Forest 4
Both teams still had Championship aspirations heading into the weekend. If Wake was able to pull off the upset and Virginia beat Louisville in the nightcap, the Deacons would represent Pool B on Sunday. If Clemson won, they'd be 3-0 and move into Sunday. Heading into the 7th, Wake had an uncomfortable 4-1 lead. It did not last long as the Tigers used two home runs to tie the game up, which held til the 9th. In the 9th, Wake would shoot itself in the foot. After a quick strikeout, Clemson's Seth Beer would get hit by a pitch, and Wake would then surrender a double. With runners at 2nd and 3rd, Wake intentionally walked the next batter, got an F3, and then threw a wild pitch allowing the go ahead Clemson run to score.

Clemson plays in the Championship game against FSU, while Wake will have to wait and find out their NCAA hopes Monday afternoon. Things should be ok for the Deacons, but who really knows.

Florida State 5 - Miami 4
The Seminoles were just a little better on Saturday, edging out the Hurricanes in the 9th. Miami was able to tie things up at four in the 9th after FSU walked the bases loaded and got a 1 out single from Thursday's hero, Michelangeli, scoring two. The Seminoles would strike back in the bottom half of the inning with a walk off of their own. FSU got a leadoff single before Miami could not find the plate allowing the Seminoles to load the bases setting up a one out, walk off single from FSU's Busby.

FSU advances to Sunday's Championship Game and likely is back in the mix to be a national seed. Miami just gets an extra day off. The Hurricanes were locks to be a Top 4 national seed no matter the outcome, but no ACC crown is certainly disappointing.

Virginia 7 - Louisville 2
The nightcap was rendered meaningless after Clemson moved to 3-0 to win Pool B. Who knows if it affected Louisville, but the ACC Pitcher of the Year did not have his best stuff as the Cavaliers scored seven runs off Harrington in the 4th inning, giving him his second loss of the season. The UVa pitching staff was dominant throughout, holding the impressive Cardinals lineup to just four hits, their lowest output of the season.

Virginia will now wait til Sunday night to see if they are hosting. Most national experts still had the Cavaliers hosting no matter the outcome, but the final win in Durham certainly bolstered their case. Much like Miami, Louisville was a national seed regardless of the outcome.

Florida State and Clemson will square off at 10 AM in what is likely to be a wet ACC Tournament finale on Sunday.