ACC baseball tournament: Top-seed UNC plays Wake Forest for spot in semis; Duke advances

ACC regular season champions and top-seed UNC baseball will face No. 8 seed Wake Forest on Friday at Charlotte’s Truist Field for a spot in the ACC Tournament semifinals.

The game is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on the ACC Network.

In the Tar Heels’ first game of pool play on Thursday, they beat No. 12 seed Pittsburgh, 12-2, behind six home runs. The Tar Heels hit back-to-back-to-back home runs to start the first inning and added another solo shot later in the frame to take a 4-0 lead. Anthony Donofrio and Casey Cook led the charge. Donofrio went 3-for-3 with two home runs, three walks, five RBI and three runs, while Cook was 2-for-4 with two home runs, three RBI and two runs. Parks Harber and Alberto Osuna also added homers.

Jason DeCaro (5-1) pitched seven strong innings for the Tar Heels, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out six. Relievers Kyle Percival and Connor Bovair each pitched a scoreless inning to close the game.

The No. 6 seed Blue Devils also won on Thursday, defeating No. 3 seed N.C. State, 8-1, to secure a spot in the ACC Tournament semifinals behind the efforts of Duke’s standout pitchers Andrew Healy, James Tallon and Tim Noone. Healy pitched five scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and striking out four. Tallon and Noone collectively gave up just one run over the final four innings.

Duke hit four home runs, including a 455-foot grand slam by Zac Morris. Other homers came from Devin Obee, Chase Krewson and AJ Gracia. N.C. State managed only five hits, with an RBI double by Jacob Cozart preventing a shutout.

Friday’s games

Florida State vs. Virginia, 11 a.m.: No. 5 seed Florida State (40-14) will take on No. 4 seed Virginia (41-14) to determine the winner of Pool D. Both teams previously beat No. 9 seed Georgia Tech (31-23), by a combined 16 runs. This is a top-20 matchup — Florida State is ranked No. 10 and Virginia is ranked No. 16 nationally — with a semifinal spot on the line.

Clemson vs. Louisville, 3 p.m.: No. 2 seed Clemson (40-14) will face No. 7 seed Louisville (32-23) in Pool B. No. 11 seed Miami (27-29) upset Clemson, 8-7, on Thursday, to earn a spot in the ACC Tournament semifinals, making this matchup between Clemson and Louisville irrelevant to tournament proceedings.

Wake Forest vs. North Carolina, 7 p.m.: Top-seed UNC (42-12) will face No. 8 seed Wake Forest (37-19), for a spot in the ACC Tournament semifinals. The Tar Heels previously swept the Demon Deacons in their three-game series in late March. Center fielder Vance Honeycutt will likely return to the field for North Carolina after missing the Tar Heels’ ACC Tournament opener due to back spasms

Tournament schedule

Tuesday’s results

Miami 8, Louisville 5

Florida State 12, Georgia Tech 9

Duke 11, Virginia Tech 8

Wednesday’s results

Virginia 13, Georgia Tech 0

Wake Forest 8, Pittsburgh 1

N.C. State 19, Virginia Tech, 9

Thursday’s results

Miami 8, Clemson 7

North Carolina 12, Pittsburgh 2

Duke 8, N.C. State 1

Friday’s games

Florida State vs. Virginia, 11 a.m. (ACC Network)

Clemson vs. Louisville, 3 p.m. (ACC Network)

Wake Forest vs. North Carolina, 7 p.m. (ACC Network)

Saturday’s semifinals

UNC-Wake Forest winner vs. Virginia-Florida State winner, 1 p.m. (ACC Network)

Duke vs. Miami, 5 p.m. (ACC Network)

Sunday’s game

Championship, noon (ESPN2)

Pool standings

Show comments