No league has more baseball players drafted than the ACC

Eighteen ACC players were selected on Friday in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. With the 18 taken on Friday in rounds 3-10, 27 league players have been drafted in the first two days, tied for the most from any conference.

Eleven different ACC programs have had at least one player drafted, led by Virginia with six, Miami with five, and Florida State with four.

The ACC has had at least 40 players drafted eight straight years, including 50 or more in seven of the past eight. The league record stands at 64, set in 2010.

The 2014 MLB Draft will conclude on Saturday with rounds 11-40 starting at 1 p.m.

ACC in the 2014 MLB Draft

Round Pick Player School Pos. Year Team
1 3 Carlos Rodon NC State LHP JR Chicago White Sox
1 13 Trea Turner NC State SS JR San Diego
1 19 Nick Howard Virginia RHP JR Cincinnati
1 27 Luke Weaver Florida State RHP JR St. Louis
CB A 37 Derek Fisher Virginia OF JR Houston
CB A 38 Mike Papi Virginia OF JR Cleveland
2 45 Jake Stinnett Maryland RHP SR Chicago Cubs
2 57 Andrew Suarez Miami LHP JR Washington
2 65 Daniel Gossett Clemson RHP JR Oakland
3 78 Mark Zagunis Virginia Tech C JR Chicago Cubs
4 108 Brett Austin NC State C JR Chicago White Sox
4 110 Sam Clay Georgia Tech LHP SO Minnesota
4 121 Pat Connaughton Notre Dame RHP JR Baltimore
5 154 Drew Van Orden Duke RHP SR Washington
5 157 Michael Russell North Carolina SS JR Tampa Bay
5 163 Chris Diaz Miami LHP JR Atlanta
6 172 Brandon Leibrandt Florida State LHP JR Philadelphia
7 213 Brandon Downes Virginia CF JR Kansas City
7 214 D.K. Carey Miami CF SR Washington
7 222 Branden Cogswell Virginia SS JR Oakland
8 241 Steve Wilkerson Clemson 2B SR Baltimore
8 250 Artie Lewicki Virginia RHP SR Detroit
9 256 Bryan Radziewski Miami LHP SR Houston
9 261 Peter Miller Florida State RHP SR Seattle
9 270 Justin Gonzalez Florida State SS 5S Arizona
9 279 Matt Campbell Clemson RHP SR Los Angeles Dodgers
10 296 Javi Salas Miami RHP SR Milwaukee

NC State's Carlos Rodon.
NC State’s Carlos Rodon.

UNC women’s tennis pace ACC All-American honors

Hayley Carter.
Hayley Carter.
Nineteen student-athletes from six different Atlantic Coast Conference institutions have been named All-Americans, as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

Of the 19 ACC student-athletes honored, 14 women earned recognition, while five men earned All-America status.

The North Carolina women’s tennis team had the most of any ACC squad, as it placed four student-athletes on the list.

The 19 student-athletes receiving All-America honors tied for the second most in league history, rivaled only by a total of 20 honorees following the 2009 season.

In order to earn ITA All-America honors, a student-athlete must meet any of the following criteria: In singles play, a student-athlete must be a Top 16 seed in NCAA Singles Championship, reach the round of 16 in the NCAA Singles Championship or finish in the Top 20 of final ITA National Singles Rankings. In doubles play, a student-athlete must be a top eight seed in NCAA Doubles Championship, reach the quarterfinals in the NCAA Doubles Championship or finish in the Top 10 of final ITA National Doubles Rankings.

ACC on 2014 ITA All-America Team (Women’s)

Beatrice Capra Duke S/D
Ester Goldfeld Duke S
Hanna Mar Duke D
Megan Kurey Georgia Tech D
Kendal Woodard Georgia Tech D
Monique Albuquerque Miami D
Clementina Riobueno Miami D
Hayley Carter North Carolina S/D
Whitney Kay North Carolina D
Jamie Loeb North Carolina S/D
Caroline Price North Carolina D
Danielle Collins Virginia S
Julia Elbaba Virginia S/D
Rachel Pierson Virginia D

ACC on 2014 ITA All-America Team (Men’s)

Hunter Harrington Clemson D
Dominique Maden Clemson D
Brayden Schnur North Carolina S
Alex Domijan Virginia S
Mitchell Frank Virginia S

Watch the entire Division II baseball finals from Cary

d2championshipgameColorado Mesa and Southern Indiana played a classic final to the NCAA Division II championships from Cary’s USA Baseball field Saturday night. Click below to watch the entire game. Southern Indiana was going for its second national championship while Colorado Mesa was going for its first. If you want to know who won prior to watching the game, please click on the game highlights link.

Game Highlights

Watch the game here:

Heels eliminate SEC champion Gators in NCAA baseball tourney

Tyler Ramirez.
Tyler Ramirez.
In an elimination game, North Carolina came up with five runs in the third inning, following a three-plus hours rain delay, to defeat SEC champion and No. 2 seeded Florida 5-2 Saturday.

Benton Moss started the game for the Tar Heels and pitched the first three innings of a scoreless game. The game paused with Carolina having men on first and third with no outs. A two-run double by Tyler Ramirez highlighted the key inning which also featured RBI hits by Alex Raburn, Adam Pate and Korey Dunbar.

Reilly Hovis came on to pitch for the Heels after the rain delay and went four innings, giving up two runs and picking up the win. Spencer Trayner pitched the final two innings.

UNC’s junior All-America shortstop Michael Russell was hit by a pitch in the second inning, removed from the game and had several stitches.

Carolina, now 35-26, outhit the Gators, which ends the season at 40-23, 11-8.

The Tar Heels will face the Long Beach State-College of Charleston loser in an elimination game Sunday at 1 p.m. UNC’s Zac Gallen will start. If the Tar Heels win that game, they will turn around and face the Saturday night winner for a chance to force a decisive game seven on Monday.

Boxscore

Campbell beats Old Dominion for first NCAA baseball tourney win

camelsCampbell scored three runs in the top of the 12th inning to top Old Dominion 4-1 Saturday in NCAA Columbia Regional action at Carolina Stadium.

The NCAA Tournament win is Campbell’s first in program history in its second trip. CU also made a NCAA Regional in 1990.

Campbell improves to 41-20 overall on the season, tying for the second most wins in program history, while Old Dominion ends its season at 36-26.

Locked in a 1-1 knot, the Camels loaded the bases on two walks and a hit by pitch with none out in the top of the 12th.

Elijah Trail broke the deadlock, pulling a single down the left field line to score Drew Butler.

With one out in the frame, Brooks Borders came through with a single to right, driving in another run, and an ODU error allowed a second run to score on the play, making it 4-1 Camels.

Ryan Thompson worked a perfect bottom of the stanza, closing it out with his fifth strikeout of the game.

Thompson (7-2) earned the five-inning relief win, allowing just two base runners.

Hector Cedano pitched seven innings, allowing just a run on five hits with a strikeout and three walks in his eighth quality start of the season. With the win, Campbell improved to 15-1 in Cedano’s starts this season.

The lefty induced three double plays on the afternoon, getting out of jams in the second, fourth and sixth innings.

Conner Overton (3-3) took the loss, surrendering two runs with two walks in 2/3. An unearned run was also charged to Victor Diaz, who pitched an inning with two hits.

ODU starter Brett Harris surrendered a run on two hits with a walk in 3 1/3. Ali Dean and Brad Gero combined for seven scoreless innings out of the Monarch bullpen.

Campbell score the game’s first run in the second, with Seth LaRue driving in Matt Parrish.

Old Dominion tied it up in the bottom of the fourth, scoring on a double play off the bat of Taylor Ostrich.

After a leadoff walk in the fourth, only one Camel reached, a Matt Nadolski single with two outs in the sixth, until the 11th.

Borders went 2-for-5 with a RBI for the Camels, while LaRue knocked in and scored a run in the win.

Tyler Urps paced ODU with a 2-for-3 day.

Campbell will face the loser of Saturday night’s South Carolina vs. Maryland game Sunday at 1 p.m.

Boxscore

– News release

Tar Heels baseball faces elimination game after losing 6-1

unchatLong Beach State had all five of its hits in a six-run fourth and Andrew Rohrbach worked into the ninth for the second-seeded Dirtbags, who defeated No. 3 seed North Carolina 6-1 Friday afternoon at the University of Florida’s McKethan Stadium. Tom Zengel and Landon Lassiter had two hits each for the Tar Heels, who will face an elimination contest Saturday at 1 p.m.

UNC will play the loser of the Florida-College of Charleston game, which was under a long weather delay Friday night.

Rohrbach and Carolina starter Trent Thornton traded zeroes until the bottom of the fourth, when LBSU (33-24) scored all six of its runs. Garrett Hampson reached on an infield single to lead off the inning before moving to third on a wild pitch and a groundout to first. The next six Dirtbag hitters would reach against Thornton (7-4) and Trevor Kelley, and when the dust settled Long Beach led 6-0.

For Thornton, the 3.1-inning start was the shortest of his career and the first of 2014 that didn’t last at least five innings. Kelley allowed a two-run double Colton Vaughn to cap the scoring, but the six runs would prove to be plenty for Rohrbach (7-2).

The redshirt sophomore who threw just four innings in junior college in 2013 needed just 94 pitches to work into the ninth. Carolina (34-26) didn’t get a runner past second until the ninth, when Michael Russell led off with a double off the wall. Two batters later, Lassiter singled home pinch-runner Adam Pate to put the Tar Heels on the board.

Long Beach closer Ty Provencher got the final two outs after Lassiter’s RBI hit, with a Tyler Ramirez blast to the wall in right center ending it and sending the Tar Heels to the loser’s bracket.

Kelley, Henry Sisson and A.J. Bogucki retired the final 14 hitters they faced, as the Dirtbags had just one baserunner all afternoon outside the fourth inning.

UNC will send Benton Moss to the hill in Saturday’s elimination game against the loser of Friday night’s Florida-College of Charleston matchup. With a victory Saturday, Carolina would play again Sunday at 1.

UNC opens NCAA baseball play Friday afternoon

uncbaseballgloveFor the 13th consecutive year, North Carolina will have a chance to play for a spot in the College World Series. The Tar Heels earned an at-large bid and will be the No. 3 seed in the 2014 NCAA Gainesville Regional, the NCAA baseball committee announced Monday. Carolina will open the event against second-seeded Long Beach State Friday at 1 p.m., with host Florida and CAA champion College of Charleston rounding out the four-team field.

Carolina is making its 29th NCAA appearance all-time and 15th in 16 seasons under head coach Mike Fox. The Tar Heels are 59-31 in NCAA play under Fox and have won 49 games in the postseason since 2006, the most in the country.

UNC and Long Beach State have met just once, a Tar Heel win in Chapel Hill in 1992. The Dirtbags enter the tournament with a 32-24 record after finishing second in the Big West Conference. Florida (40-21) and Carolina last met in 2005 at the NCAA Gainesville Regional, and the Tar Heels are 16-12 all-time against the Gators. Carolina and Charleston (41-17) met in this season’s opening weekend, with CofC taking two of three.

2014 NCAA Gainesville Regional Schedule
Friday, May 30
Game 1: 1 p.m. – No. 3 North Carolina (34-25) vs. No. 2 Long Beach State (32-24) (ESPN3)
Game 2: 7 p.m. – No. 4 College of Charleston (41-17) vs. No. 1 Florida (40-21) (ESPN3)

Saturday, May 31
Game 3: TBA – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 (ESPN3)
Game 4: TBA – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 (ESPN3)

Sunday, June 1
Game 5: TBA – Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 (ESPN3)
Game 6: TBA – Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 (ESPN3)

Monday, June 2
Game 7: (if necessary) – TBA – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (ESPN3)

– News release

Seven ACC teams, but not NC State, make NCAA tourney

accbaseballSeven Atlantic Coast Conference teams, including two national seeds, will be among the 64-team field when the 2014 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship gets underway with regional play on Friday.

The seven bids ranks second among all conferences nationally. It marks the sixth straight season that the league has sent at least seven teams to the tournament, and the ninth time in the last 10 years.

Virginia was awarded the No. 3 national seed, while Florida State is No. 5. At least two ACC squads have earned a national seed in five straight tournaments.

The two longest all-time tournament streaks were extended this year. Miami is making its 42nd consecutive regional appearance, while Florida State is in for the 37th straight time.

Virginia – which earned a national seed for the fourth time in the last five years and is making its 11th straight appearance – will join Florida State and Miami as regional host sites, as previously announced Sunday night.

Georgia Tech earned the league’s automatic bid as the ACC Champion and will head to Oxford, Mississippi, for the Ole Miss Regional. The Yellow Jackets have advanced to the postseason in 28 of the last 30 years.

Three ACC squads earned at-large berths on Monday. Maryland – which is in the tournament for the first time since 1971 – will be in the Columbia Regional hosted by South Carolina. Clemson will travel to Nashville, Tennessee, and will open play against Oregon at Vanderbilt. North Carolina is in the Gainesville Regional, hosted by Florida, and will face Long Beach State on Friday.

Clemson is making its 27th appearance in the last 28 years, while North Carolina has earned in a bid in 16 of the last 17.

2014 will be Florida State’s 52nd trip to the postseason and the 43rd for Miami, the second and third most, respectively, in NCAA Baseball history. Clemson has the fifth-most appearances with 39, followed by Georgia Tech (30), North Carolina (29), Virginia (14), and Maryland (4).

Each of the 16 regionals features four teams, playing a double-elimination format. The regionals are scheduled to be conducted from Friday, May 30, to Monday, June 2 (if necessary). Selection of the eight super regional hosts will be announced on www.NCAA.com/cws, Monday, June 2 at approximately 11 p.m. (ET).

The 68th Men’s College World Series begins play Saturday, June 14, at the TD Ameritrade Park Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska.

2014 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship (all times Eastern)

Baton Rouge Regional hosted by LSU

#1 LSU (44-14-1) vs. #4 Southeastern La. (37-23), 3 p.m., ESPN3

#2 Houston (44-15) vs. #3 Bryant (42-14), 8 p.m., ESPN3

Bloomington Regional hosted by Indiana

#1 Indiana (42-13) vs. #4 Youngstown State (16-36), 7 p.m., ESPN3

#2 Indiana State (35-16) vs. #3 Stanford (30-23), 2 p.m., ESPN3

Charlottesville Regional hosted by Virginia

#1 Virginia (44-13) vs. #4 Bucknell (30-19-1), 2 p.m., ESPN3

#2 Arkansas (38-23) vs. #3 Liberty (41-16), 7 p.m., ESPNU

Coral Gables Regional hosted by Miami (Florida)

#1 Miami (Florida) (41-17) vs. #4 Bethune-Cookman (26-31), 7 p.m., ESPN3

#2 Texas Tech (40-18) vs. #3 Columbia (29-18), 2 p.m., ESPN3

Corvallis Regional hosted by Oregon State

#1 Oregon State (42-12) vs. #4 North Dakota State (25-24), 11 p.m., ESPNU

#2 UNLV (35-23) vs. #3 UC Irvine (35-22), 5 p.m., ESPN3

Columbia Regional hosted by South Carolina

#1 South Carolina (42-16) vs. #4 Campbell (40-19), 7 p.m., ESPN3

#2 Maryland (36-21) vs. #3 Old Dominion (36-24), 1 p.m., ESPN3

Fort Worth Regional hosted by TCU
#1 TCU (42-15) vs. #4 Siena (26-231), 8 p.m., ESPN3
#2 Dallas Baptist (40-19) vs. #3 Sam Houston State (41-217), 3:30 p.m., ESPN3

Gainesville Regional hosted by Florida

#1 Florida (40-21) vs. #4 Col. of Charleston (41-17), 7 p.m., ESPN3

#2 Long Beach State (32-24) vs. #3 North Carolina (34-25), 1 p.m., ESPN3

Houston Regional hosted by Rice

#1 Rice (41-18) vs. #4 George Mason (34-20), 8 p.m., ESPN3

#2 Texas (38-18) vs. #3 Texas A&M (33-24), 4 p.m., ESPNU

Lafayette Regional hosted by La.-Lafayette

#1 La.-Lafayette (53-7) vs. Jackson State (31-23), 7 p.m., ESPN3

#2 Mississippi State (37-22) vs. #3 San Diego State (42-19), 2 p.m., ESPN3

Louisville Regional hosted by Louisville

#1 Louisville (45-15) vs. #4 Kent State (36-21), 6 p.m., ESPN3

#2 Kentucky (35-23) vs. #3 Kansas (34-24), 2 p.m., ESPN3

Nashville Regional hosted by Vanderbilt

#1 Vanderbilt (41-18) vs. #4 Xavier (29-27), 8 p.m., ESPN3

#2 Oregon (42-18) vs. #3 Clemson (36-23), 1 p.m., ESPN3

Oxford Regional hosted by Ole Miss

#1 Ole Miss (41-18) vs. #4 Jacksonville State (36-25), 8 p.m., ESPN3

#2 Washington (39-15-1) vs. #3 Georgia Tech (36-25), 4 p.m., ESPN3

San Luis Obispo Regional hosted by Cal Poly

#1 Cal Poly (45-10) vs. #4 Sacramento State (39-22), 9 p.m., ESPN3

#2 Arizona State (33-22) vs. #3 Pepperdine (39-16), 4 p.m., ESPN3

Stillwater Regional hosted by Oklahoma State

#1 Oklahoma State (45-16) vs. #4 Binghamton (25-25), 7 p.m., ESPN3

#2 Nebraska (40-19) vs. #3 Cal State Fullerton (32-22), 1 p.m., ESPNU

Tallahassee Regional hosted by Florida St.
#1 Florida State (43-15) vs. #4 Ga. Southern (39-21), 6 p.m., ESPN3
#2 Alabama (34-22) vs. #3 Kennesaw State (37-21), Noon, ESPN3

Tweets: Georgia Tech wins ACC baseball title

ACC commissioner John Swofford congratulates Georgia Tech team on winning the ACC title.
ACC commissioner John Swofford congratulates Georgia Tech team on winning the ACC title.
Georgia Tech came from a run down to score six in the final three innings to defeat Maryland 9-4 in an unlikely Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament final.

This is the ninth ACC tournament title for Georgia Tech baseball tying Clemson for the most tourney titles. Miami and Florida State were considered the favorites to meet in the finals but each managed only one win in pool play.

The victory means that the Yellow Jackets get the ACC’s automatic berth in the NCAA baseball tournament. The other teams will await their fate when the NCAA selection committee names the field on Monday.

Below are our game tweets from Sunday’s ACC tournament final.

ACC honoring Armed Forces today. 26-year vet Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Bender threw out the first pitch – a strike.

Starters for today’s ACC title game: MD, Jake Drosser, 4-1 with a 2.18 ERA in 10 start. GT’s Devin Stanton, 5-3 with a 2.13 ERA in 10 starts.

First pitch for ACC baseball tourney final is 1:06 pm. Ga. Tech at the plate.

Ga Tech’s Thomas Smith doubles to the left field wall, driving in Matt Gonzalez with the first run of the game. GT 1, MD 0. 2 out, 1 on.

Ga Tech’s AJ Murray doubles to left center gap to drive in Smith. GT 2, MD 0. Still one on with two out.

MD escapes without further damage in the top of the first. GT 2, MD 0.

Ga Tech’s rightfielder Ryan Peurifoy records three putouts as MD goes scoreless in the bottom of the first. GT 2, MD 0.

Double play ends Ga Tech half of the second. GT 2, MD 0.

MD’s Black Schmit goes yard for the first time this season. Ball bounced on the top of the fence just over the glove of Matt Gonzalez. 2-1.

No further damage as Ga Tech leads Maryland 2-1 after two innings.

Three up, three down for Ga Tech in the third. MD coming to bat in the bottom of the 3rd with the score 2-1 GT.

Maryland strands a runner on third as the Terps still trail Ga Tech 2-1 after three innings.

Ga Tech’s Thomas Smith led off the 4th with a double down the left field line and was singled in by DH AJ Murray making it GT 3, MD 1.

Ga. Tech leaves one on in the top of the fourth. GT leads 3-1 in the bottom of the 4th. MD has men on the corners with 2 outs.

Maryland’s Anthony Papio bloops one to right to score Blake Schmit with the Terps’ second run. GT, 3-2. MD has two on, two out in the 4th.

Ga Tech making a pitching change. Starter Devin Stanton is out and Matt Grimes is in. Grimes is a 6-foot-6 righthander with a 4.08 ERA.

Stanton finishes with 54 pitches, giving up two runs and five hits in three and two-thirds innings.

Maryland leaves the bases loaded but comes up with 1 run in the fourth. Ga. Tech 3, MD 2 after four innings.

Ga Tech goes three up, three down but still lead 3-2 midway through the 5th. Each team has five hits.

Maryland goes quietly in the bottom of the 5th. GT 3, MD 2 after 5.

Ga Tech threatens with a runner in scoring position but fail to score. Still GT 3, MD 2 midway through the sixth inning.

Maryland reliever Bobby Ruse pitched that last half inning and survived a lead off double by GT’s Gonzalez.

GT’s Grimes walks leadoff batter Schmit and yields a single to Tim Lewis. Yellow Jackets bullpen gets busy. RP Jonathan Roberts warming up.

Nick Cieri loads the bases for MD with a single to center. Meeting at the mound.

MD’s Anthony Papio singles sharply to center driving in the tying run. Bases loaded, no outs. MD 3, Ga Tech 3.

MD’s Kevin Martir grounds into a double play but the go-ahead run comes home from third. MD 4, GT 3.

I would have been tempted to go home on that play had I been GT freshman third baseman Brandon Gold to keep the runner from scoring.

A ground out ends the threat but the Terps came up with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 4-3 lead. MD has now outhit GT 8-6.

GT’s Brandon Gold drops in a double to right center and advances on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Peurifoy. Tying run on third with one out.

Pitching change for Maryland as 6-foot-2 sophomore righthander Kevin Mooney is warming up.

Mitch Earnest drives in Gold with a sacrifice fly to medium right field. Score tied at 4. Two outs, nobody on in the top of the 7th.

Maryland’s Mooney strikes out Mott Hyde to end the top of the 7th. Score tied at 4-4 going to the bottom of the inning.

Nice rendition God Bless America by Richard Hodges midway through the 7th inning.

GT’s senior reliever Jonathan Roberts gets Maryland in order in the bottom of the 7th. Score tied at 4-4 going to the 8th.

GT’s Daniel Spingola leads off the top of the 8th with a slicing double to left field. Hits are even at 8 a piece now.

On a sacrifice bunt attempt by Matt Gonzalez, MD pitcher Mooney air mails one into the stands and Spingola comes around from 2nd to score.

Sacrifice bunt moves GT’s Gonzalez to third. One out, man at third. 5-4 in favor of Georgia Tech has a 5-4 lead with a runner on second and no outs.

GT’s AJ Murray draws a walk. Runners at the corner with one out.

Wild pitch moves Murray into scoring position at second and eliminates the double play chance.

GT’s Connor Justus singles up the middle, plating two as Yellow Jackets open it up a bit at 7-4 in the top of the 8th. Still just 1 out.

MD senior lefty Ben Brewster coming in to pitch, replacing Mooney, who gave up 3 earned runs on 3 hits and a walk in one inning of work.

Maryland catcher Kevin Martir picks off GT’s Justus at second ending the top of the 8th. But GT scores 3 to take a 7-4 lead.

GT pitcher Roberts nearly hits Schmit and then does hit him, drawing Schmit’s ire. Cooler heads prevail as freshman lefty Ben Parr comes on.

GT’s Parr strikes out MD’s Tim Lewis. Catcher and pitcher both fired up. One out, one on in the Terp half of the 8th. Still GT 7. MD 4.

Maryland’s Nick Cieri grounds out weakly to first while Schmit advances to second with two outs.

GT’s Parr gets MD’s Papio looking. Terps will have one more chance to tie or take the lead. GT up in the top of the 9th ahead of MD 7-4.

Terp pitcher Brewster strikes out two batters but then he hits one batter and GT’s Matt Gonzalez drives in a run. GT 8, MD 4.

Maryland freshman Tayler Stiles takes over for Brewster on the mound. Stiles has a 3-2 record and a 4.30 ERA.

Thomas Smith’s sharp liner off the pitcher results in a single. GT not through as Jackets have runners on the corners with 2 outs.

A few Ga. Tech fans start an A-C-C, A-C-C chant as AJ Murray singles in GT’s 9th run. Two on, two out. GT 9, MD 4.

MD finally out of the inning as Justus strikes out. But GT picks up 2 more to extend the lead to 9-4. That’s 6 runs over the last 3 innings.

Heading into the bottom of the 9th, GT has 13 hits, compared to 8 for MD, and has committed no errors while the Terps had 1 costly error.

Georgia Tech soph lefty Sam Clay, now in the game, walks the leadoff batter, Maryland’s Kevin Martir. Clay has 8 saves and a 1.35 ERA.

MD’s Charlie White singles up the middle to put two on with nobody out but a nifty 4-6-3 double play leaves the Maryland with just one more out.

Clay drills Brandon Lowe in the back to keep Maryland’s dim hopes alive. Men on the corners with two outs. GT fans standing, can taste it.

Clay strikes out Jose Cuas to end it. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are your ACC baseball champs, earning an automatic berth to the NCAAs.

Georgia Tech completes an impressive effort with six runs over the last three innings to come back from a 4-3 deficit to win 9-4.

Matt Gonzalez and AJ Murray led the way for the Yellow Jackets. Gonzalez went 4 for 5 with 3 runs while Murray went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI.

This is the ninth ACC tournament title for Georgia Tech baseball tying Clemson for the most tourney titles.

Good afternoon from Greensboro’s NewBridge Bank Park where Georgia Tech defeats Maryland 9-4 to win the ACC baseball championship.

Boxscore

Heels make a strong case to NCAA selection committee with 13-7 win

Parks Jordan.
Parks Jordan.
North Carolina scored six times in the eighth to break a 7-7 tie and beat Maryland 13-7 Saturday in its final game of pool play at the 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship.

The Tar Heels, now 34-25, rapped out 15 hits and matched a season high with 13 runs in making a good final appearance before the NCAA tournament committee decides who to invite to the playoffs.

“I have no idea what this means for Monday (NCAA selection day),” UNC coach Mike Fox said. “I’m not a politician. We’ve done what we’ve done and we’ll just wait and see what our fate is on Monday.”

North Carolina seemingly had opened up the close game once before, in the fifth, when the Tar Heels collected four runs to grab control of the game at 7-2.

But in the seventh, Maryland, against two of Carolina’s best pitchers in Zach Gallen and Tyler Thornton, used six hits to score five runs to tie it at 7-7.

Then the improbable happened. Carolina had an even bigger inning. Pinch hitter Joe Dudek led things off with a single. Playing for one run, Korey Dunbar advanced pinch runner Michael Massardo to second with a sacrifice bunt.

After a walk put men on first and second with one out, Wood Myers drilled a single to right center that scored Massardo with the go-ahead run. Massardo couldn’t tell if the defender had made a diving catch or not and he held up a second despite UNC coach Mike Fox, coaching third, waving him home. As a result there was a bang-bang play at the plate where it was ruled that Massardo’s hand got under the tag of Maryland catcher Kevin Martir, who argued to no avail.

Three straight RBI singles by Landon Lassiter, Skye Bolt and Tyler Ramirez made it 11-7 Carolina. But the Tar Heels weren’t through as Alex Raburn drove in a run with a deep sacrifice fly and Parks Jordan singled in another run to give Carolina a commanding 13-7 advantage.

The Terps managed to get one on in the ninth but had no such big inning left as Carolina celebrated the victory.

“It’s deflating to lose that kind of lead but I’m proud of our guys for coming back and winning,” Coach Fox said. “It was a big win for us.”

Fox said that coaches and players talk about being mentally tough, resilient and confident and not letting anything break their spirit. “It’s easy to say but it’s harder to do,” he said. “You just gotta keep playin.”

The Tar Heels, much younger and inexperienced than recent years, now just have to wait to see if they keep playin’ this season.

“We’re normally used to seeing whether or not we’re a national seed,” said Parks Jordan, “but it is what it is. We’re going to take what we get and hopefully we get placed somewhere and try and play the best ball we can and continue on.”

Maryland, 36-20, continues on to the championship game Sunday against Georgia Tech despite losing after going 2-1 in pool play.

The Tar Heels went 1-2 in pool play and 2-2 overall in the tournament.