College Roundup: Eagles Soar Into ACC Tournament — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

Strike One: BC Back In ACC Tournament

HOW THE TOP 25 FARED

(1) Florida: split DH at (8) Louisiana State,lost, 7-3, and won, 6-2, in seven innings

(2) Texas A&M: lost, 3-2, vs. (6) Mississippi

(3) Mississippi State: won, 9-4, vs. Arkansas

(4) Miami: split DH at (14) Florida State, won, 8-5, and lost, 3-2, in 10 innings at (14)

(5) Texas Tech: lost, 8-7, vs. West Virginia

(6) Mississippi: won, 3-2, at (2) Texas A&M

(7) Louisville: won, 9-4, at Wake Forest

(8) Louisiana State: split DH vs. (1) Florida, won, 7-3, and lost, 6-2, in seven innings

(9) Virginia: won, 4-1, vs. Virginia Tech

(10) South Carolina: won, 9-7, at Alabama

(11) Tulane: won, 4-3, at Houston

(12) Vanderbilt: won, 4-3, vs. Auburn

(13) Southern Mississippi: lost, 13-8, at Florida International

(14) Florida State:split DH vs. (4) Miami, lost, 8-5, and won, 3-2, in 10 innings at (14)

(15) Texas Christian: won, 9-3, vs. Kansas State

(16) Rice: lost, 10-5, at Louisiana Tech

(17) Florida Atlantic: won, 4-1, vs. Western Kentucky

(18) Cal State Fullerton: won, 8-3, vs. Hawaii

(19) North Carolina State: won, 10-1, vs. North Carolina

(20) Oklahoma State: won, 8-1, vs. Kansas

(21) Minnesota: lost, 6-5, in 10 innings vs. Ohio State

(22) Coastal Carolina: won, 23-4, in seven innings vs. Campbell

(23) Clemson: won, 6-2, at Notre Dame

(24) Bryant: off

(25) Long Beach State: won, 14-1, at UC Davis

The Boston College Eagles went into Saturday knowing that the odds were stacked against them. To earn an ACC tournament berth—their first since 2010—they would not only need North Carolina to lose against North Carolina State, but they’d also need to win both games of a doubleheader, on the road, against Georgia Tech.

No problem. UNC fell to the Wolfpack, 10-1, and the Eagles took both games of the doubleheader, 8-3 and 7-6, staving off a late Yellow Jackets rally to earn their way back into the tournament.

It was a tall order—but nothing too tall for the Eagles.

“It was awesome; we knew what we had to do,” BC head coach Mike Gambino said. “This ball club, this team, we wouldn’t have it any other way. We know it’s never going to be easy for us. We know that, we love that, and we take pride in that.”

The Eagles (31-19, 13-15 ACC) have made a habit of defying expectations this season, starting with an ACC-opening series win on the road against N.C. State and continuing with series wins against top ACC powers Virginia and Louisville. The team’s 31 wins are its most since 2009, and its 13 ACC wins are its most since 2010. With that resume, and an RPI ranking of 35, according to WarrenNolan.com, the Eagles have the chance to make it back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2009.

Gambino said his players love playing the underdog role. They embrace the weather and facility challenges that are part of the Northeast baseball package, and they try not to dwell on the outside expectations for their team.

“It’s something we’ve built the last couple of years,” Gambino said. “It’s something that we’ve talked about it when these kids came into this program, ‘all we care about is us. Not any outside expectations or what other people say about us.’ We don’t care at all.

“We have so much respect for Georgia Tech and how good of a ball club they are. That team has a chance to go to Omaha . . . And we knew that. We knew we were going into a spot where, outside of our roster, nobody thinks we have a chance to win this baseball game”

Boston College relied on the talented right arm of junior Justin Dunn in the first game. A potential first-round pick, the closer-turned-starter delivered his first career complete game, holding the Yellow Jackets to three runs (one earned) on six hits, striking out nine. The second game was more topsy-turvy, with Georgia Tech scoring three runs in the seventh to make it a one-run game, but lefthander Jesse Adams managed to shut the door in the final two frames.

With Saturday’s wins, Boston College earned the eighth seed in the tournament and will face a rematch with No. 9 seed Georgia Tech in a play-in game Tuesday. Despite getting swept by Louisville, Wake Forest (32-23, 13-17) held on to the No. 10 seed in the tournament, thanks to a tiebreaker with the Tar Heels, whom they swept earlier in the year.

After missing a regional berth last season, the Tar Heels (34-21, 13-17) find themselves in a sticky situation again. They’ve won just two series since the start of April, and though their RPI sits at No. 15, not making the conference tournament is a blow to their NCAA tournament resume.

Miami, Louisville, Virginia and Florida State are the top four seeds of the ACC tournament.

Strike Two: Vols Round Out SEC Tournament

The Tennessee Volunteers did not entirely control their postseason fate Saturday. They needed some help from Auburn and Arkansas—both of whom were swept by Vanderbilt and Mississippi State, respectively.

The Vols also needed a win at Georgia to slide into the 12-team SEC tournament as the No. 12 seed, and thanks to a ninth-inning rally, they were able to accomplish that feat.

Tied, 2-2, with the Bulldogs in the ninth, center fielder Brodie Leftridge delivered the go-ahead RBI with a single, then top draft prospect Nick Senzel padded the lead with a two-run double. Lefthander Aaron Sota then threw a scoreless bottom of the ninth to seal a 5-2 win, a series win and an extension of Tennessee’s (29-27, 9-21 SEC) season.

“These guys didn’t want to take their uniforms off,” head coach Dave Serrano told utsports.com. “I saw this team today—they knew what they were playing for. They lived every pitch together, and that’s what this coaching staff has tried to get them to do throughout most of the year . . . We stood with each other, and what a way to finish.”

The Vols will match up with No. 5-seed Louisiana State, a team that finished the conference slate red hot.

The Tigers won 11 of their final 12 games, including two against Florida this weekend, knocking the Gators off of their perch as the No. 1 team in the country and climbing into the top 10 in the RPI.

“Our team has grown so much over the past couple of months, and we’re looking certainly forward to the postseason,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri told lsusports.net. “We talked about finishing strong and winning our final 12 games of the season, and we nearly pulled it off, winning 11 in a row. We’ll go to the SEC tournament, try to win as many games as we can, and put ourselves in the best possible position for the NCAA tournament.”

The top four seeds of the tournament will be, in order, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Florida. The Gamecocks (42-13, 20-9) won the SEC East for the first time since 2012. The Bulldogs (40-14-1, 21-9) meanwhile, won the SEC regular season title for the first time since 1989.

“Mississippi State has always been a special place to me,” head coach John Cohen told hailstate.com. “To play for a conference championship team when I was in school and then to come back to win one as a coach is special. We still have a lot of business to take care of this year. However, this is a remarkable accomplishment.”

Strike Three: Florida Atlantic Takes CUSA Crown

Florida Atlantic, Marshall, Southern Miss and Rice all entered the weekend with the chance to win the regular season Conference USA title.

Florida Atlantic is the last team standing.

The Owls (37-15, 21-8 CUSA) finished off a sweep of 10th-place Western Kentucky with a 4-1 win Saturday to earn the conference crown.

FAU sophomore righthander Marc Stewart allowed just one run in six innings, and shortstop C.J. Chatham went 2-for-3 with an RBI in the win. It was a rewarding finish for an Owls team that has faced tremendous off-the-field adversity this year in the form of head coach John McCormack and catcher Kevin Abraham both battling cancer.

“I can’t be more excited and proud of the team,” McCormack told fausports.com. “They just kept believing all year in each other and the program. It is well documented what we have gone through as a group and today is a culmination of us getting through some of our challenges. It is a great day.”

Second-place Marshall missed the cut by just a half game, losing its regular season finale, 6-5, to Old Dominion. Third-place Southern Miss, a projected host, might’ve hurt its hosting chances with a sweep at the hands of Florida International. Rice was also swept on the road, at Louisiana Tech—a team that continues to build its NCAA tournament resume.

Both Owls, Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech are in the best position for the NCAA tournament, each with favorable RPI rankings. The conference ranks fifth among conferences in RPI, according to WarrenNolan.com.

Though its resume might dictate it, Florida Atlantic is not submitting a hosting bid and therefore will not host.

The Lineup

Ronnie Dawson, of, Ohio State: The Buckeyes have finished the regular season on a tear, and Dawson has been in the middle of most of it. On Saturday, he willed Ohio State to a 6-5 series-clinching win over Big Ten champion Minnesota by hitting a game-tying home run in the eighth-inning and hitting the go-ahead home run in the top of the 10th. Ohio State earned a No. 4 seed in the Big Ten tournament.

Adam Haseley, lhp/of, Virginia: Haseley’s move to the weekend rotation has been a major reason why the Cavaliers are now in the national seed discussion. The lefthander delivered one of the best outings of his career in the finale against Virginia Tech, throwing a complete-game two-hitter, allowing just an unearned run and striking out three. The two-way sophomore also picked up two hits and an RBI at the plate.

Jackson Lueck, of, Florida State: The freshman outfielder had a big day at the plate in a doubleheader split with ACC rival Miami. Lueck went 5-for-8 between the two games, driving in two runs—the biggest of which came in the form of a walk-off home run in the second game of the twinbill.

Alex Dunlap, c, Stanford: The junior had a career-high five hits and hit the game-winning home run in the top of the 12th inning against Washington in an epic Pac 12 showdown. Outfielder Quinn Brodey also deserves mention here; he drove in five runs in the 8-7 Cardinal win.

Zach Smith, 1b, Sam Houston State: The senior drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning to lead the Bearkats to a 5-4 win over Houston Baptist, sealing the Southland Conference title and initiating a Bearkats dogpile.

Jake Willsey, 2b, Tulane: Tulane clinched the American Athletic Conference title in a wild game at Houston that included a three-and-a-half hour rain delay and three Green Wave home runs. Willsey’s home run in the seventh, after play resumed, proved to be the difference in the game, with the Green Wave beating the Cougars, 4-3.

Kyle Gray, of, West Virginia: Gray went 3-for-5, drove in four runs and hit the go-ahead RBI single in the ninth inning to help West Virginia salvage a series against Big 12 champion Texas Tech, 8-7. The Mountaineers earned a No. 4 seed in the conference tournament.

Jayson Rose, rhp, Utah: The surprising Utes are still holding onto first place in the Pac 12 and won the opener at California thanks to three home runs and eight strong innings from Rose. The righthander struck out six and allowed just two runs to earn his eighth win of the season.

Michael Paez, ss, Coastal Carolina: The Chanticleers finished the season with an offensive explosion, scoring 23 runs in just seven innings against Campbell. The Chanticleers hit a school-record seven home runs in the contest, with Paez hitting two—his 12th and 13th of the year.