Last Friday, 64 teams had hopes of reaching the College World Series. Beginning today, 16 teams still have those hopes alive, as the NCAA Baseball Super Regionals begin (best of three series). Four ACC teams are still alive and all four are hosting.

Super Regional action begins at 1pm ET today on ESPN2 as the number one team in the country, North Carolina, hosts South Carolina. Both teams won their regional on Monday, though the Tarheels needed a lot more innings to advance. How much is left in the tank for the UNC pitchers? This weekend will tell. They will need All-American third baseman Colin Moran to step up his game to be CWS bound. These two teams will then play on Saturday at noon ET on ESPN, before playing the if-necessary game on Sunday at 1pm ET on ESPNU.

UPDATE: The opening game was postponed and the series will start on Saturday at noon ET with Kent Emanuel on the mound for the Tarheels.

NC State is the lone non-national seed to be hosting, as number eight Oregon was upset by Rice. They begin play at 4pm ET in Raleigh on ESPN2. They continue the series on Saturday, also at 4pm ET on ESPN2. If necessary, the series will conclude on Sunday at 4pm ET on ESPNU. Carlos Rodon, the Wolfpack ace, leads the nation in strikeouts. Since he started Saturday’s win versus William & Mary, not sure if he will be able to go in Friday’s opener.

UPDATE: This opening game was also postponed until Saturday at 4pm ET.

Florida State, the number seven national seed, starts play on Saturday at noon ET on ESPNU versus Indiana. The Hoosiers are making their first Super Regional appearance. The Seminoles were the most impressive team in the regionals, as their offense was virtually unstoppable. That came after going 0-4 the week prior (three of those games coming in the ACC Tournament). On Sunday, the two teams will play at 1pm ET on ESPNU and if necessary, conclude the series on Monday at 1pm ET on ESPN2.

Virginia, the number six national seed, will host Mississippi State beginning on Saturday at 1pm ET on ESPN2. The two teams will meet again on Sunday at 7pm ET on ESPNU, before an if necessary game on Monday at 4pm ET on ESPN2. The Cavaliers have gotten just enough offense and very good pitching to get this far.

Will all four ACC teams represent in the CWS in Omaha? After Monday, we will know.

» Continue reading “NCAA Baseball Super Regionals Begin TODAY”

The Duke women’s basketball team will be participating in the upcoming season’s Jimmy V Classic.

In the 12th annual women’s game on Tuesday, December 17th, the Blue Devils will welcome…the defending national champion UConn Huskies to Cameron Indoor Stadium. It will be broadcast live at 7pm ET on ESPN2. It is the second time the Blue Devils have hosted the event.

The Duke-UConn matchup will conclude the seventh annual Jimmy V Week, which benefits the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Over the last six years, the event has raised

$6,761,437 in total contributions for The V Foundation for Cancer Research, including a record-setting number of $1,591,108 in 2013.

All-time, the Blue Devils are 4-0 in the Jimmy V Classic and beat then-number seven Texas A&M the last time they hosted the event back in 2010. It will be the fifth straight season that Duke and UConn will meet and Duke is still looking for a competitive game (they usually get blown out). I’ll be praying that this is finally the year that the Blue Devils can knock off the Huskies.

On the men’s side (also on December 17th), Cincinnati will play Pittsburgh, followed by Florida against Memphis at Madison Square Garden. It will be televised on ESPN starting at 7pm ET.

*For more on the event, go to jimmyvclassic.com.

On Tuesday, Duke announced seven members that will be inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday, October 11th. The next day, they will be honored at halftime of the Duke-Navy football game. The seven members are Matt Andresen (fencing), Wes Chesson (football), Julie Exum Breuer (tennis), John Rennie (29 year men’s soccer coach), Jay Heaps (soccer), Dr. Georgia Schweitzer Beasley (basketball), and Jason Williams (basketball). The first four I do not know much about, but the last three I do.

Heaps was an all-time favorite of mine as a bench player on the basketball team and I would always hope for him to get into a game. It wasn’t until his junior season that I realized he was a really good soccer player. He was named the Player of the Year in his senior season of 1998, along with the Scholar Athlete of the Year, and was named the MLS Rookie of the Year in 1999. While at Duke, he was a two-time All-American, a four-time All-ACC player, and a four-time All-ACC Tournament member. Over his four year career, the soccer team went 61-23-1.

Heaps went on to play eleven years in the MLS. In 2011, he became the head coach of the New England Revolution.

Schweitzer was a two-time ACC Player of the Year (2000-2001) while also being named a first-team All-American her senior season. She helped guide the Blue Devils to its first Final Four appearance and national championship appearance in 1999. She was named the East Regional Final MVP after scoring 22 points and hauling in five rebounds against three-time reigning champion Tennessee. Schweitzer was the first Blue Devil to amass 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists, and 150 steals over a career.

Williams was one of my favorite Blue Devils to watch play over his three year career (on my favorite team to watch). He was a two-time Player of the Year, which culminated with the Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award his junior season. Oh and he won the 2001 National Championship as a sophomore, a season in which he averaged 21.6 points per game. In his last two seasons at Duke, he led the ACC in scoring average. He was also the National Freshman of the Year in 1999, along with ACC Tournament MVP. Over his career (108 games), Williams scored 2,079 points.

Williams was the second overall pick in the NBA Draft in 2001 by the Chicago Bulls, but a motorcycle accident derailed his career. He is currently an ESPN basketball analyst. His #22 was retired on February 5, 2003 and that jersey can be seen hanging from the rafters at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

*To find out more about all seven, click HERE.

On the final night of the NCAA Regionals, one more ACC school advanced to the Super Regionals.

Number two national seed Vanderbilt beat Georgia Tech, 7-1 to head to the Super Regionals this coming weekend. The Commodores will be hosting Louisville.

I mentioned on Saturday that I thought senior ace Buck Farmer might pitch again for the Yellow Jackets. Well, he did tonight and it wasn’t a great one. He allowed two runs on five hits and four walks over just four innings. After throwing 58 pitches on Saturday, he threw 69 pitches tonight.

GT only collected four hits and scored their lone run (which was unearned) in the top of the seventh.

And then to the crazy, shocking game of the night (which started in a two hour rain delay). It actually became the battle for the final spot in the Super Regionals by the time it ended.

The number one national seed, North Carolina, led 6-3 over Florida Atlantic heading into the top of the ninth with ace (and ACC Pitcher of the Year) Kent Emanuel on the mound. He had just pitched on Saturday and was not his best. He definitely was not his best in the ninth. Emanuel allowed a leadoff homerun and then loaded the bases (with two walks) before recording a strikeout. So with two outs and leading by two runs, Emanuel walked in a run to cut the UNC lead to 6-5. The Tarheels finally pulled Emanuel and brought in fellow starter Benton Moss. Tyler Rocklein greeted him rudely with a GRAND SLAM to tie the game. He went nuts and Boshamer Stadium was silent (except for the FAU fans).

It then got crazier. Cody Stubbs led off the bottom of the ninth with a double and Michael Russell singled to put runners on the corners. After Skye Bolt struck out, Russell stole second base. Mike Zolk then singled to drive in the tying runs and Boshamer Stadium was once again rocking. UNC could not win the game and it went into extra innings.

In the top of the 12th, Chris McCue could not put away hitters in his third inning of work. He hit the second batter of the inning and then walked his fourth with two outs. He went 1-0 to Levi Meyer and on the next pitch, Meyer hit a three-run homerun with two outs. That gave FAU the 11-8 lead and was the only hit McCue allowed.

» Continue reading “Tarheels Win Crazy Long Game to Earn Final Super Regional Spot”

My first memories of Duke basketball are their back-to-back championships in 1991-1992. One of those seasons (I cannot remember which) I even won my Dad’s office pool for the NCAA Tournament (I was 10 or 11).

Grant Hill’s Duke jersey hanging in the Cameron rafters.

Of course I remember Christian Laettner‘s shot (who doesn’t). I remember Bobby Hurley and his amazing passing ability and floor leadership (and later on his accident). I also remember Grant Hill and his box cut (and of course his athletic ability, which allowed him to score from anywhere). These three quickly became my all-time favorites.

Hill announced his retirement from the NBA on Saturday night during the TNT NBA postgame show before the Eastern Conference Finals game. It was a career that many thought would have ended a long time ago after many ankle issues that derailed his career in Orlando. Yet somehow, he lasted 19 seasons and came back strong with the Phoenix Suns.

Hill had an illustrious NBA career that started in Detroit. He was the 1995 Rookie of the Year and was on his way to NBA stardom. I still have a poster of Hill with the Pistons hanging on the back of the door to my old bedroom. He was a seven-time All-Star and won an Olympic gold medal. He averaged 16.7 points, six rebounds, and 4.1 assists over his career.

He was not a one-dimensional player. Sure he was a high-flying scorer with a quick first step. But he was an unselfish player who passed the ball and played defense really well.

» Continue reading “Duke Great Hill Retires from NBA”

The ACC had eight teams qualify for the NCAA Baseball Tournament. After Sunday, three teams advanced to the Super Regionals. Two will fight for spots in next weekend’s supers on Monday in a win or go home game. Three teams were eliminated.

Miami was the first ACC school to be eliminated from the NCAA Tournament. On Sunday, they lost to Oklahoma State by a 7-1 score.

The Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. They led off the game with back-to-back hits and a failed pick off attempt scored their lone run. In all, they only collected two more hits the rest of the way. Their four total hits came from the top four hitters in their order.

OK State starter Mark Robinette allowed those first two hits over six innings. Vince Wheeland picked up the save with three scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and threw just 28 pitches.

Clemson was the second ACC school to be eliminated, as they lost to Liberty for the second time in the Columbia Regional. They lost 3-1.

The Tigers took the 1-0 in the top of the fourth only to see Liberty score two runs in the bottom of the inning. In the ninth, the Tigers had the tying run on second base with two outs, but senior Thomas Brittle flied out to end the game.

Clemson collected eight hits, with Steven Duggar and Garrett Boulware (their 3-4 hitters) going 5-for-8.

Virginia Tech staved off elimination, as they won the rematch against UConn, 3-1. The Hokies scored in three separate innings.

Hokies starter Brandon Markey out dueled Huskies starter Anthony Marzi. Markey allowed one run on five hits over 5.1 innings. Marzi allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks over 5.1 innings. VT reliever Clark Labitan was the difference maker, as he allowed two hits over 3.2 innings. He struck out four.

For the Hokies, Sean Keselica and Tyler Horan each collected two hits in helping VT face Oklahoma later Sunday night.

But the Hokies could not stave off elimination forever, as they lost to Oklahoma, 10-4. It was just 4-3 heading into the top of the ninth when the Sooners strung together six hits (five singles) to score six runs and blow the game wide open.

VT is the first host school to be eliminated.

» Continue reading “Three ACC Schools Headed to Super Regionals”

Three ACC teams fended off elimination on Saturday afternoon in the NCAA Baseball Regionals. Four other teams improved to 2-0 and need to win just one more game to advance to next weekend’s Super Regionals.

Georgia Tech fended off elimination by beating East Tennessee State, 5-1. They now play Illinois in a rematch on Sunday at 3pm ET. If they win, they have to come right back and play the number two national seed, Vanderbilt, at 8pm ET.

The Yellow Jackets scored single runs in the first two innings to take the lead for good. They collected 11 hits, but just two for extra bases. Three players (Sam Dove, Brandon Thomas, and Mott Hyde) had two hit games.

Senior Buck Farmer allowed just two hits over six scoreless innings. He did not walk a batter while striking out eight. He only threw 58 pitches when he was pulled, so I am curious to see if he comes back and pitches sometime tomorrow.

Clemson also fended off elimination as they beat Saint Louis, 10-2. They now play Liberty in a rematch on Sunday at 1pm ET and must win to face rival South Carolina Sunday night.

The Billikens had a 1-0 lead before the Tigers scored three runs in three separate innings. Steve Wilkerson and Shane Kennedy both hit homeruns, with Wilkerson driving in five runs.

Daniel Gossett picked up his tenth win of the season, as he allowed two runs on five hits and five walks over six innings. Kyle Schnell picked up the save with three scoreless innings of relief.

Virginia Tech staved off elimination by beating Coastal Carolina, 9-1. They now have a rematch with UConn on Sunday at 1pm ET and must win to face Oklahoma later on Sunday.

The game was scoreless until the top of the 6th inning when Mark Zagunis singled in a run with two outs (one of his four hits). The Hokies went on to score in every inning from there, with five runs in the top of the ninth. Andrew Rash and Kyle Wernicki each collected three hits. Rash fell a triple shy of the cycle.

The late offense made a winner of Devin Burke, who picked up his 11th win of the season in a complete game. He allowed five hits and two walks. The lone run he allowed came in the bottom of the ninth on a solo homerun with one out.

» Continue reading “All Eight ACC Teams Stay Alive in Regionals”

The NCAA Baseball Regionals kicked off on Friday with all eight teams from the ACC playing.

Clemson, the two seed in the Columbia Regional, was the first ACC school to finish their game. The Tigers lost to Liberty 8-3. Liberty pounded out 12 hits, five for extra bases. Their senior catcher, Trey Wimmer, hit a double and a homerun, while driving in six runs. Starter Josh Richardson picked up the complete game victory. He allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits while striking out one.

In the loss for Clemson, Steven Duggar went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. They now must play in the elimination game on Saturday at 2pm ET against Saint Louis.

Number six national seed Virginia beat Army, 2-1. Both teams scored in the 5th inning.

Army got their lone run on a sacrifice. In the bottom of the inning, UVA had their first five batters reach base, with Mike Papi and Joe McCarthy driving in runs with singles.

Brandon Waddell picked up the win, as he allowed one run on three hits over seven innings. He struck out eight. Kyle Crockett picked up the save with two scoreless innings. He struck out four, including the final three batters he faced. Army starter Chris Rowley was the hard luck loser, as he allowed two runs on eight hits and three walks over seven innings.

The Cavaliers move into the winner’s bracket and will face Elon at 6pm ET on Saturday.

Georgia Tech lost to Illinois, 6-4. The Yellow Jackets must fight to stay alive on Saturday at 3pm ET in the Nashville Regional. They will face East Tennessee State at 3pm ET on Saturday.

The Yellow Jackets cut the deficit to 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh, only to see Illinois come back with two runs in the top of the 8th inning. They sent seven men to the plate.

GT had base runners in every inning but the fifth, but could not tie the game. They collected ten hits and worked five walks. However, four players had multi-hit games.

Illinois starter Kevin Duchene picked up his ninth win of the season, as he allowed three runs on eight hits and two walks over seven innings. He struck out five.

Miami beat Oklahoma State, 7-0 to advance to the winner’s bracket of the Louisville Regional. They will play Louisville on Saturday at 5pm ET. They will continue to play without head coach Jim Morris, who was hospitalized during the ACC Tournament with pneumonia.

The Hurricanes broke the game open with four runs in the bottom of the fifth, as they sent nine men to the plate. They pounded out 12 hits. Garrett Kennedy went 3-for-4 with a homerun, two runs scored, and three RBIs. Leadoff hitter Tyler Palmer also went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.

Miami starter Chris Diaz allowed three hits over seven innings. He did walk five, but struck out ten.

» Continue reading “NCAA Regionals Kick off for ACC”

On Wednesday, the ACC announced the opponents for the upcoming 2013-2014 women’s basketball season. Dates and game times will be announced at a later date.

Duke will have home-and-away matchups with rival North Carolina and new to the ACC Notre Dame. Boston College, Maryland, NC State, new to the ACC Pittsburgh, Virginia and Wake Forest will travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium. I am a little disappointed that Duke will not play home-and away games with Maryland in the Terps final season in the ACC. That has really turned into a rivalry (even better than UNC) and I think it should have been kept in tack for at least one more season.

The Blue Devils will travel to Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, new to the ACC Syracuse, and Virginia Tech.

The ACC has returned to a 16 game league regular season after playing 18 games last season. Duke went 17-1 with their only loss coming to Miami.

Duke went 33-3 last season and lost in the Elite Eight to Notre Dame. They lost just one player and return 11 letter winners.

*Who are you most looking forward to seeing Duke play next season?

This afternoon, the NCAA released its field of 64 for the baseball tournament. The Regionals begin on Friday with the top eight teams in the ACC earning spots. Five of those teams are regional hosts, with three of them being named national seeds (in the top eight). Every regional game will be shown live on ESPN3.com. The 16 regionals are a double-elimination format with the winners advancing to the Super Regionals the following weekend.

The ACC has not won a National Championship since 1955. Will this be the year?

ACC regular season and tournament champion North Carolina was named the overall number one seed for the first time ever. The Tarheels open play in Chapel Hill on Friday against the four seed, Canisius (6pm ET). Towson (whose program originally was cut in March) will face Florida Atlantic to start the day (1pm ET).

The winner of the Chapel Hill Regional will play the winner of the Columbia Regional, as South Carolina earns the controversial hosting gig. The struggling Gamecocks will open play against Saint Louis, who the ESPN analysts believe is the best four seed in the brackets. Liberty will face two seed Clemson on Friday at 1pm ET. The Tigers are at South Carolina for the second straight year, something the ESPN analysts do not like (“one of the most heated rivalries in all of sports”). They also felt this is one of the toughest regionals.

NC State will be hosting a regional and will open play against Binghamton on Friday at 7pm ET. Ole Miss and William and Mary are also in this regional. ESPN is looking forward to the possible second game matchup between NC State’s Carlos Rodon and Ole Miss’ Bobby Wahl. The winner of this regional may have to travel to Oregon, the number eight national seed (if the Ducks win their regional).

One of the bigger storylines in the tournament is Virginia Tech hosting a regional. The Hokies have won 13 of their last 15 games, but have to face UConn in their first game on Friday at 5:30pm ET. The Huskies won the Big East Tournament just to get in. Coastal Carolina and Oklahoma are also in the field, as the Sooners are considered the team to watch. The winner of this regional will face the winner of the LSU regional.

ESPN considers Vanderbilt’s Regional to be one of the best offensive regionals. Georgia Tech is also here and will face Illinois in their first game on Friday at 2pm ET.

» Continue reading “ACC Baseball Receives Eight Bids”