2014 ACC Tournament Preview - Pool B

ED Note: I would like to apologize for not putting this up before the play-in game between North Carolina and NC State. Because of this, it has been edited to include the results of that game.

You know, I'm not sure which is more exciting: the fact that I was able to sew my flip-flop back together or that Georgia Tech is not in Pool B. Just looking at the teams, Pool B is much more top-heavy with Florida State and Virginia. Now, let's take a look at the teams in Pool B:

2 Seed - Florida State (41-14, 21-9 ACC)

Florida State's offense was essential in helping lead the Noles to a 40-win season. They had four players hit above .300: DJ Stewart, Jose Brizuela, John Nogowski, and Casey Smit. DJ Stewart hit .362 with 7 home runs, 47 RBI, and had a ridiculous OPS of 1.066. Jose Brizuela hit .325 with 3 home runs, 37 RBI and stole 11 bases in 13 attempts. John Nogowski hit .309 with 4 home runs and 46 RBI. He also had an OPS of .881. Casey Smit hit .303 with a home run and 23 RBI, but was also second on the team in OBP with .444.

The Noles also had a pretty good rotation anchored by Luke Weaver and Mike Compton. Luke Weaver finished the season 8-3 with a 2.45 ERA, 75 strikeouts, and 18 walks. Weaver also threw two complete games. Mike Compton finished the season 7-1 with a 3.08 ERA, 47 strikeouts, and 16 walks. The Noles also had two formidable bullpen arms in Gage Smith and Jameis "I forgot to pay" Winston. Gage Smith pitched 57.1 innings in 36 appearances this season, finishing 4-2 with a save, a 2.20 ERA, 28 strikeouts and 5 walks. Jameis Winston pitched 28.0 innings in 21 appearances this season, finishing 1-0 with 6 saves, a 1.29 ERA, 26 strikeouts, and 5 walks.

The Seminoles are set to face  North Carolina Wed, May 21 at 7:00 PM, Maryland on Fri, May 23 at 11:00 AM, and Virginia on Sat, May 24 at 7:00 PM. This season, Florida State took two of three from North Carolina, two of three from Maryland, and lost two of three to Virginia.

3 Seed - Virginia (43-11, 22-8 ACC)

Virginia had three players hit above .290: Joe McCarthy, Mike Papi, and Branden Cogswell. Joe McCarthy hit .308 with 5 home runs, 41 RBI, and stole 10 bases in 11 attempts. Mike Papi hit .299 with 10 home runs, 47 RBI, and led the Wahoos in OPS with .960. Branden Cogswell hit .291 with no home runs, 16 RBI, and stole 7 bases in 11 attempts.

UVA has a very formidable rotation with Nathan Kirby, Brandon Waddell, and Josh Sborz. Nathan Kirby finished the season 8-1 with a 1.58 ERA, 91 strikeouts, and 20 walks. Brandon Waddell finished the season 7-3 with a 2.90 ERA, 52 strikeouts, and 12 walks. Josh Sborz finished the season 4-3 with a 3.13 ERA, 58 strikeouts, and 34 walks. Closing games this season for the Wahoos was Nick Howard. Howard finished the season with 17 saves, a 2.08 ERA, 48 strikeouts, and 9 walks.

Virginia is set to play Maryland on Thu, May 22 at 11:00 AM, North Carolina on Fri, May 23 at 7:00 PM, and Florida State on Sat, May 24 at 7:00 PM. The Wahoos took two of three from North Carolina, two of three from Florida State, and did not play Maryland this season.

6 Seed - Maryland (34-19, 15-14 ACC)

The major players for Maryland's offense this season were Brandon Lowe, Blake Schmit, Charlie White, and Jose Cuas. Brandon Lowe hit .345 with 1 home run, 36 RBI, and led the Terrapins in OPS with .937. Blake Schmit hit .308 with no home runs, 25 RBI, and stole 16 bases in 21 attempts. Charlie White hit .278 with 1 home run, 25 RBI, and stole 24 bases in 27 attempts. Jose Cuas hit .274 with a team-leading 5 home runs, 38 RBI, and was second on the team in OBP with .433.

Maryland had three pitchers with at least 10 starts with sub-3.00 ERAs: Jake Drossner, Jake Stinnett, and Mike Shawaryn. Jake Drossner finished the season 4-1 with a 2.18 ERA, 53 strikeouts, and 20 walks. Jake Stinnett finished the season 6-6 with a 2.53 ERA, 113 strikeouts, and 26 walks. Mike Shawaryn finished the season 9-3 with a 2.96 ERA, 61 strikeouts and 18 walks.

Maryland is set to play Virginia on Thu, May 22 at 11:00 AM, Florida State on Fri, May 23 at 11:00 AM, and UNC on Sat, May 24 at 3:00 PM. The Terrapins lost two of three to both Florida State and UNC, but did not play Virginia this season.

7 Seed - North Carolina (33-23, 15-15 ACC)

Three players shined for the Tarheel offense this season: Michael Russell, Landon Lassiter, and Tyler Ramirez. Michael Russell hit .338 with 4 home runs, 29 RBI, and led the Tarheels in OPS with .912. He also stole 13 bases in 18 attempts. Landon Lassiter hit .301 with a home run and 19 RBI. He finished second on the team in OBP with .423. Tyler Ramirez hit .295 with 2 home runs, 25 RBI, and stole 9 bases in 12 attempts.

The Tarheels had two guys with at least 10 starts with sub-4.00 ERAs: Trent Thornton and Benton Moss. Trent Thornton finished the season 7-3 with a 2.02 ERA, 77 strikeouts, and 24 walks. Benton Moss finished the season 4-2 with a 3.59 ERA, 67 strikeouts, and 29 walks.

North Carolina won their play-in game against NC State Wednesday afternoon 4-3, and is set to play Florida State on Wed, May 21 at 7:00, Virginia on Fri, May 23 at 7:00 PM, and Maryland on Sat, May 24 at 3:00 PM. The Tarheels lost two of three to Florida State, lost two of three to Virginia, and took two of three from Maryland.

10 Seed - NC State (32-22, 13-17 ACC)

Because I was lazy and forgot to write this until the play-in game between North Carolina and NC State was basically over, I'm not going to put a whole lot here. If you want to look at what the Wolfpack have done this season, here is the link to their schedule, and here is the link to their season stats.