North Carolina State University Athletics
Baseball to Open 2007 ACC Tournament Wednesday vs. Virginia
5/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. NC State, seeded sixth, will begin play in the 2007 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championships on Wednesday, May 23, with a 10 a.m. game vs. third-seeded Virginia. The tournament will be played at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, in Jacksonville, Fla. The ballpark is the home of the Jacksonville Suns, the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The tournament will feature a new format this season, with the top eight teams in the conference qualifying for the field and being divided into two brackets of four teams apiece. Each team will play the other three teams in its bracket in a round-robin format, with the team with the best record in the round robin from each division advancing to a single championship game on Sunday. All eight teams are guaranteed to play three games, with the two teams in the title game playing four times each. Gone is the old doulbe-elimination bracket that at times forced teams to play five games in four days in order to win the championship.
All eight teams know in advance who they are playing and when, meaning they will be able to align their pitching rotations accordingly. In addition, each team will play three games from Wednesday through Saturday and will get one day off. NC State (36-19 overall, 16-14 in the conference) will play Virginia (41-13, 19-9) at 10 a.m. on Wednesday and second-seeded North Carolina (45-11, 21-9) at 7 p.m. on Thursday. The Wolfpack will have Friday off, then will face seventh-seeded Georgia Tech (31-23, 15-14) at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
All three of NC State’s games will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1) and all three radio broadcasts will be available on-line at gopack.com through Pack Pass. All 13 games in the tournament will be televised, seven by Fox Sports Net and six by Comcast. Check your local cable listings.
Following is the complete schedule of games for the 2007 ACC Baseball Tournament:
Wednesday
Game 1: NC State vs. Virginia, 10 a.m.
Game 2: Georgia Tech vs. North Carolina, 1 p.m.
Game 3: Miami vs. Clemson, 4 p.m.
Game 4: Wake Forest vs. Florida State, 7 p.m.
Thursday
Game 5: Virginia vs. Georgia Tech, 4 p.m.
Game 6: North Carolina vs. NC State, 7 p.m.
Friday
Game 7: Clemson vs. Wake Forest, 4 p.m.
Game 8: Florida State vs. Miami, 7 p.m.
Saturday
Game 9: Georgia Tech vs. NC State, 10 a.m.
Game 10: Virginia vs. North Carolina, 1 p.m.
Game 11: Clemson vs. Florida State, 4 p.m.
Game 12: Wake Forest vs. Miami. 7 p.m.
Sunday
Championship game, 1 p.m.
NC STATE IN THE ACC TOURNAMENT: The 2007 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament will be NC State’s 34th conference tournament. The Wolfpack has played 132 ACC Tournament games and won four championships, the most recent in 1992. Only Clemson (9) and Georgia Tech (7) have won more ACC championships than the Wolfpack, which is tied with Florida State and North Carolina with four titles apiece.
NC State’s all-time won-lost record in the tournament is 72-60, which is the fourth best record in the tournament’s history at .545. Florida State’s 53-24 mark (.688) leads the conference, followed by Clemson (95-52, .646) and Georgia Tech (63-42, .600). Clemson has won 95 tournament games and has the most victories in ACC Tournament play by a whopping 23 games over NC State, which is second with 72.
NC State has played in the championship game 11 times, most recently a year ago when the Pack lost in the finals to Clemson 8-4. Clemson has the most championship game appearances with 21, followed by NC State, Georgia Tech (10), North Carolina (8) and Florida State (7).
NC State went 3-2 in last year’s tournament to reach the finals, and went 1-2 in the previous two ACC Tournaments. Overall, the Pack has won 14 of 26 tournament games dating back to 2001. In head coach Elliott Avent’s previous 10 ACC Tournaments, NC State has a 20-20 record and has reached the finals three times (2001, ’03 and ’06).
NC STATE VS. VIRGINIA: NC State holds a 104-56 lead in the series with Virginia, and the Wolfpack has done especially well against the Cavaliers in recent years. Since Elliott Avent became NC State head coach in 1997, the Pack has a 30-13 record against UVa, including a 10-8 mark in Charlottesville, 12-3 at Doak Field at Dail Park, and 8-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. NC State has won eight of the last 10 meetings vs. Virginia, 11 of the last 14, and 20 of the last 25. NC State is 12-4 vs. Virginia the last four years.
The Wolfpack won this year’s regular-season series from the Cavaliers, two games to one, May 11-13 in Charlottesville. Virginia took the first game 4-2, breaking a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning with a triple from Tyler Cannon, who scored on a wild pitch, and a solo home run from Jeremy Farrell. NC State jumped to a quick 8-0 lead in the middle game of the series, then held on as the Cavaliers cut the lead to 10-7 after seven innings. That was the final score, however, thanks to 2 1/3 innings of lights-out relief work from Eryk McConnell, who picked up his ninth save of the year. The series finale was a see-saw affair, with Virginia jumping to a 2-0 lead on Brandon Guyer’s first-inning double, NC State going ahead 5-2 with a five-run fourth inning that was capped by Tommy Foschi’s three-run homer, and Virginia going back up 6-5 with four runs in the fifth, highlighted by a three-run bomb from Sean Doolittle. The Wolfpack tied it in the seventh on a double play grounder, and Ryan Pond drove in the game-winning runs with a two-run single in the eighth. McConnell worked the last two innings for save No. 10.
In the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, NC State holds a 15-8 record against Virginia.
THE ANNUAL NC STATE VS. VIRGINIA GAME: If it’s the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, then NC State and Virginia almost assuredly will play one another before the week is over. The Wolfpack and Cavaliers have met in each of the last 11 conference tournaments the longest current streak between any two conference schools and in 20 of the last 24 tournaments. Since 1984, NC State and Virginia have faced each other in tournament play every year except 1986, 1992, 1994 and 1995. Aside from that, the Wolfpack-Cavalier matchup has been an annual event.
The second longest current streak of two teams meeting in consecutive years in the tournament was Georgia Tech and Florida State, who met each other at least once in each tournament from 1999-2005. The Yellow Jackets and Seminoles did not play one another in last year’s tournament, meaning the second longest current streak of two teams meeting in the tournament now belongs to North Carolina and Florida State, who have played each year since 2003, but will have to advance to the finals this year to continue their streak. The Wolfpack and Cavaliers, meanwhile, keep going and going and going.
NC STATE VS. NORTH CAROLINA: The Tar Heels lead the series with the Wolfpack by a 146-118-1 margin. The two teams have split the last four games they have played with one another, including a game in last year’s ACC Tournament. NC State has won nine of the last 17 meetings overall, and 19 of 37 since Elliott Avent became head coach in 1997, including a 4-11 record at Boshamer Stadium, an 11-7 mark at Doak Field at Dail Park, a 1-0 record in a non-ACC game at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in 1988, and a 3-0 record in Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament games.
The Tar Heels took two of three from the Wolfpack in this year’s regular-season series, played April 27-29 at Doak Field at Dail Park. NC State took the opener 11-1 behind seven strong innings from Eric Surkamp and a grand-slam homer in the second inning from Marcus Jones. In the process, NC State exorcised the demons of longtime Wolfpack killer Robert Woodard, who owned the Pack and seemed to hold the deed to the ballpark the previous three years. In the second game of the series, the Pack held a 3-2 lead through seven innings, thanks to the dominant pitching Andrew Brackman, but the bullpen imploded in the eighth, allowing six runs on five hits, two walks, an error and a passed ball. The Tar Heels won going away, 9-3. NC State led 5-4 through six innings of the finale, but Reid Fronk homered in the seventh and eighth innings, then made a dazzling and potentially game-saving catch in the ninth as UNC surged to win 7-5.
In the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, NC State is 11-7 vs. North Carolina.
NC STATE VS. GEORGIA TECH: The Yellow Jackets lead the overall series with the Wolfpack by a 63-43 margin. And while the series has been spirited and competitive since Tech joined the ACC in 1983, the Jackets have held the upper hand in recent years, winning the last four meetings from the Wolfpack, 10 of the last 12, and 14 of the last 18. NC State is 11-24 vs. Georgia Tech since Elliott Avent became the Pack’s head coach in 1997. That includes a 4-10 mark at Doak Field at Dail Park, a 4-14 mark at Russ Chandler Field in Atlanta, and a 3-0 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
Georgia Tech has swept NC State the last two times the Wolfpack has been to Atlanta and has won eight of the last nine games played there. The Yellow Jackets swept this year’s series, at Chandler Field. Wally Crancer won the opener with a one-out, two-run double in the bottom of the ninth to pin a heartbreaking 2-1 loss on Eric Surkamp, who had a five-hit shutout through eight innings. Georgia Tech took the second game 4-3, with Crancer driving in two runs and Danny Payne sending home the game-winner in the sixth to offset Mike Roskopf’s two-run homer in the top of the sixth. In the finale, Georgia Tech scored four runs in the second and two more in the third and never looked back, cruising to a 7-3 victory.
In Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament play, NC State and Georgia Tech have split 20 games.
PROBABLE PITCHERS: Sophomore righthander Clayton Shunick (5-2, 5.44) is coming off his most impressive start of the season, May 17 vs. Clemson, and will start Wednesday vs. Virginia. Shunick worked five innings against Clemson and gave up just one unearned run on two hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out four. Shunick has had an up-and-down season, and is 1-0 with a 7.34 ERA in his last five starts. Shunick worked two innings against Virginia on May 13 and allowed four runs on five hits in two innings. He walked two and struck out four.
Sophomore lefthander Eric Surkamp (4-3, 2.94) will start Thursday night for the Wolfpack against North Carolina. Surkamp, who earned second-team All-ACC honors despite winning just four games, has been the Wolfpack’s ace and its hard-luck pitcher all at the same time. In 14 starts, he has worked a staff-high 85 2/3 innings, allowing 32 runs, 28 earned, on 75 hits. He has walked 25 and struck out 75. Surkamp has a staggering seven no-decisions in 14 starts. He is one shy of the school record of eight no-decisions, held by Bubba Scarce (1997) and Matt Roupe (1994). But whereas Scarce (5.56 ERA) and Roupe (5.48) left some starts due to ineffectiveness and were bailed out by a potent offense, Surkamp has been the very picture of consistency and effectiveness, pitching at least six innings in all but one of his last 11 starts, and allowing more than three runs in all but two of the 11. He pitched 5 2/3 innings in the start he did not go six full innings, and allowed four runs in each of the two games in which he allowed more than three runs. Surkamp heads into action in the ACC Tournament ranked seventh in the conference in ERA, sixth in ERA in conference games (3.07). Surkamp began his last start, May 18 vs. Clemson, by striking out the first five men he faced and eight of the first 10, but wound up with no decision after allowing four runs on six hits in six innings of work. He walked one and tied his career high with nine strikeouts. In his last five starts, he is 1-2 with a 3.09 ERA. In his last seven he is 2-2, 2.89. In his last 10 he is 2-2, 3.07. His ERA has not risen above 3.00 all season. Surkamp started April 27 against North Carolina and pitched a gem, allowing one run on eight hits in seven innings. He walked two, struck out three and was the recipient of an offensive outburst by the Wolfpack, which won 11-1. That was Surkamp’s last win.
Junior righthander Andrew Brackman (6-4, 3.81) will start Saturday morning vs. Georgia Tech. Brackman has made 13 starts and allowed 78 hits in 78 innings (he pitched 71 1/3 innings as a freshman and sophomore combined). He has walked 37 and struck out 74. In his last start, May 12 vs. Virginia, Brackman struggled with his command and was gone after four innings. He allowed three runs on five hits, walked five and struck out five. In his last start prior to the game at Virginia, April 28 vs. North Carolina, Brackman was dominant, allowing two runs, one earned run, on three hits in seven innings. He walked four and struck out seven. Brackman started April 21 at Georgia Tech and took a 4-3 loss. He worked 5 2/3 innings and was charged with four runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked four and struck out nine.
POULK HERO: NC State’s best player didn’t start the first 19 games of the season, and freshman Dallas Poulk only moved into the starting lineup because of an unjury to senior infielder Vince Gutierrez. In those first 19 games, against by far the softest part of the Wolfpack’s schedule (three games against ranked teams, none in the top 10), the team batted .297 and scored 138 runs (7.3 per game). In 36 games since Poulk moved into the starting lineup, NC State is batting .303 and has scored 249 runs (6.9 per game), but against a much more difficult schedule (13 games against ranked teams, nine against teams ranked Nos. 1, 3 or 4). In those 36 games, Poulk leads the Wolfpack with a .387 batting average (.054 points ahead of runner-up Ryan Pond) and a .511 slugging percentage, despite hitting just one home run all season. His on-base percentage in that time is .423, which ranks third on the club, and he is tied for team honors with five stolen bases in six attempts.
Poulk has gotten better as the year has gone along. In the last 20 games, he is hitting .410 (34-84), and .415 (27-65)in the last 15. In the last 10 games he is hitting .468 (22-47). In the Wolfpack’s final regular-season series of the year, last weekend vs. Clemson, Poulk batted a mere .429 (6-14), but hit his first home run of the season and made it dramatic, a walk-off shot leading off the bottom of the ninth inning of the middle game of the series. And while Poulk certainly didn’t intend it, the ball hit off the very top of the right-field fence before bouncing over for the game-winning homer.
Poulk became NC State’s leadoff hitter on May 4 vs. Campbell, and in the 10 games since them he is hitting .468 with a .681 slugging percentage and a .510 on-base percentage. He has one double, three triples, one home run, two steals, seven runs scored and seven RBIs as the leadoff hitter. With Poulk at the top of the order, the Wolfpack is hitting .343 (114-332) and has scored 70 runs (7.0 per game).
For the season, Poulk is NC State’s leading hitter, or one of the top two or three leading hitters, in almost every possible situation. In ACC games, he leads the team with a .375 average. In non-conference games he is second on the team at .405. He leads the team in hitting in home games (.392), and in games away from home (.373). He leads the team in hitting in day games (.392) and night games (.375). He is the team’s leading hitter in the month of May (.468), but sagged to second in April (.310). He’s hitting .400 on Tuesday’s (4th on the team) and .364 on Wednesdays (4th), but cranks it up on the weekends. He leads the team in hitting on Fridays (.425) and Saturdays (.417), but is a mortal third on Sundays (.342).
RPI RANKINGS: In the ratings performance index (RPI) rankings released by the NCAA on May 15 (through games of May 13), NC State was at No. 22, up six spots from No. 28 the week before. NC State had a 3-4 record against teams in the top 10, 9-7 against teams in the top 20, and 11-10 against teams in the top 30. The Atlantic Coast Conference had eight teams in the top 27, blowing the doors off of every other conference in the nation.
The Southeastern Conference, considered by many as the best baseball conference in the country, had five teams, in the top 15 of the RPI (to the ACC’s three), but had no other teams ranked higher than 35th. The SEC had two teams in the top 10.
The Big XII had five teams in the top 30 (including two in the top 10 and three overall in the top 20).
Conference USA had three teams in the top 30, incuding No. 1 Rice. The Pac 10 had one team in the top 10 and two overall in the top 30. The Big West had two in the top 30.
The Missouri Valley, Big South, Atlantic Sun, Sun Belt and West Coast conferences each had one team in the top 30 of the RPI.
ATTENDANCE NEWS: The 2007 college baseball season saw 37,644 fans go through the turnstiles at Doak Field at Dail Park, the second most for a season in school history. The per-game average of 1176 also ranked second. The 1995 season leads both categories with 41,846 total fans and 1308 fans per game.
The 2007 attendance total eclipsed the 2006 totals of 36,414 total attendance and 1174 per game for second place.
