Will Eight Make Playoffs

North Carolina came into the ACC tournament sneaking in getting the eighth seed while playing the last two weeks of the season on the down swing.  N C State is coming in on the upswing .  Most of the last month the bracketologist would tell State's RPI they won't make the tournament next week.

The Latest conference RPI has the SEC as the top conference but only by a hair over the ACC.  Experts say the SEC gets nine teams in the tournament.  If the ACC is only a hair behind the SEC then the ACC should at least get eight teams in right.   If that's the case North Carolina despite being 1-2 in the ACC tournament should be in?  State after their win over Notre Dame has moved up to 36 in the RPI and tonight they play the new number one in Miami.  Even if they lose tonight to Miami their RPI will go up a point or two, should they win they might jump to the top 30.Can any team in the top 30 be left out of the NCAA playoffs?

Losing to both Louisville and Florida State who are both in the top 15 of the RPI Carolina has been able to hang in the top 28 despite losing more than winning the last two weeks.   Carolina's two losses they can no longer win the tournament.  I would suspect the DBAP will be full tonight as the Wolfpack plays for the chance to win their bracket against Miami.

Should the Wolfpack win over Miami they have to hope Notre Dame beats Virginia Friday morning.  Here is where this round robin format can be fishy.  If State beats Miami, Virginia beats Notre Dame and then beats State Saturday night then Virginia can with the bracket if Miami loses to Notre Dame.  If State, Miami and Virginia  all finish 2-1 and Notre Dame is 0-3 then Miami wins any three way tie  tie breaker.

This baseball season has been very similar to the basketball season when it seems last place just might win any night.  The middle of the pack basketball teams did very well during the basketball tournament and there is no reason to think baseball will not do the same.

Last night in Clearwater Florida ECU beat Tulane 3-1 and the Pirates and Houston are the only two undefeated teams left after two games.  First year coach Cliff Godwin after a slow start in early February and March has the Pirates rolling now.  They are in the top 31 of the RPI and should be a lock come Monday when the baseball selection show airs.

Hot Start But Late Fizzle

The Way the ACC tournament  is set up playing three games it is almost vital that you win the first game.  Several years ago State lost the first game to Clemson and before  the Pack even played game two Clemson had already won their second game and were eliminated before winning their next two games.

Mike Fox knowing the Tar Heels needed to win he sent Benton Moss to the hill despite starting last Saturday in the last regular season game of the year.  Moss responded the first three innings getting six strike outs and there is and old saying in baseball ". Let's see what you do the second time around against Louisville's lineup.

Moss got one more K but a two run homer in the fourth led to two runs.  A poorly played ball in left to open the fifth led to a double and before the inning was over the Carolina lead was 4-3.  The one sore spot all year for Carolina has been the bull pen and again Wednesday when they needed somebody in the bullpen to get and out Carolina didn't get it and a costly error doomed Moss to his first lost on the year.

The four year starter for Carolina moved into second on the all time strikeout list with 318 trailing only Andrew Miller who had 325 as a Tar Heel.  First game in pool play Louisville gets great relief Pitching  while Carolina doesn't in beating Carolina 7-4.

Wednesday night WRAL TV did a feature on Benton talking about his singing and playing musical instruments ability.  Well worth a look.  Go to wral.com, click sports, unc and look for UNC pitcher Moss Talents extend beyond the diamond.

Wednesday Fike Baseball upset the Number two seed Cardinal Gibbons 3-1 to advance to round four.  Wednesday night  CB Aycock unset the top seed Topsoil 3-2 and will host the Golden Demons  Friday night at 7pm.

From one great victory to a disappointing lost as the Fike Girls give up a single goal to Swansboro and that is all that was needed Fike girls Lose the third round soccer game 1-0.

Carolina Survives

Just two years removed from going to the college World Series five of the past six years Carolina for the second year in a row has won a play in game to keep their hopes alive that the NCAA Regional playoffs are still possible.

Taking advantage of shoddy Virginia Tech defense the Tar Heels got four unearned runs and then held on once Carolina tried to give the runs back to Tech in the top of the eighth.  The Heels endured a thirty seven minute rain delay in the seventh to advance to pool play besting Tech 5-3.

Carolina now opens pool play against Louisville in the prime time game tonight at 7pm.  Clemson who just swept Florida State last weekend opens pool play at 11am and the 3pm game Virginia who whitewashed Georgia Tech 11-0 in the first playin game meets Miami.

If you did like I did and started watching the Carolina game in the third inning once I got home from work then you saw about a ten minute storm past by the ball park and dumped plenty of water on the DBAP.  Right in line of the storm was Cardinal Gibbons High school where Fike was preparing to play their third round baseball game with Cardinal  Gibbons.  To say the least there was a delay in the start.

Once play started Cardinal Gibbons scored in the bottom of the first and rode a 1-0 lead into the third inning.  Fike had two runners on an a simple sacrifice bunt will prove to be the difference in this game.  The bunt was booted by Gibbons and it opened the door for two Fike runs and that was enough even though Fike added another to win their third round playoff game in baseball 3-1.  Fike must wait until Wednesday night to see who they play as C B Aycock Topsoil game in Hempstead was rained out Tuesday.

The NCHSAA announced yesterday that the state softball championships will move to NC  State and UNC G this year.  This will mark the first time that the state softball championships have been play on college campus instead of the Walnut Creek Softball Complex in Raleigh.  Softball is growing up. State championship weekend is June 5th and 6th. Which classification plays where has yet to be determined but the championships are two out of three.

Spring Review

So far this spring Brian Goodwin is hitting 261 in AA Harrisburg Pa.  Over the weekend hit his first home run of the year and also his first triple.  His twenty hits this season include five doubles.

Hobbs Johnson has started seven games so far this season at AA Biloxi Ms.  He lost for the first time his last outing  and has a 2-1 record.  His ERA is 2.69 and has given up nine earned runs in 31 plus innings.

Lander University's Thomas Berry hit 318 on the year with nine home runs.  After making it all the way to the World Series last year Lander failed to make the conference this season.

Matthew Berry played in 26 games at Barton this spring and hit 240  with three home runs.

Nash Central's Dillon Moore pitched in 21 games this season for NC Wesleyan for a total of 20 innings  and had a 2-1 record.  He even batted once getting a double.

Garrison Vick playEd in eight games for Chowan this season going to bat four times.  The Nash Central freshman failed to get a hit.

Rocky Mount's Cody Smith pitched in nine games starting eight  winning three with a single loss.  His ERA with slightly under six and one of his wins was a no hitter.  Thirty three plus innings pitched he struck out 45.

His Gryphon teammate Will Edwards pitched in six games with a 1-1 record with nine strikeout in nine innings pitched.

Colton Vaughn the sophomore from Nash Central played in 16 games batting 14 times for Pitt CC getting two hits driving in two runs.

Fike Baseball travels to Cardinal Gibbons today in the third round of the state baseball playoffs at 5pm.  Fike women's soccer host Swansboro at Fike at 7pm.  These two are the last of the Big East sports teams still playing this year.

Carolina Baseball plays at 3pm in one of the two ACC tournaments playin games.  Game time is 3pm at the DBAP and can be seen on Fox Sports South as all the ACC games are until Sunday's finals which is on ESPN 2.

Time To Tweak Schedules

Both Mike Fox and Elliot Avent have suggested that the ACC needed to go back to the double elimination format  in the ACC baseball Tournament and I agree.  How would you arrive to that point  without depleting your pitching staffs and by the semi final rounds have 18-15 scores in games which has happened in the past.

Any double elimination tournament would require two weekends to complete and if you are going to take two weekends might as well let all fourteen teams play. What kind of format that takes is any body's guess but here is mine.

Weekend one the top six teams get off and for some teams that might let them off graduation weekend which is good for any player graduating being able to walk the isle.  The final eight teams start on Friday with two four teams double elimination tournaments by Monday there should be two winners who move on to two more four team double elimination tournaments  on Thursday and the two winners meet on a Monday night for the championship.

So in order to change the tournament there needs to be a change in the regular season.  Carolina not playing Wake is absolutely wrong. The league needs to play everyone in their division three times and everyone else twice.  That would bring on a 32 game schedule.  There is simply not enough weekends to play this schedule unless the first weekend  of play in February is use to play conference team that you only play twice.

This is the problem made by TV.  College conferences in the rush of greed to get as much of the TV money as possible.   You see TV have available time slots to fill and if the ACC doesn't fill those times somebody else will.  So what you have are conferences to large in number of members, and too much land space required to have conference members that have similar educational values. No longer can you get up early Saturday and drive to DC to watch State or Carolina play Maryland.  Now you must fly to South Bend or Louisville and the cost of those type weekend cuts back on the number of travel games you can afford to go to.

The bottom line is the only perfect conference is a league  where you play everybody in every sport.  The good news in all of this is if you are not flying to Boston for the game it is now on TV.  My cost to set in front of my TV to watch Boston College is the price of my cable bill.


Fike Baseball advanced to the third round in baseball with a 3-2 victory over Swansboro Saturday night.  Third round they travel to Cardinal Gibbons for a Tuesday night game.

Saturday Disaster

Both Rocky Mount and Northern Nash baseball teams were shut out in their efforts in the opening round of the state baseball playoffs.  Girls softball  Northern advanced to the second round while in soccer both Northern and Rocky Mount were surprise winners in the opening round.

The second round is always a tougher step to take. The second round was in no way a fun day for both of the Nash County teams  alive.   First softball where Northern Nash made the trip to Northern Guilford and surely this sports year has not been pleasant for any sports team from Nash County who has taken on any team with Guilford attached to their name and Saturday was no different.  Northern Guilford shuts out the Lady Knights 9-0.   Ouch!

Oddly enough both Rocky Mount and Northern were on the road in soccer and not that far apart as Rocky Mount visited Sawnsboro and Northern Nash at Jacksonville.  Both Onslow County schools only 19 miles apart  down highway 24 felt no pity for their visitors as Swansboro swamped Rocky Mount 8-0 and Jacksonville 6-0 over Northern. ouch ouch!!.

So the athletic year for all Nash County schools is over.  Only two teams left from the Big  East and both wear Fike on their chest.  Just maybe the best athletic team in the conference is the Fike girls soccer team.  They lead only 2-0 at the half against Northwood both added two more goals in the second half to win 4-0 and will now play Swansboro in round three.

  The third round game will pit number four Fike against number five Swansboro so the game is at Fike.   So far in 23 games Fike has had only 6 goals scored against them all season.  Only once has the Golden Demons been scored on twice in one game that was against Swansboro during a tournament in early season Fike's only loss of the season.  Since the Lady Golden a Demons have now won 20 in a row..

If the ACC baseball tournament continues to return to North Carolina year after year it is a must that North Carolina and NC State be a part of each playing in the three games during the tournament.  Last season they met each other in one of the play in  games. 2013 they met each other in the epic 18 inning game in front of the largest crowd to ever watch  a college baseball game in North Carolina.  No other state can offer when the top rivals of the area collide more than 10,000 will show up if they play at night.

Carolina returns to the play in game but state finished 6th so they will meet Miami, the winner of the 7/10 game and they start with their first game against Notre Dame. Come Saturday night one of the two still needs to be alive in order to keep the ACC interested in returning to Durham past 2016.

Big East Killer- Hitting

I guess the question about the quality of Big East baseball this year is that all those regular season games when nobody could score wasn't because of great pitching but poor hitting.  The opening round of the state playoffs the Big East goes 1-3. 

The Big East scored seven runs in the four first round games including Rocky Mount and Northern being shutout.  Hunt scored four times but gave up double digit runs in 10.  The four teams allowed 18 runs which is not bad that's 4.5 runs allowed per game but only put up 1.75 runs. The ultimate insult is that some of the games the other teams gambled and saved their best pitchers for round two and it worked.  Doesn't seem like the Big East got much respect from their opponents.  Fike in winning did pitch their ace Brandan Winstead 3-2 win over Eastern Wayne.

I guess to answer the question is the Big East did have good pitching this season not exceptional but any time you hold a playoff team to three runs or less like Rocky Mount, Northern and Fike did in the opening round you should win your game.  But only Fike did.  Fike round two tussle will be against West Carteret who was a 3-1 winner over Swansboro tonight at 7pm.

Today is the last day of the regular season of ACC baseball and North Carolina State has put it on the pro pickers of the 64 who will make the NCAA baseball tournament on Memorial Day.  The Pack's victory over Louisville last night guarantees the Pack no worse than sixth in the ACC which keeps them out of play in Tuesday.  The Pack has moved up to 34 in the RPI.

North Carolina who just two weeks ago was 13-10 in the league after losing again last night to Virginia  drops to 13-15 but with Duke beating Wake Carolina is in but they have fallen to a play in
Game.  It is still possible that if Benton Moss can't stop Carolina's bleeding today and if Carolina loses again Tuesday today just might be the last time Moss pitches for Carolina.

He is five wins short of tying for the all time Carolina wins record but unless Carolina finds a forward gear instead of the reverse they are doubtful for the NCAA even though they are 24th in RPI.  Can any team with a losing conference record get into the tournament if they would be on a seven game losing streak especially if they are 10th in the league when maybe only seven get in?
Benton Moss needs to pitch the game of his life today to keep his career at Carolina going plus keep Carolina's NCAA hopes alive.