May 20, 2015
NC State ACC Tournament Notes 
ACC CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL (Bracket, Ticket Info, Press Conferences, Etc.)
ACC Tournament: Pool Play
May 21-24, 2015
11 a.m. / 11 a.m. / 3 p.m. (All ET)
Durham Bulls Athletic Park (Durham, N.C.)
Team Information:
Notre Dame: 35-19, 17-13 ACC (22-31, 9-21 ACC In 2014)
2014 Postseason: Did not qualify for postseason
NC State: 31-20, 15-14 ACC (32-23, 13-17 ACC In 2014)
2014 Postseason: 0-1 at ACC Tournament
Virginia: 34-19, 15-15 ACC (53-16, 22-8 ACC In 2014)
2014 Postseason: 1-2 in the ACC Tournament
3-0 at Charlottesville Regional / 2-1 at Charlottesville Super Regional
4-2 at College World Series (Lost In Championship Game)
Miami: 42-13, 22-8 ACC (45-20, 24-6 ACC In 2014)
2014 Postseason: 1-2 in the ACC Tournament
3-2 at Coral Gables Regional
Rankings:
Notre Dame: No. 20 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Top 30
Virginia: Ranked between 24-29 in three major polls
Miami: Ranked between 6-13 in all six major polls
Projected Pitching Matchups:
G1: RHP Scott Kerrigan (3-4, 3.57 ERA) vs. LHP Brian Brown (6-3, 1.87 ERA)
G2: RHP Ryan Smoyer (8-0, 2.06 ERA) vs. TBA
G3: TBA vs. TBA
Series History:
vs. NC State
Notre Dame trails 2-5
First Meeting: L, N, 10-8 (1/31/1998)
Last Meeting: W, H, 7-2 (4/18/2015)
Aoki vs. NC State: 7-11 (5-6 at BC, 2-4 at ND)
vs. UVA
Notre Dame trails 2-6
First Meeting: L, A, 12-6 (3/22/1991)
Last Meeting: L, H, 5-4 (3/29/2015)
Aoki vs. Virginia: 1-14 (1-11 at BC, 0-3 at ND)
vs. Miami
Miami leads 16-6
First Meeting: L, A, 7-3 (3/30/1970)
Last Meeting: L, A, 6-3 (4/21/2014)
Aoki vs. Miami: 5-9 (4-7 at BC, 1-2 at ND)
Game Coverage:
Live Video: ESPN3 (Links on UND.com) / TV: Regional Networks
Live Audio: WatchND (Links on UND.com) & WHME 103.1 FM in South Bend (Chuck Freeby, pbp)
Live Stats: UND.com
Twitter Reports: @NDBaseball / @NDsidRuss
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The wait is almost over for the University of Notre Dame baseball team. After clinching a spot at the 2015 ACC Tournament with a sweep of then-No. 20 North Carolina two weeks ago, the Irish are just one day away from their first ACC Tournament game in program history.
Entering the tourney as the No. 3 seed, the Irish (35-19) are one of only two teams that won’t get underway until Thursday, with the other being Notre Dame’s first opponent — NC State (31-20). The Irish and the Wolfpack are set for an 11 a.m. (ET) first pitch at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, North Carolina.
As the No. 3 seed, the Irish are placed in pool B with No. 2 Miami (42-13), No. 6 NC State and No. 7 Virginia. After the meeting with the Wolfpack, Notre Dame will play the Cavaliers at 11 a.m. (ET) Friday and the Hurricanes at 3 p.m. (ET) Saturday.
Sunday’s championship game between the pool B winner and either No. 1 Louisville (42-14), No. 4 Florida State (38-19), No. 5 Clemson (31-26) or No. 8 North Carolina (33-22) from pool A is set for 1 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2 and ESPN3.
Notre Dame is very familiar with two of the three foes in pool play, as the Irish were swept by Virginia at Frank Eck Stadium in late March before winning a series against the Wolfpack in early April at the Eck. Notre Dame and the Hurricanes didn’t play in 2015, but did have a three-game series in Coral Gables, Florida last year. In that series, Notre Dame won its first ever ACC road game, but ultimately lost the series 2-1.
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The Irish — led by fifth-year head coach Mik Aoki – are one of the big surprises in the ACC this season after finishing 13th out of 14 squads last year in their first season in the league. A preseason pick to finish 11th in the conference, Notre Dame has won five of its last six series, including series sweeps of Pittsburgh, then-No. 7 Florida State and the previously mentioned Tar Heels. The Irish also boast series wins this season over tourney teams Clemson and NC State.
Notre Dame turned in a true team effort all year, as no player earned higher than third team all-ACC honors in postseason voting. Sophomore 3B Kyle Fiala, sophomore RHP Ryan Smoyer and senior OF Robert Youngdahl all received third team honors, while RHP Brandon Bielak and LHP Sean Guenther received ACC all-freshman team accolades.
A team that emphasizes pitching and defense, Notre Dame finished last in the league in batting average (.252), but placed fourth in team ERA (3.03) and first in fielding percentage (.978). Despite the low batting average, Notre Dame certainly found ways to score runs, as it was sixth in the league in home runs (38), tied for seventh in doubles (96) and eighth in walks (224).
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Notre Dame last appeared in a conference tournament in 2013, when it entered the BIG EAST Tournament as the No. 7 seed and made a run all the way to the conference championship game. Notre Dame’s last tournament title — and last NCAA berth – came in 2006 when it won its fifth straight BIG EAST tournament title under former head coach Paul Mainieri.
Where To Watch The Irish Thursday
–ESPN3
-FOX Sports South / FOX Sports Carolinas
-FOX Sports Florida
-FOX Sports Midwest Plus/FOX Sports Indiana Plus
-Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
–YES
-NESN Plus
-ROOT Sports Pittsburgh
-FOX Sports Detroit Plus
-FOX Sports North Plus
-FOX Sports Southwest Plus
-FOX Sports Arizona
-FOX Sports San Diego
-FOX Sports Prime Ticket
-ROOT Sports Rocky Mtn.
Where To Watch The Irish Friday
–ESPN3
-FOX Sports South / FOX Sports Carolinas
-FOX Sports Florida
-FOX Sports Midwest Plus/FOX Sports Indiana Plus
-Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
–YES
-NESN Plus
-ROOT Sports Pittsburgh
-SportsTime Ohio
-FOX Sports Detroit Plus
-FOX Sports North Plus
-FOX Sports Southwest Plus
-FOX Sports Arizona
-FOX Sports San Diego
-FOX Sports Prime Ticket
-ROOT Sports Rocky Mtn.
Where To Watch The Irish Saturday
–ESPN3
-FOX Sports South / FOX Sports Carolinas
-FOX Sports Florida
-FOX Sports Midwest Plus/FOX Sports Indiana Plus
-Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
-MSG Plus
-NESN Plus
-ROOT Sports Pittsburgh (Delay Broadcast)
-FOX Sports Detroit Plus
-FOX Sports North Plus
-FOX Sports Southwest Plus
-FOX Sports Arizona
-FOX Sports San Diego
-FOX Sports Prime Ticket
–Russell Dorn, Assistant Media Relations Director
–ND–