Bill Hass on the ACC: Six ACC Teams Seek to End Conference Drought in NCAA Baseball :: Regional play begins Friday, followed by Super Regionals and College World Series.

May 27, 2008

By Bill Hass
theACC.com

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Maybe this year one of the six teams from the ACC can put an anomaly to rest.

Long regarded as one of the best - and in many years the very best - baseball conferences in the country, the ACC has not won a College World Series since 1955, when Wake Forest turned the trick by beating Western Michigan 7-6.

There's no rational explanation for this. Several teams have been good enough to do it, but somehow the championship has eluded them all.

To be sure, there have been some tantalizing close calls - like North Carolina losing in the finals to Oregon State each of the last two seasons. At least the Beavers can't spoil the party this year - they didn't make the 64-team field.

Three of this year's top four overall seeds are from the ACC, an indication of the league's strength. Miami is No. 1, North Carolina No. 2 and Florida State No. 4. The other top seeds are No. 3 Arizona State, No. 5 Cal State-Fullerton, No. 6 Rice, No. 7 LSU and No. 8 Georgia.

The Hurricanes, Tar Heels and Seminoles are hosting Regionals, along with NC State. That means NCAA playoffs will be going on within a few miles of each other at NC State's home field in Raleigh and UNC's temporary home field in Cary.

Also in the NCAA field from the ACC are Georgia Tech and Virginia. They will both travel - Tech a short distance and the Cavs across the country.

Making it to Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series is an arduous task for any team. The field is divided into 16 four-team Regionals, played in a double-elimination format. Bullpens become extremely important in this situation, and there is strong emphasis on winning that first game. Dropping into the losers' bracket immediately makes for long odds to win the Regional.

The 16 Regional winners will then be paired in eight Super Regionals for a best-of-three series. Those eight winners advance to "The Blatt," where CWS play begins June 14.

Here's a look at what each team faces in its bid to bring the national championship to the ACC.

MIAMI: The Hurricanes begin their quest for a fifth NCAA championship - but their first since 2001 - by hosting a Regional that includes Missouri (38-19), Mississippi (37-24) and Bethune-Cookman (36-20). Miami opens play against the latter.

Miami should be heavily favored to make it out and then host a Super Regional. The opponent would be the winner of another tough Regional that includes host Arizona (38-17), Michigan (45-12) and Kentucky (42-17).

The Hurricanes are in the field for the 36th straight season. They have made the CWS 22 times, winning four titles before they joined the ACC.

NORTH CAROLINA: To return to Omaha, the Tar Heels (46-12) will have to hack their way through a Regional that includes some in-state opponents. This Regional includes UNC Wilmington (42-15-1) and Elon (40-19), as well as Mount Saint Mary's (21-32), which is UNC's opening foe. Assuming the Tar Heels emerge, they will likely host a Super Regional against the winner of a Regional that includes host Coastal Carolina (47-12) and East Carolina (40-19).

FLORIDA STATE: The Seminoles (48-10) will open with Bucknell (29-22-2) in a Regional that also includes in-state rival Florida (34-22) and Tulane (37-20-1).

Should FSU win, it stands to host a Super Regional against the winner of a very tough Regional that includes host Oklahoma State (42-16), Wichita State (44-15) and Texas Christian (43-17).

The Seminoles have made 31 straight NCAA appearances, a streak second only to Miami among the nation's longest. They have made it to Omaha 18 times, the last in time in 2000.

NC STATE: The Wolfpack (38-20) hosts one of the toughest of the 16 Regionals. The opening game pits the Pack against fourth-seeded James Madison. While many No. 4 seeds have records close to .500 or under, the Dukes check in at 38-17. Also in the field are South Carolina (38-21) - led by former Pack head coach Ray Tanner - and Charlotte (43-14).

If NC State can get out of that field, it will face the winner of the Athens Regional. If someone other than Georgia (the No. 8 overall seed) wins, the Pack stands a chance to host a Super Regional.

GEORGIA TECH: And speaking of the Athens Regional, the Yellow Jackets (39-19) are the No. 2 seed. Also in the field are Louisville (41-19) and Lipscomb (32-28). The Jackets open against Louisville. Tech should have no fear of Georgia, which it beat two-out-of-three during the regular season.

As mentioned, if the Jackets can win here, they will meet the Raleigh Regional winner. That would be an interesting call to see which would host a Super Regional.

VIRGINIA: The Cavaliers (38-21) wound up in one of the strangest Regionals in the field. First, they have to travel all the way to Cal State-Fullerton, some 2,544 MapQuest miles. As the No. 3 seed, they will open against UCLA (31-25).

But Virginia isn't the farthest team from this Regional. Fourth seed Rider (29-26) has to go 2,730 MapQuest miles for the right to meet host Fullerton (48-10), the tournament's fifth overall seed.

Should Virginia pull the upset in this Regional, it would meet the winner of a Regional hosted by Stanford (33-21-2) that includes Pepperdine (36-19) and Arkansas (34-22

Bill Hass is a long-time observer of ACC sports. His career at the Greensboro News & Record spanned 36 years, from 1969 until his retirement in March, 2006. He is now writing "Bill Hass on the ACC" for theACC.com. His weekly columns will keep fans plugged in to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

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