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Miami vs. Wake Forest ACC Semifinal Preview
Miami has potentially one of the toughest matchups in tournament play, regardless of conference. The No. 4-seed Hurricanes take on No. 1-seed Wake Forest Demon Deacons, who are also ranked No. 1 in the country according to Baseball America.
The Hurricanes are No. 10, and the fourth highest-ranked ACC team (Clemson No. 7, Virginia No. 9). Miami faced off against Wake Forest in a weekend series to close out March.
Game time has been set for 1 p.m. EST and will be played on the ACC Network.
It was a rather forgettable series for the Hurricanes, as the Demon Deacons hung 19 runs on Miami across three games while allowing two runs. In game one, the Demon Deacon batters ate up Miami pitchers Karson Ligon and Ben Chestnutt as they allowed 11 runs.
During Saturday's and Sunday's games, the Hurricanes held Wake Forest's run total to four, but in each game, Miami could only muster one run.
There is no question, if Miami shows up flat on Saturday as they did at the end of March, the result would likely not favor the Green and Orange. However, Miami's bullpen has pitched efficiently in the first two games of pool play.
With strong outings from Gage Ziehl and Ronaldo Gallo to start the tournament, it leaves room for Ligon and Chestnutt to avenge their last outings, or Alejandro Rosario could get the nod.
Wake Forest is neck and neck with the Hurricanes in team home run totals, with the Canes having hit 107, while the Demon Deacons cranked 110 after hitting three out of the park against Notre Dame on Friday night.
Two of them came from infielder Nick Kurtz, who is one of two Wake Forest batters with over 20 home runs this year. Infielder Brock Wilken is fourth in the nation with 26 home runs. Their home runs account for just under 45% of the team's total.
Miami on the other hand, has had more of a team approach when it comes to hitting the long ball. Six Hurricanes have more than 10 home runs compared to the Demon Deacons three. But, hitting home runs, or hitting regardless against the Demon Deacons is no easy task, considering Wake Forest's bullpen is elite.
Deacs pitcher Rhett Lowder, who sports a 13-0 record with a 1.69 ERA, started on Thursday while Seth Keener started on Friday against Notre Dame, leaving room for Josh Hartle (9-2, 2.32 ERA) or Sean Sullivan (5-2, 2.56 ERA) to start against the Canes on Saturday.
The Big Question: Will Miami Upset the No. 1 Demon Deacons?
Baseball and consistency have never really gone together, it is what makes the sport great. It is also what makes Saturday's matchup between the Deacs and Canes so intriguing.
Although Miami posed relatively no challenge to Wake Forest in March, there are no assurances that a result like that will occur again.
While I believe that Miami is playing better at this point in the season, I look at Miami's back-to-back games of 13 runners left on base in pool play. At times against NC State and Duke, it seemed like that issue could catch up to Miami. The clutch hitting in both games led to that not being the case.
If Miami wants a real chance at beating the Demon Deacons, they will have to focus on bringing their runners home and keeping the opposing hits inside the park. Should Miami not let the game turn into a bullpen game, the Canes have a nice chance against Wake Forest.
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