NC State baseball and ACC Tournament bubble

The NC State baseball team rallied for a walk-off win Tuesday against visiting North Carolina A&T, improving to 29-14 overall on the season. However, the focus is on improving an 8-12 ACC record.

If the Wolfpack is to have any hopes of getting back to the NCAA Tournament following last year’s snub, making the ACC Tourney is a must.

Twelve of 14 teams in the conference make the event. At 6-18, Florida State is almost certain to be one of the 2 squads omitted from the ACC Tournament, especially considering FSU’s next three-game conference series comes against the league’s best team and No. 2-ranked nationally Wake Forest. The Deacons are 16-4 in the ACC.

Currently, there are 4 teams fighting to avoid the second omission and each have three league series left. Unfortunately for NC State baseball, the Pack is one of those four.

At the moment, Georgia Tech (8-13) stands to join Florida State in sitting out the ACC Tourney. NC State though is only 1 game up in the loss column, and Pitt (8-11) and Louisville (9-12) are all technically 1 game ahead the Yellow Jackets.

Here is a look at what is left for those three teams.

NC State baseball

The Pack may have one off the tougher slates between the four but also one of the better opportunities.

The next two series are each on the road, starting Thursday at Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are 13-11 in the ACC and riding a hot streak of winning 5 of 6 conference games, including a surprising sweep of ranked Virginia at home. Additionally, Notre Dame has won 3 of 4 conference series in South Bend.

Tuesday’s cancellation of a midweek game against Bowling Green should also have the Irish’s pitching staff well rested.

After Notre Dame comes the annual rivalry showdown for NC State baseball with North Carolina. The Heels are 11-11 in the conference, currently barely safely above the cutline for making the ACC Tournament. At 28-17 overall, UNC is on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament and needs a strong finish, missing an opportunity Tuesday evening with a loss to ranked Campbell at home.

UNC plays ranked East Carolina in Greenville on Wednesday. The Heels have this weekend off.

After a trip to Chapel Hill comes a home series against Pittsburgh to cap the NC State baseball regular season. Winning this series could potentially help seal an ACC Tournament bid.

Pittsburgh

The Panthers are the lone team in the ACC Tournament bubble to play two teams on that are currently on that cutoff line. This weekend, Pitt plays at Georgia Tech, and as noted above the Panthers close the regular season at NC State.

In between is a home series against ranked Miami, who is 14-10 in the ACC and fighting to win the Coastal Division. Currently, the Hurricanes have the league’s third-best league mark. The top four records earn top seeds in the pods, which are consisted of 3 teams. The top seed is important because it breaks the tie if all three teams go 1-1 in round-robin action.

Georgia Tech

This weekend is a huge one for Georgia Tech, who hosts Pittsburgh. The final 2 series for the Yellow Jackets are challenging assignments — at Duke and vs. Virginia. Red-hot Duke is 14-9 in the conference and has the ACC’s second-best mark. Virginia has struggled some lately, but spent much of the season ranked in the top 10 of the national polls.

Thus, without winning this home series against Pitt, Georgia Tech could be behind the eight ball and need help from NC State and the other teams.

Louisville

The Cardinals rebounded nicely from losing 2 of 3 at NC State to begin April by sweeping Boston College, but since then Louisville has lost three straight ACC series, including being swept at Duke. Thus, the Cards are 2-7 in the past 9 conference contests.

This weekend, Louisville hits the road and plays one of the hottest teams in the ACC in surging Clemson. The Tigers have won four consecutive ACC series, including sweeping NC State, and gone 9-3 in that stretch, improving a once dismal league mark to 11-10.

Then Louisville travels to Virginia for a three-game set, but the Cardinals do have the luxury of hosting Florida State to wrap the regular season.