ACC Day 1 Tournament Recap: Miami Upsets Louisville

Miami’s players fire up the crowd. (Photo by Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Game 1: Miami vs. Louisville

The offense was on full display on the first day of the ACC Tournament, and Miami started the series with a bang in an 8-5 win against Louisville in Charlotte, N.C., at Truist Field. 

Miami’s offense was led by third baseman Daniel Cuvet, who hit two home runs with six RBI against Lousiville. The right-handed freshman Cuvet stepped up in the first and hit an opposite-field three-run home run to right center against Louisville starting pitcher Evan Webster to give Miami a 3-0 lead.

Cuvet pulled another three-run home run to left center in the seventh against Louisville reliever Tucker Biven to extend the lead to 8-3. This home run was his 23rd of the season and tied third baseman Pat Burell freshman’s record. Cuvet’s season stats are 23 home runs, 71 RBI, and an OPS of 1.161 in 223 at-bats. He leads Miami in all of those stats this season.

Left-handed pitcher Rafe Schelinger started the game for Miami and is the 108th-ranked prospect in MLB Pipeline’s rankings. Schlesinger got the win and pitched 5.2 innings. He gave up three runs and struck out six batters.

Miami was the underdog as the 11th team in the ACC, going 11-19 with an overall record of 26-29. Louisville was the seventh team in the ACC, going 16-14 with an overall record of 32-22. Both teams are in Pool B with the second-ranked team in the ACC Clemson.

Miami will play Clemson on Thursday, May 23, at 11 a.m. EST, and Louisville will play Clemson on Friday, May 24, at 3 p.m. EST.

Game 2 Georgia Tech vs Florida State

Florida State took care of business in a 12-9 win against Georgia Tech with four home runs from four different players.

Designated hitter Marco Dinges hit a two-run bomb to give Florida State a 2-0 lead in the first. First baseman Daniel Cantu and second baseman Drew Faurot each hit two-run home runs in the fourth and were up 6-1. Left fielder Jaime Ferrer hit the fourth two-run home run of the game in the fifth, and they were leading 8-1.

Florida State (40-14) is the No.10 team in the Top 25 NCAA Division I Rankings and finished fifth in the ACC with a 17-12 record. Georgia Tech was ninth in the ACC with a 15-15 record and an overall record of 31-22.

Florida State and Georgia Tech are both in Pool D with the fifth-ranked team in the ACC Virginia.

Georgia Tech will play Virginia on Wednesday, May 22, at 11 a.m. EST, and Florida State will play Virginia on Friday, May 24, at 11 a.m. EST.

Game 3 Virginia Tech vs Duke

Duke was down 5-0 after two innings but stormed back to win 11-8. They were led by second baseman Zac Morris, who had two home runs and five RBI in the victory.

His first home run was a three-run home run that cut the lead to 5-3 in the third off Virginia Tech starting pitcher Wyatt Parliament. Duke had a huge third and took the lead 6-5 after Chase Krenson hit a two-run single off Virginia Tech reliever Matt Siverling.

The righty hitting Morris’ second home run was a two-run shot to extend Duke’s lead to 9-5 in the seventh against Virgin Tech reliever Jacob Stretch.

Morris’ season stats are 17 home runs, 54 RBI, 13 stolen bases, and an OPS of 1.113. Morris leads Duke in home runs and stolen bases.

Duke went 16-14 and is the sixth-ranked team in the ACC. Its overall record is 36-18. Duke is the No.17 team in the Top 25 NCAA Division I Rankings. Virginia Tech is the 10th team in the ACC, going 14-16 with an overall record of 32-21.

Duke and Virginia Tech are in Pool C with NC State. NC State is the third team in the ACC,

Virginia Tech will play NC State on Wednesday, May 22, at 7 p.m. EST, and Duke will play NC State on Thursday, May 23, at 7 p.m. EST.

Schedule 

The other game on Wednesday, May 22, is between the 12th-ranked team in the ACC, Pitt, and the eighth-ranked team, Wake Forest, at 3 p.m. Both teams are in Pool A, and the other team in Pool A is the top-ranked ACC team, North Carolina.

All games can be watched on the ACCN and WatchESPN.