DURHAM, N.C. – Florida State (37-19, 17-13) will enter the 2015 ACC Baseball Championship as the fourth-seed and will open competition on Wednesday, May 20 at 11:00 a.m. against fifth-seeded Clemson (31-25, 16-13) inside the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, N.C.
The Seminoles will then face the winner of Tuesday’s play-in game between No. 8 North Carolina and No. 9 Virginia Tech on Thursday, May 21 at 7:00 p.m. and then wrap-up pool play competition on Saturday, May 23 against top-seeded Louisville at 11:00 a.m. The winners of each pool will play in the championship game on Sunday, May 24 at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN2.
FSU has served as the No. 4 seed in 1994, 2005 and 2015. This year marks the first time the Noles have earned the No. 4 seed in Durham. FSU is 0-1 in championship games as a four-seed falling in the championship game in 1994.
Florida State is 65-39 all-time in tournament play, while posting a record of 19-18 in nine previous tournament appearances held in the state of North Carolina:
When comparing numbers against the other four schools in FSU’s pool, the Seminoles own a combined tournament record of 20-11 against Louisville (0-0), Clemson (11-9), North Carolina (9-1) and Virginia Tech (0-1).
Against the other schools in the second pool, FSU owns a combined record of 26-24 against the likes of Miami (1-2), Notre Dame (0-0), NC State (11-5), Virginia (8-8) and Georgia Tech (6-9).
The 2015 ACC Baseball Championship marks the 10th time the tournament has been held in the state of North Carolina since FSU joined the league in 1992. The Seminoles are 6-4 all-time when holding the No. 4 seed in the tournament.
The Seminoles have played for the conference championship five of the nine times the tournament has been held in the state of North Carolina including four times in Durham (1996, 1998, 2009 & 2011) and once in Greensboro (2010). FSU is 1-4 all-time when reaching the tournament finals in North Carolina with the lone win coming in Greensboro in 2010.
In Opening ACC Tournament
It’s about getting off to a good start in the postseason and that is something the Florida State Baseball team has done when it comes to the start of the ACC Baseball Championship. In 23 previous trips, the Seminoles are 16-7 in the opening game of the tournament.
FSU snapped a four-game losing streak in opening round games after beating North Carolina 7-1 in the opener a season ago in Greensboro.
Since adopting the pool play format, FSU is 4-4 in the first round games. The Noles have won 15 of the last 20 opening round games. FSU has outscored the opposition 134-85 in that opening round contest holding opponents to three or fewer runs 11 times with two shutouts.
Florida State has faced Clemson just once in an opening round game with that coming in 1993 as the Tigers defeated the Noles 6-1 in Greenville.
Pool Play in ACC Tournament
Since the ACC moved to a pool play format for its conference tournament, Florida State has posted a record of 12-15. The Seminoles played in the ACC Championship game for the first time under the format in 2009 falling to Virginia 6-3.
Under the new format, the #1 seed has played for the championship four times, #6 seed four times, #2, #5 and #8 seeds twice and #7 and #9 seed once. Last year, Georgia Tech became the lowest seed to win the tournament defeating Maryland in the championship game as the No. 9-seed.
Familiar Foe
Florida State and Louisville are no strangers to facing each other in conference tournament action as the two schools played eight times in the METRO Conference Tournament from 1976-1991. The Seminoles went 7-1 against the Cardinals in the METRO Tournament.
All 15 games of this year’s ACC Baseball Championship will be televised for the ninth straight year. Regional Sports Networks from across the conference footprint and across the nation will carry all 14 games on Tuesday through Saturday. Sunday’s championship game will televised nationally by ESPN2 at 1 p.m. All games will also be available on ESPN3 or WatchESPN.
In addition, all 15 games will be broadcast via satellite radio on Sirius 218/XM 193.
The inaugural ACC Baseball Championship FanFest presented by Quintiles will be held just outside Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Friday, May 22, from 2 to 7 p.m., and Saturday, May 23, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The free event, held on Blackwell Street, will serve as the official pregame destination for fans and will feature attractions from the ACC Corporate Champions, live entertainment, free face painting, official championship merchandise, food trucks, and fun for the entire family.
Fans can also listen to every game of the ACC Tournament on 106.1 FM and free of charge on Seminoles.com and the Florida State Seminoles Game Day app. Updates from the game will also be posted on the official twitter page of the Seminole baseball team (@FSU_Baseball).
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