2025 ACC Baseball Tournament Day One Recap

Welcome to conference tournament week!

As the post-season gets started, we have a plethora of writers out at tournaments throughout the week. We’ll start in the ACC, where a 17-hour day was accompanied by three upsets and plenty of action on the field.

Will I lose a lot of sleep this week? Who will reign supreme in Durham? Who will save their season after this event? There’s only one way to find out. Let’s dive into the recaps from the first day of the tournament.

Cal Shocks Miami, Run-Rules Hurricanes Behind de la Torre Gem

In a rather shocking upset to start off the tournament, the California Golden Bears were not fazed by the time difference, blasting Miami out of the title contention in dominant fashion by a score of 12-2.

It all started on the mound for Cal, as redshirt freshman Oliver de la Torre pitched a gem, throwing six shutout innings with seven strikeouts and only two hits allowed. He had just returned to the mound against Florida State on May 10th, going four scoreless in that outing. Cal coach Mike Neu opted to give de la Torre extra rest following that game, which paid dividends.

“His last outing was outstanding against Florida State, and we gave him a little rest to be ready for this one,” said Neu. “I think when his change-up is on, you know, big depth and especially with his fastball having big ride….He [de la Torre] threw so well.”

Neu mentions the fastball/change-up combination, and that was de la Torre’s main attack method against Miami. De la Torre’s sequencing and command were fantastic, commanding the heater on the top rail before letting the change-up tumble away at the bottom of the zone. He had sixteen whiffs on the day, nine on his heater, and seven on that devastating change-up.

De la Torre’s gem was not the only noteworthy performance of the day. Redshirt Junior Alex Birge, who owned an OPS north of .900 on the year coming in, blasted two home runs to lead Cal’s offensive onslaught.

Miami starter Griffin Hugus left a cutter up in the zone in the second inning, which Birge blasted 444 feet away onto the concourse in right field. Birge’s second home run was the final dagger in the run-rule victory, sending it to the opposite field gap in the 8th inning.

“It was big,” Neu said of Birge’s performance. “He’s capable of doing that, and we’ve seen that in different situations. He’s ultra-talented, major power, and he can throw behind the plate. He’s a great team leader, too. He definitely changed the game.”

Another big offensive performance came from shortstop PJ Moutzouridis, who led the way in the hit column with three on the morning. Moutzouridis hasn’t had the best year, slashing just .257/.315/.351 coming into the tournament, but his underlying data suggests a better picture than seen on paper. Moutzouridis has found his groove in recent weeks, as he’s currently on a five-game hit streak after his performance.

“I think it’s really important [that PJ gets hot] just to create that depth in our lineup….when he kind of gets going, and he gets that confidence going, he can be really dangerous.”

On Miami’s side, sophomore Daniel Cuvet was one of the few bright spots. Cuvet’s had one of the best second-half performances in the entire country, as he’s had ten multi-hit games in the past twelve contests.

After striking out in the first, Cuvet laced a double down the left field line before being stranded at third base. His 7th inning single helped craft runs in the inning, as Tanner Smith went deep to salvage something from Tuesday’s game.

For Miami, they’re now in wait-and-see mode for their NCAA Tournament hopes. Their top-ten strength of schedule and top-40 RPI should give them life, but we’ll see how the committee views this loss. As for Cal, they will move on to Wednesday, facing Wake Forest at 9 AM. Cal must win the tournament outright to have any chances of making the NCAA Tournament.

Virginia Tech Pulls Away Late, Sends Stanford Packing

Stanford’s expectations for the 2025 season were undoubtedly high. On paper, this team took a step forward. They had retained a glut of talent and seemed destined to make some noise in their first year of ACC play. Instead, the Cardinal went one-and-done in Durham, ending a disappointing debut season.

“Proud of our guys,” David Esquer said of his team. “It’s been a tough season for us in many ways, but I thought here at the end, the team we brought here and played with in the tournament was the team we started the season with, when we were 15-3 and 5-1 in conference, and then it just kinda flipped for us a bit.”

For Esquer, regrouping and focusing on 2026 is now paramount. He’s got the young talent, there’s no denying that. Stanford expects to return the likes of Joey Volchko, who started Tuesday’s tilt, Aidan Keenan, Rintaro Sasaki, and more. Two of his prized upperclassmen, Trevor Haskins and Jimmy Nati, went deep to scrap runs back, but it proved too little, too late.

Volchko, one of the top 2026 pitching prospects, looked stellar across his first two innings of work, retiring the first six batters in a row and recording a strikeout to end the second inning. However, the wheels fell off in the third, as Volchko’s delivery couldn’t sync up and his command wavered.

He’s a unique arm to dissect. A natural supinator, you’d think he’d garner plenty of whiffs and strikeouts. However, that’s not the case, as he’s a groundball guy with a cutting fastball and dynamic breaking pitches. Keeping his body in sync has always been a tough task given the uptempo nature of his mechanics. That’ll be the key focus moving forward.

On the other side, this win was much needed for a Virginia Tech squad ravaged by injuries. The Hokies have lost a plethora of talented players to injury this spring, including the likes of Andrew Sentlinger and Garrett Michel. However, freshman Jake Marciano delivered on short rest, and the offense found its rhythm to keep their season alive.

Speaking on their injuries and the importance of Marciano delivering, Szefc mentioned the fact that their team is “very thin in general.” There was praise to be had for the likes of Marciano, Grant Manning, and Jared Davis. Davis, in particular, saved the Hokies from bleeding runs with incredible plays in the field.

“JD gave us great defense. The catch he made behind second base was probably the play of the game, kept two runs off the board.”

Overall, if you’re the Hokies, you take the positives and run with them. They need a great showing in Durham this week to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive, especially after losing five straight conference series. On the outside looking in, they’re hungry for more. They’ll get a tough matchup with the Clemson Tigers, a team that we didn’t expect to see out of the top four in the league, on Wednesday. A win against the Tigers would do wonders for their postseason hopes.

“Gritsburgh” Upsets Louisville In A Certified ACC Classic

This game was full of ups and downs. A roller coaster of emotions, if you will.

It had everything. Pitt jumped out to a 7-1 lead early as Louisville’s pitching struggled to contain a gritty offense, and while Ryan Reed delivered with his funky nature, the Cardinals slowly began to creep back into it. Eddie King Jr. and Lorenzo Carrier both had career days, as King posted two doubles and a home run, while Carrier had a double and a home run of his own.

Enter the bottom of the eighth inning.

With Pitt ahead 11-6, Mike Bell stuck with veteran reliever Ethan Firoved. The reliable southpaw already had an inning of work in the books, striking out three Cardinals to post a zero. Then, the train derailed.

At times, it was a waiting game for Bell to be ejected from the game. Three straight singles set the stage for a wild finish. A Lucas Moore HBP and a walk to King set Garrett Pike up to deliver the dramatics, flaring a single to center to tie the game at 11.

While we dreaded a potential extra-inning game in the press box, Luke Cantwell flipped the script in the 9th.

“He wasn’t going to get into chase mode,” said Bell. “That’s why he’s a Gritsburgh-type mentality hitter, that guy made a mistake and had to put something over the plate, and he punished him for it.

Cantwell lined a two-run home run to the bleachers in right field, taking the lead in what felt like the biggest moment of his Pitt career.

Cantwell praised his coaches in the post-game presser. “The coaches preach to us, just let the game come to you,” Cantwell said. “They harp on it every day, every at-bat, every pitch. It’s another pitch, it’s another moment, and I was fortunate to get a good one.”

Conversely, for Louisville, this is a tough pill to swallow. While they are on the safer side of the bubble with a top-30 RPI, there’s work to be done on the pitching side. With that said, Dan McConnell had nothing but praise for “Gritsburgh.”

“They did a damn good job offensively tonight but you’re not beating anybody this time of year with 13 walks and a hit-by-pitch,” McDonnell said. “I’m really glad of the way we fought hard and got back in it and had a chance to win, but I think the ninth inning was kind of the epitome of how the day went.”

Pitt will advance to the second round on Wednesday, where they’ll face a difficult Duke offense that takes advantage of mistakes.

Boston College Outlasts Notre Dame In Extra Innings

Do you hear that sigh? No? Listen harder. We all let out a collective sigh after 1 AM when we saw that this game went to extra innings.

Anyways, the last game of the day delivered in earnest. While the Pitt/Louisville game was an instant classic, this game dragged on, but in a good way. Boston College and Notre Dame dueled to the end, barely budging at the slightest twitch from the opposition. Notre Dame wanted to add some cushion to their tournament hopes, while Boston College wanted to cause more chaos. And the Eagles delivered.

Patrick Roche saved the Eagles’ season with a clutch single in the tenth inning, scoring Sam McNulty from second base. But how did we get there?

It all started with a fun first inning, as Rory Fox blew the fastball by Boston College hitters in the top half before Notre Dame scored two runs in the bottom half. From there, Kyle Wolff crushed a hanging breaking ball from Fox to score three runs in the second, a mammoth tank that hit the roof of Tobacco Road beyond the Blue Monster.

After that, Boston College added another run on a suicide squeeze in the third before Notre Dame slowly clawed back into the game. At that point, it was a battle of the bullpens. JD Ogden and Gavin Soares gave the Eagles valuable length out of the bullpen, saving arms for Wednesday’s tilt against Virginia.

As for Shawn Stiffler’s crew, their fate lies in wait throughout the week. Notre Dame fell seven spots in the RPI as a result of this loss, putting stress on the Fighting Irish. They needed a cushion, and unfortunately, they did not get it.

Draft Hits

• Miami RHP Griffin Hugus labored through his start, lasting just three innings and allowing four runs, walking three. It was a fastball-heavy approach, throwing the heater nearly 60% of the outing, but Hugus struggled to locate his secondary offerings. His heater topped out at 92 MPH, which is slightly down, though that’s likely a result of short rest. His mid-80s slider was the best whiff producer, registering two whiffs on three swings, flashing tight shape with some tilt. There was a bigger bender and a firm change, as well. Despite the down outing, there’s upside in the profile, and teams will have interest in the right-hander within the third to fifth round range.

• Louisville OF Lucas Moore is putting himself in first-round consideration for the 2026 MLB Draft. A true table-setter atop the Cardinals’ lineup, Moore features excellent bat-to-ball skills and incredible speed from the left side of the dish. He registered multiple home-to-first times at 4.00 seconds, which is double-plus speed. There’s some pop in the stick, though he will never be a legitimate slugger and will stand out for his contact prowess. He’s a future center fielder with very good range, as well. There’s quite a bit of Steven Kwan to his game.

• Notre Dame RHP Rory Fox pitched on short rest to help save the Irish’s season and threw a solid six-inning outing. He ran into some issues in the second and third innings with command, but Fox let the fastball miss bats early. He was up to 96 MPH with legitimate riding action and mixed cut and run to the pitch, sitting in the low-90s. He threw all three secondary offerings in the outing, relying heavily on his low-80s two-plane slider before breaking out the fading low-80s change-up against lefties. He’d throw a bigger curveball to steal strikes, flashing good depth in the upper-70s. Fox is still relatively fresh in terms of pitching, and he’s performed well this season, though there are some kinks to iron out. He should hear his name called early on Day 2.