2025 ACC Baseball Tournament Day Five Recap

Our championship matchup is set.

After a day of excitement, loud crowds, and tons of caffeine, Clemson and UNC found themselves at the top of the ACC mountain, ready to duel it out on Sunday afternoon. It’ll be a heavyweight bout.

With the week drawing to a close, I want to thank everyone who’s followed along. There’s a good likelihood that I’ll skip regionals to focus on more draft stuff, including the release of our Top 300 Draft prospects, so I want to get the gratitude and sappiness out of the way now.

With that out of the way, let’s dive into Saturday’s action.

Clemson Blows Past Georgia Tech, Secures ACC Championship Appearance

Clemson hit a rough patch towards the end of April. NC State swept them, lost a series to Florida State, and then lost a home series to Duke. It felt like the curtain was beginning to close on what had been a very consistent team going into the postseason.

Then came the series at Pitt.

The Tigers no-hit the Panthers on Thursday night before finishing the sweep on Friday and Saturday, outscoring Pitt 30-9. It was just what the doctor ordered.

Clemson was the only non-double-bye team to make it to Saturday, and now, they’re making their first ACC Championship appearance since they won it all in 2023. And at the center of it all? Their bullpen which has been so strong all year long.

Southpaw Talan Bell scuffled through 3.2 innings, but luckily for the Tigers, a five-spot in the third alleviated the pitching woes. Jacob Jarrell hit a grand slam off Georgia State transfer Brady Jones, who had pitched well going into Durham.

Once Clemson brought on Joe Allen and Jacob McGovern, it was over. The duo combined for 5.1 scoreless frames while the Tiger offense continued to tack on more runs, which included a TP Wentworth RBI double and a loud Collin Priest home run.

Wentworth’s coming-out party this week has been a welcome sight, as the highly-touted freshman has shown that he can be the future of this program. He’s flashed the leather and arm strength in right field all week, all while quietly putting together quality at-bats from the left side. He’ll be an integral piece to this Tigers offense for years to come.

On the Yellow Jackets’ side, they didn’t go down without a fight, but numerous baserunning mistakes proved costly. Kent Schmidt and Kyle Lodise each had two hits on the day, but the team as a whole only mustered three hits against the Tigers’ bullpen. A bittersweet ending, no doubt. We’ll see how this affects their hosting chances, though the regular season title should weigh heavily in their favor with the committee.

Kepley’s Ninth-Inning Heroics Send UNC To Championship Sunday

Replacing Vance Honeycutt was never going to be an easy task. Quite frankly, it’s impossible to do. However, Kane Kepley has done his best. And on Saturday, Kepley stepped up when UNC needed him most.

Tied at 5 entering the ninth, Alex Madera led off the inning, reaching on an error by second baseman Drew Faurot. Perry Hargett followed with a single, giving the Tar Heels two on with three outs to play with. Up came Kepley, a fun-sized presence in the box with a knack for lacing the ball all over the field. He’d do just that.

Kepley would lace a ball back up the middle, lacing it directly over Alex Lodise’s head to score two runs. It was an emphatic end to a tense game that started with a pitcher’s duel.

Wes Mendes and Jason DeCaro traded zeroes for the first three innings, with Mendes putting down the Tar Heel bats in order. Only two hits were recorded during this time, largely thanks to great defense (looks directly at Chase Williams through the scoreboard).

Then came the offense.

First, Gavin Gallaher scored in the top frame of the fourth to score Kepley before Myles Bailey led off the bottom half with another home run, his third of the week. Two doubles and a single scored two runs in the top of the fifth, while a bases-loaded walk and an error scored two runs in the bottom half. This continued into the sixth, even with a young kid giving the Tar Heels life and leading to a Luke Stevenson home run. Alex Lodise would tie the game at five in the sixth with a loud double off the wall.

Then came the starters turned relievers, as Joey Volini and Aidan Haugh traded zeroes and barely blinked before the events of the ninth kicked in.

For Florida State, they’ll host a regional, but there are questions about the pitching moving forward. There’s no denying the offense, but after Jamie Arnold, there have been inconsistencies throughout the past month or so. Their bullpen can be suspect, even with how deep it can be. We’ll see how deep the Seminoles can go, but it might be a tighter situation in the postseason than they would like.

As for the Tar Heels, they’ll dance with the Tigers to win their first ACC title since 2022. They will be hosting, as well.

Draft Notes

• Alex Lodise’s approach is aggressive, but after watching him play for two days, his ability to pull the baseball with authority gives him notoriety. The 2025 Player of the Year in the ACC, Lodise likes to live with the foot on the gas, pulling no punches whatsoever. He’s a solid defender at shortstop and should find himself sticking at the position long-term. It’ll be above-average power at best, even though the bat-to-ball skills are fringy at best. He’ll struggle with spin more often than not, but he does a good job adjusting after seeing it initially. He should find himself getting picked somewhere in the second round.