Published May 18, 2025
ACC tournament outlook: Wake Forest
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Conor O'Neill  •  DeaconsIllustrated
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Deacons will get an early start after a bye to the second day 

The all-inclusive ACC tournament is coming to Durham.

After years of double-elimination and pool play, the ACC baseball tournament will feature every team in the league for a single-elimination tournament that starts Tuesday at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Wake Forest will play its first game at 9 a.m. Wednesday, having earned the No. 8 seed and a bye to the second round of the event.

Wake Forest will play either California, which finished last in the league, or Miami, which finished ninth. Those teams play the first game of the tournament, at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

- The Deacons did not play Cal during the regular season and have never played the ACC newcomers in program history. Cal went 22-30 this season and 9-21 in the ACC; the Golden Bears are coming to the East Coast after winning two of three games in a home series against Boston College this weekend.

- Wake Forest swept Miami two months ago in what was the second ACC series of the season. The Deacons are 19-39 against the Hurricanes in program history and they met in the ACC tournament semifinal round two seasons ago, with Miami beating Wake Forest in a rain-soaked affair in Chapel Hill.

If Wake Forest wins its first game, it will play the tournament’s No. 1 seed, Georgia Tech, at 3 p.m. Thursday. The tournament’s semifinals being on Saturday and championship on Sunday remain the same as years past.

Wake Forest did not play Georgia Tech this season.

As of Saturday evening, Wake Forest was leaning toward starting Blake Morningstar in its first game of the tournament. He has emerged as the top starter over the past several weeks and is 6-1 with a 2.71 ERA this season, with 82 strikeouts in 73 innings.

Wake’s other option for a starting pitcher is Logan Lunceford. He started the season as the Friday night starter before falling out of the weekend rotation, and is 5-4 with a 4.73 ERA. Lunceford has 83 strikeouts in 53 1/3 innings.

Here’s a complete schedule for the ACC tournament at Durham Bulls Athletic Park:

Tuesday, May 20

Game 1 – No. 16 California vs. No. 9 Miami, 9 a.m.

Game 2 – No. 12 Virginia Tech vs. No. 13 Stanford, 1 p.m.

Game 3 – No. 15 Pitt vs. No. 10 Louisville, 5 p.m.

Game 4 – No. 14 Boston College vs. No. 11 Notre Dame, 9 p.m.

Wednesday, May 21

Game 5 – Game 1 winner vs. No. 8 Wake Forest, 9 a.m.

Game 6 – Game 2 winner vs. No. 5 Clemson, 1 p.m.

Game 7 – Game 3 winner vs. No. 7 Duke, 5 p.m.

Game 8 – Game 4 vs. No. 6 Virginia, 9 p.m.

Thursday, May 22

Game 9 – Game 5 Winner vs. No. 1 Georgia Tech, 3 p.m.

Game 10 – Game 6 Winner vs. No. 4 NC State, 7 p.m.

Friday, May 23

Game 11 – Game 7 Winner vs. No. 2 Florida State, 3 p.m.

Game 12 – Game 8 Winner vs. No. 3 North Carolina, 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 24

Game 13 – Game 9 vs. Game 10 Winners, 1 p.m.

Game 14 – Game 11 vs. Game 12 Winners, 5 p.m.

Sunday, May 25 - Championship Game

Game 15 – Saturday Winners, Noon, ESPN2

(All Tuesday-Saturday games will air on ACC Network.)