ACC Tournament: Day Four Recap

Seminoles’ Offensive Explosion Leads to 14-7 Win Over Duke in ACC Quarterfinal

No. 2 seed Florida State overwhelmed No. 7 seed Duke with a powerful eight-run surge in the third inning, securing a 14-7 victory in the opening quarterfinal of the 2025 ACC Baseball Championship.

Florida State’s offense was relentless, as every player in the lineup recorded a hit. Six players contributed multiple hits, helping the team tally 14 runs on 18 hits.

Freshman Myles Bradley stood out with four hits, including two home runs, driving in four runs and scoring three times. 

Designated hitter Brody DeLamielleure also had a strong showing, going 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and three runs scored. 

The Seminoles’ top three hitters—Gage Harrelson, Alex Lodise, and Max Williams—all recorded two hits each and combined for multiple RBIs and runs.

Duke’s offense was led by Noah Murray, who went 2-for-2 with a home run, double, four RBIs, and a run scored. 

AJ Gracia and Jake Berger also contributed RBIs with timely hits.

On the mound, Florida State’s Jamie Arnold earned the win, pitching five innings while allowing five runs on seven hits, striking out seven and walking one. 

Duke’s starter Owen Proksch took the loss after just 2.1 innings, surrendering six runs on eight hits with one walk and four strikeouts.

The game featured an early exchange of runs, with Florida State scoring twice in the first inning, including an RBI single by Bailey. 

Duke responded in the second with two runs on a two-run double by Murray, tying the game at 2-2.

Florida State took the lead in the bottom of the second on a solo home run by West before breaking the game open in the third. The Seminoles’ eight-run frame featured 12 batters and several clutch hits, including a two-run single by Chase Williams and a two-run home run by Bailey, extending the lead to 11-2 after three innings.

Duke attempted to rally with a two-run homer from Murray in the fourth, but Florida State quickly responded by capitalizing on defensive errors and a sacrifice fly from Harrelson to push the lead back to 12-4.

Duke continued to fight, scoring twice in the sixth, but Florida State answered with an RBI single from Harrelson and capped the scoring with Bailey’s second home run in the seventh. 

Though Duke added a late run in the ninth, it wasn’t enough to overcome the Seminoles’ commanding lead.

Seminoles Head Coach, Link Jarrett, couldn’t hold back his pride for the Seminoles, saying:

“I’m proud of the guys and how they performed today. Jamie (Arnold) gave us a solid start — I saw some good swing-and-miss on his fastball, which is always encouraging, along with some effective sliders and changeups. He managed the little tweener comebackers well. Overall, it was a strong outing. When you bring in your relievers, it’s crucial they get the first batter they face out, and I think they did just that. As for the double play, even if it might have seemed like the lead was slipping away, when you’re in the middle of the game, it doesn’t feel like that. That 4-6-3 double play was a huge momentum shift.”

UNC Praises Boston College’s Grit After Hard-Fought 7–2 ACC Quarterfinal Victory

Graduate right-hander and ACC Pitcher of the Year Jake Knapp remained unbeaten, improving to 12-0 after delivering a strong seven-inning start. He allowed just two runs on five hits while striking out four to earn the win. 

First-year reliever Walker McDuffie closed the door with two shutout innings and three strikeouts, recording his fifth save of the season.

Boston College sent A.J. Colarusso to the mound, and the left-hander delivered another stellar outing despite taking a no-decision. 

He allowed only one run on five hits while striking out nine over six innings. Across his three tournament appearances, Colarusso threw 237 pitches across 13 innings, giving up just five runs and striking out 15.

Tar Heels Head Coach, Scott Forbes, emphasized just how impressive Colarusso was in his ACC Tournamnet run, saying:

“Boston College really battled. That was on just two days’ rest for Colarusso — and that performance was incredibly impressive. That’s an old-school pitching mentality you don’t see a lot of anymore. I think he threw 72 pitches two days ago, then came back and threw 109 today. He was tough on us in Boston, and he was tough on us again tonight… I want to give a lot of credit to Boston College. They showed up at this ACC Tournament and gave us everything we could handle."

Jackson Van De Brake followed up this statement, expressing:

“He [Colarusso] was attacking the strike zone all day. He’s got a really good fastball and did a great job mixing in off-speed stuff to keep us off balance — just like he did back at Boston College. Like Coach said, it’s really impressive to come out and compete like that on such short rest, especially after throwing that many pitches earlier in the week. He mixed well, competed hard, and really kept us guessing at the plate. All the credit to him.”

JD Ogden (4-3) took the loss for the Eagles, allowing two runs on a pair of walks in the seventh inning.

Offensively, UNC tallied nine hits — three of them for extra bases — and drew seven walks. The Tar Heels also took advantage of a key BC error to push across seven runs.

The top of the UNC lineup powered the offense. Leadoff hitter Kane Kepley went 1-for-4 with a walk and a run. 

Van De Brake reached base five times, going 2-for-2 with a double, three walks, two RBIs, two runs, and a stolen base. 

Stevenson added a 2-for-5 night with a home run, three RBIs, and two runs scored.

Boston College’s offense, which had already upset two teams in the tournament, was limited to two runs on five hits and failed to draw a walk. 

Leadoff man Josiah Ragsdale had a pair of hits and a run, while Patrick Roche and Jack Toomey each added an RBI.

The Eagles jumped ahead early in the third inning with a two-out single from Ragsdale, an RBI double from Roche, and a run-scoring single by Toomey.

UNC was held in check until the bottom of the seventh, when three straight walks loaded the bases. Van De Brake then delivered a game-tying double to right, scoring two. A wild pitch allowed Kepley to cross home and give UNC the lead. 

Stevenson followed with an RBI single, and a fielding error set up pinch-hitter Luke Sowers to drive in another run, making it 5-2.

McDuffie struck out the side in the top of the eighth, and Stevenson padded the lead with a two-run homer to center in the bottom half. 

The 7-2 victory sends the Tar Heels into Saturday’s semifinal with momentum.

The Tar Heels are set to face No. 2 seed Florida State (38-13) in the ACC Tournament semifinals on Saturday, May 24, at 5 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ACC Network.