Stanford Baseball Dominates in First Year in ACC
There may be a new king in ACC baseball. No, it’s not UNC, it’s not Duke, it’s not even Florida State or Clemson. Let's shift our focus from the Atlantic Coast to the opposite coast. Stanford Baseball has made the ACC their bitch in their first year of conference play, and they don’t look like they’re slowing down anytime soon.
After the dismantling of the Pac-12 conference last year Stanford and Cal were added to the ACC. While that change has been great for ratings in sports like gymnastics in the ACC, many fans have worried about the changes that would be created in the power dynamic for bigger sports like football, basketball, and baseball. Stanford has only played two conference opponents so far this season. However, they were two top 25 nationally ranked opponents.
In their series against UNC, it was expected that the Tar Heels would absolutely demolish them. The Heels had a home-field advantage and there is something to be said about the magic in Boshamer Stadium. Stanford didn’t seem to notice though, crushing the Heels 13-9. Upsets happen all the time in college baseball. The Heels seemed ready to regain their footing. Or so it seemed. Despite a dominant 11-1 victory in the second game of the series, Stanford responded emphatically, closing out the series with a commanding 7-0 shutout win.
If ACC teams weren’t scared of this California team before they should be now, Stanford is hot. Big bats and consistent pitching have kept them a competitive team even in their losses. Following their series win against UNC they headed home to face previously ranked Duke. Though the Blue Devils were not the strong top-25 team we thought they were at the beginning of the season, a series sweep by Stanford was not expected. Duke’s ace held Stanford to only a 5-1 lead on March 14 in their first game but after game one it was a bloodbath. Stanford swept the series with 11-1 and 10-5 wins making light work of the Blue Devils’ pitching staff.
Stanford is dangerous. Now ranked 14th in the nation they have what it takes to reach the top 10. ACC baseball is no joke, with seven of the conference’s 18 teams in national rankings. Stanford has made the transition to this new conference comfortably. If they take down Cal and Virginia in the coming weeks, we won’t be able to call it an upset, it will just be expected.
