Late-night baseball: Wake Forest to burn midnight oil in ACC baseball tourney opener

When sixth-seeded Wake Forest and 14th-seeded Pittsburgh finish their showdown in the ACC Baseball Tournament, the folks at Truist Field in Charlotte can give them the keys to the gate and have them lock it behind them.

The Demon Deacons and the Panthers had a 9 p.m. first pitch on Wednesday to culminate the second day of the tournament and virtually ensure they will get a head start on the third day. The winner gets a day off before playing a 7 p.m. game against No. 3 Florida State on Friday.

While Wake Forest was playing its first game in the single-elimination tournament, Pitt was playing in the nightcap for the second straight day. On Tuesday, the Panthers doubled up on Louisville, taking a 16-8 decision that wasn't even the most runs scored that day.

In a breakfast-time tournament opener, No. 16 Duke upset and eliminated No. 9 seed NC State. 21-12. The 33 runs tied the tournament record set when Wake Forest beat Maryland, 20-13, in 2005.

Duke's 21 runs marked the most scored in an ACC Championship game since 2018. The Blue Devils did much of their damage with two out, going 11-for-19 with 17 two-out RBIs.

Also in the opening round on Tuesday, Stanford defeated Cal, 11-4; Notre Dame nipped Clemson, 5-4.

On Wednesday, No. 8 Virginia eliminated the Blue Devils, 5-4. The Cavaliers have an 11 a.m. game on Thursday against top-seeded Georgia Tech.

No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 7 Virginia Tech met in the 5 p.m. game preceding Pitt-Wake Forest.

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