Before I get started with this blog post, thought I’d let you loyal readers know that Friday’s nightcap (N.C. State-Georgia Tech) was rained out after a half inning and will be resumed here at NewBridge Bank Park at 10 a.m. That means the entire Saturday schedule will be pushed back. I have no clue when the Hokies’ game with N.C. State will start, but I’m thinking it’ll be closer to 9:30 or 10.

The forecast is calling for more rain Saturday, so it could be a very long night for the fans and us scribes.

I was just told that the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the Low-A South Atlantic League team that plays here, once played 135 straight games without a rainout at this stadium. The ballpark has only been around for five years, but the Grasshoppers have had few rainouts. The field is high quality and the grounds crew apparently is on top of its game, so this game probably could have been played if they wanted to get it in bad enough.

Now on to Tech’s big win over Clemson.

The Hokies are getting some great pitching, that’s for sure, but their hitting has been just as critical during this ACC Tournament in Greensboro.

They got to Georgia Tech pitcher Deck McGuire, a projected top 10 draft pick, scoring four runs in six innings. Justin Wright was masterful on the mound, but it was pretty amazing what VT’s bats were able to do against a great hurler like McGuire.

It was a similar story Friday, though Clemson starter Scott Weismann isn’t in the same class yet as McGuire. Weismann, a sophomore whom Hokies coach Pete Hughes recruited, is young, and he showed it Friday.

“We recruited the heck out of Weismann, and we recruited him on one pitch – his slider,” Hughes said. “It is a plus college pitch. We’re in the middle of May here, and some guys can take the taxing of a season better than others, and his stuff was a little flat today, but you know what, that kid is going to be a stud. He’ll be one of the top arms in the ACC next year. He just wasn’t right this game, and neither was our guy. That’s baseball.”

Tech scored six runs on Weismann, five in the very first inning. Designated hitter Buddy Sosnoskie blasted a home run over the left field wall to seemingly put the Hokies in control.

But that wasn’t the case. Clemson came back, and Tech needed to put up more runs. The bats came alive at the right time.

Tech junior outfielder Austin Wates, who will be making a lot of money sometime soon in professional baseball, has been the hottest bat in the Hokies’ lineup during this tournament. He went 1-for-3 with a home run, two runs and two RBIs against the Yellow Jackets, and was 3-for-4 with three singles, two runs and an RBI against the Tigers.

Redshirt freshman outfielder Andrew Rash was the big offensive star Friday. He hit a solo home run and scored the winning run on a bang-bang play at the plate. He rounded third and dove around Clemson’s catcher, avoiding a swipe tag, and tapped his right hand on the plate to put Tech up 9-8.

“The biggest thing for me is being able to see the ball,” Rash said after Friday’s game. “Early in the season I was real worried about striking out, not being able to get somebody in with two outs, things like that. Now I go into the box knowing that I’m going to get this run in. And if I don’t get him in, the guy behind me is going to get him. I’m not worried about it as much as I was earlier in the season, and I’m seeing better results now.”

The Hokies struggled to score runs during their four-game losing streak to end the regular season, but they seem to be getting hot at the right time.

“(This ACC Tournament experience has been) pretty big for us collaboratively, but it’s pretty important that we keep playing the way we’ve been playing all season, because we’ve been working towards this,” Wates said.

Here are some other notes from Greensboro …
*Tech closer Ben Rowen tied the school record for career appearances (64) Friday. He did it in only two seasons. He pitched 1 1/3 innings against the Tigers and allowed two hits and no runs in improving to 5-1 on the season. He is tied for third on the team this season in wins. Justin Wright (8-4) and Mathew Price (7-3) lead the way, and Rowen and Jesse Hahn (5-4) are tied for third.
*The Hokies are now 2-1 all time in the ACC Tournament. This is their first appearance in the conference tournament since the eight-team format was adopted back in 2006. Tech played in the tournament back in 2005, when every team was involved, and was eliminated after a first-round loss to Maryland.
*Tech is 4-0 this season in one-run games and 3-0 in one-run games against ACC opponents.
*The Hokies have hit four home runs in their two ACC Tournament games.