Grand Slam puts Clemson over Georgia Tech, 10-4

JACKSONVILLE, FL - Clemson's Ben Paulsen hit his first-ever grand slam, which also tied for an ACC Tournament individual record, to break a 3-3 tie and put the Tigers up 7-3 in the seventh inning. Clemson went on to rout Georgia Tech, 10-4, Saturday in the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship.

Paulsen has 13 home runs this season.

The Tigers (31-27-1) also got a two-run homer from Jeff Schaus in the third inning, his third of the year, and a solo homer from Wilson Boyd in the sixth. Boyd's homer, his 11th of the year, tied the score at 3-3.

Clemson added three runs in the top of the ninth, highlighted by a run-scoring double by Mike Freeman.

Georgia Tech (39-19), took a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning on Thomas Nichols' two-run homer, his seventh of the year.

While Clemson's run in the ACC Championship came to an end, today's win over the Yellow Jackets helped the Tigers make a stronger case for receiving an NCAA tournament bid next week. The Tigers have played in 21 consecutive regional tournaments, the third-longest active streak in the nation behind Miami and Florida State.

Miami over North Carolina, 5-2 for first trip to title game

Jemile Weeks hit a three-run homer in the third inning and Enrique Garcia threw seven scoreless innings to lead top-seeded Miami into the 2008 ACC Baseball Championship title game, defeating North Carolina State 5-2 on Saturday.

Miami will play for the ACC Championship for the first time in school history against the Virginia Cavaliers on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. With three wins this week, Miami eclipsed its previous win total from three previous appearances in the tournament (2).

NC State now joins Clemson and Georgia Tech in waiting to find out their postseason fate when the NCAA Selection Committee announces the 64-team field Monday, May 26, at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN. The 16 regional sites will also be determined Sunday, May 25, at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN2.

Florida State gets 9-6 win over Tar Heels

A six-run rally lifted No. 2 seed Florida State to a 9-6 victory over third-seed North Carolina late Saturday night in the 2008 ACC Baseball Championship. Florida State improves its league-leading tournament winning percentage to .675 (56-27) with the win, and improves to 8-1 against North Carolina in ACC Championship competition.

The Tar Heels (46-12), ranked first in the nation in three of the four major college baseball polls, had leads of 2-0, 4-2 and 5-3. However, the defending league champions finished 1-2 in the Division B bracket and missed the championship title game on Sunday.

Miami and Virginia will meet Sunday at 1:00 p.m. for the league crown and an automatic berth to next week's NCAA Tournament.

Wake Forest over Virginia, 7-4

Allan Dykstra slammed a three-run homer in the fourth inning to lead Wake Forest to a 7-4 victory over Virginia early Sunday morning in the 2008 ACC Baseball Championship at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

Virginia (38-20) will still advance to the ACC Championship title game in spite of the loss, facing top-seeded Miami at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. Virginia, the sixth seed, finished 2-1 in Division B round-robin play -- the same record as second-seeded Florida State -- but is in the title game because the Cavaliers defeated FSU earlier in the tournament.

Wake Forest (25-31), which reached the ACC title game last year, got four runs in the fourth to break a scoreless tie.

The game didn't end until 1:10 a.m. Sunday due to a rain delay in the previous game, which saw Florida State rally from behind for a 9-6 victory over North Carolina.