UNC All-ACC players. Kane Kepley (South Rowan) is third from left.

Staff report

DURHAM — The ACC Tournament got started on Tuesday at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

The top eight seeds don’t play on Tuesday, but No. 8 seed Wake Forest will play No. 16 California in a morning game on Wednesday.

Wake Forest’s pitching staff includes lefty Haiden Leffew, a 20-year-old sophomore left-hander who starred for South Rowan’s 2022 state champs when he was a junior.

Leffew was 3-0 as a Wake Forest freshman, although most of his other numbers weren’t scintillating.

He has been tough on hitters as a sophomore, especially in the second half of the season. He has made a transition this season to full-time reliever and he has been closing games for the Demon Deacons.

Leffew has pitched in 24 games this season, with a 3-1 record and four saves. His ERA is 3.86.

The startling stat for Leffew is his extraordinary strikeout rate — 51 Ks in 30.1 innings. He’s walked 16.

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Third-seeded UNC has a bye into the quarterfinals.

Junior outfielder Kane Kepley, 21, who was a senior on South Rowan’s 2022 state champs, has been a force for the Tar Heels this season.

Kepley starred for two seasons at Liberty University before transferring to UNC for his junior year. He recently was named second team All-ACC.

Kepley’s batting average is .292, but it’s his eye-popping on-base percentage (.463)  that makes him really special at the top of the UNC lineup. In 51 games, Kepley has scored 61 runs. He has 56 hits, 39 walks and a mind-boggling 24 HBPs. He actually has been hit by pitches more times than he’s struck out (22). That may be a stat unique to Kepley in college baseball.

Kepley is only 5-foot-8, but he has some pop — 12 doubles, 6 triples, 2 homers — and excellent speed. He’s 35-for-39 on steals, so he turns a lot of his walks and HBPs into doubles.

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Cameron Padgett (East Rowan) is a 21-year-old junior right-hander on the UNC staff. He’s pitched 24.2 innings in 11 appearances and has a 2-1 record.

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Seventh-seeded Duke is also represented in the ACC Tournament.

Former South Rowan catcher and East Carolina third baseman Eric Tyler is on the Duke staff as the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator.

 

Tuesday, May 20 — First Round

Game 1:  (16) California 12, (9) Miami 2

Game 2: (12) Va. Tech 7, (13) Stanford 4

Game 3: (10) Louisville vs. (15) Pitt, 5 p.m.

Game 4: (11) Notre Dame vs. (14) Boston College, 9 p.m. | ACC Network

Wednesday, May 21 — Second Round

Game 5: (8) Wake Forest vs. (16) California, 9 a.m. | ACC Network

Game 6: (5) Clemson vs. (12) Va. Tech, 1 p.m. | ACC Network

Game 7: (7) Duke vs. Winner of Game 3, 5 p.m. | ACC Network

Game 8: (6) Virginia vs. Winner of Game 4, 9 p.m. | ACC Network

Thursday, May 22 — Quarterfinals

Game 9: (1) Georgia Tech vs. Winner of Game 5, 3 p.m. | ACC Network

Game 10: (4) NC State vs. Winner of Game 6, 7 p.m. | ACC Network

Friday, May 23 — Quarterfinals

Game 11: (2) Florida State vs. Winner of Game 7, 3 p.m. | ACC Network

Game 12: (3) North Carolina vs. Winner of Game 8, 7 p.m. | ACC Network

Saturday, May 24 — Semifinals

Game 13: Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10, 1 p.m. | ACC Network

Game 14: Winner of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 12, 5 p.m. | ACC Network

Sunday, May 25 — Championship

Game 15: Winner of Game 13 vs. Winner of Game 14, 12 p.m. | ESPN2