College baseball’s second weekend hasn’t disappointed; standout performances on Saturday coming from every corner of the country. The ACC saw dominant showings, including Louisville’s Patrick Forbes dealing with 9 strikeouts and Duke’s Wallace Clark continuing his scorching start at the plate. In the SEC, LSU’s Chase Shores showcased his electric fastball while Florida freshman Brenden Lawson delivered a grand slam to highlight the young talent in the conference. Meanwhile, mid-majors made their mark, with UC Santa Barbara’s Jackson Flora flashing triple-digit velocity and Rhode Island’s Trystan Levesque throwing a jaw-dropping 10-inning shutout. With power surges, elite pitching, and breakout stars emerging, the 2025 season is heating up fast!

Below is a recap of Saturday’s top performers! 

Atlantic Coast Conference

Covered by Monty Taylor

AJ Gracia, OF, Duke – 4 AB, 1 R, 3 H, 4 RBI, HR

It was a slow start to the year for the sophomore star as he had just one hit over his first 15 at-bats for the Blue Devils. Gracia is coming off a season in which he hit .305 with 14 doubles and 14 home runs and is a focal point of a Duke offense that has struggled to start the year. After a series loss to Cincinnati, the Blue Devils dropped their opener to Cornell on Friday. It’s no coincidence that the entire offense got rolling on Saturday as Gracia checked in with his first multi-hit game of the season. The right fielder actually got the scoring started in the first inning when he drilled a pitch the other way to score teammate Wallace Clark. He added another RBI single in the second and just missed turning it into a double when he was tagged out at second. Gracia’s first home run of the year came in the 6th on an 0-2 count when he blasted a solo shot over the fence in right.

Wallace Clark, SS, Duke – 3 AB, 3 R, 3 H, 1 RBI, 2 2B, 2 BB

Unlike his teammate Gracia, Wallace Clark has started the season with his bat on fire. Following this game, the Oklahoma kid is 10-for-21 on the year with a pair of a doubles, a home run, and seven free passes. Clark has consistently been a bright spot for the Blue Devils over the first six games when much of the offense has been absent. Clark led off with a double down the left field line in the bottom of the 1st and came around to score the first run of the game when Gracia singled two batters later. The senior shortstop then added a bunt single in the 2nd inning before reaching base on back to back walks over his next two plate appearances. Clark’s second double of the game– and season– came in the 7th when he doubled down the right field line in a full count. 

Hunter Carns, C, Florida State – 4 AB, 4 R, 4 H, 1 RBI, 2B, HR

The highly-touted freshman has only started half of Florida State’s six games to start the year, but Hunter Carns has lit up the stat sheet to start his collegiate career. After a 4-for-4 night on Saturday, Carns is now 5-for-9 in 2025 with two doubles, a home run, and three walks. Leading just 2-1 in the bottom of the 2nd inning, the young backstop doubled up the middle and later came around to score on Gage Harrelson’s triple as the offense broke the game open. He followed that up with a monster home run to left to extend the Seminole lead, then finished up his impressive day with a pair of singles. Carns continues to impress and should be a very nice piece at the bottom of the Florida State batting order.