NC State Baseball
NC State Falls to FSU 11-0 to close out Pool Play, Will Face GT in Semi’s Tonight
DURHAM, N.C. – No. 13 NC State baseball wrapped up pool play on Friday evening at the ACC Championship in Durham, N.C., at theDurham Bulls Athletic Park. In its second game of the week, the Wolfpack fell to sixth-seeded Florida State, 11-0 (7 inn.).
The result snaps a 139-game streak of not suffering a shutout loss, with the last coming on April 23, 2017, at Boston College (a 1-0 loss).
The No. 3 seed Wolfpack already clinched a spot in the semifinals Saturday, as it defeated 10th-seeded Wake Forest, 6-5, on Thursday nightafter the Seminoles dropped a 7-4 decision to the Demon Deacons on Tuesday. Since all three teams finished with a 1-1 record in pool play, the top-seeded team, NC State, automatically advances to the weekend.
The Pack moves to 42-16 on the year while the Seminoles improve to 36-21.
How It Happened
-The Noles got off to a strong start with a pair of runs in the first inning. Back-to-back doubles by Reese Albert and Drew Mendoza just fair of the right field line plated the first run. After a wild pitch and walk put runners at the corners, J.C. Flowers’ single up the middle tacked on the other run of the frame.
-FSU doubled its lead in the third after stringing together four base hits following a leadoff walk.
-In the fourth, two more runs scored for the Noles via Mendoza’s sac fly to center field and Robby Martin’s single up the middle after a leadoff single and double put runners in scoring position.
-Florida State knocked in five runs via a solo homer, pair of RBI doubles and RBI single in the fifth.
-The Noles made it 11-0 in the seventh when Carter Smith scored on an error. He led off with a single to right field, and a wild pitch and groundout to second allowed him to threaten at third.
On Deck
NC State will face second-seeded Georgia Tech Saturday in the ACC Championship semifinal at the DBAP. First pitch is slated for 5 p.m., as the game will be broadcast on Regional Sports Networks (RSN) and the ACC Network Extra (subject to blackout). There will also be a free audio stream on WKNC 88.1 FM.
#21 NC State is coming off of a series victory over UNC this past weekend, and a loss to #7 ECU on the road last night. Where does NC State project to land in the 2024 NCAA Tournament?
The Wolfpack have already seen the Pirates twice this season, but according to D1Baseball and Baseball America, they might not be done playing ECU. Both of them project NC State to be a #2 seed in the Greenville Regional, with D1Baseball projecting the Pirates as the #6 seed and Baseball America projecting them as the #8 seed.
NC State has plenty of baseball left to play, with series against UVA (#14), FSU (#10) and Wake Forest (#8). If the Wolfpack can handle business in 2 of those 3 series, you could make an argument for NC State hosting their own regional.
D1Baseball
Baseball America
#21 NC State lost to #7 ECU 6-10 on the road this evening in a midweek game. As a result, the Pirates have won both games against the Wolfpack in 2024.
When you record 10 hits and score 6 runs, you would hope that’s enough offense to win a baseball game.
Unfortunately the Wolfpack pitching staff was unable to contain the bats of the Pirates, allowing ECU to put 15 hits and 10 runs in the Box Score.
Kudos to Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz for making a STATEment in his return to Clark-LeClair Stadium. A-Mak transferred to NC State from ECU this offseason. This evening Makarewicz was 2-4 with 1 RBI, 2 Runs, and 1 Walk.
A-MAK 👏 ON 👏 THE 👏 ATTACK 👏#Pack9 | @Alec_mak99 pic.twitter.com/7Lps43hXow
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 23, 2024
A-Mak’s Home Run was a part of back-to-back-to-back Home Runs in the Top of the 3rd for the Wolfpack, with Sophomore Right Fielder Josh Hogue and Junior Catcher Jacob Cozart also hitting bombs.
Hogue Homer 💪#Pack9 | @JoshHogue5 pic.twitter.com/CMV3rCQu4B
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 23, 2024
‘Zart completes the trifecta 🤌 pic.twitter.com/gipiWvbcFb
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 23, 2024
NC State will look to flush this loss, and get ready for a 3-game series at home this weekend against Ball State.
Earlier this season on April 2nd, #21 NC State (22-15) lost to #7 ECU (31-8) 4-12 in Raleigh. This evening the Wolfpack will look to get revenge against the Pirates in a game in Greenville at 6pm.
Overall, NC State holds a 71-43 advantage over East Carolina in the series, which dates back to 1957.
Last year, the Wolfpack and the Pirates split their 2-game series, ironically, losing at home, and winning in Greenville.
Replicating last years results will be no small task. The Pirates are ranked 7th in the land, and boast a 3-1 record against ranked opponents this season. One of those wins was against NC State, when the Wolfpack was ranked 19th. The other two ranked wins were at UNC when they were ranked 15th.
NC State has done well against ranked opponents, going 7-4 against teams in the Top-25, and 4-2 against teams in the Top-10.
The Pirates’ pitching staff leads the AAC and is in the Top-10 nationally in ERA (3.61), WHIP (1.18), hits allowed per nine innings (6.99) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.04).
ECU’s home field advantage is a real thing, going 20-2 at home thus far this season.
Senior Carter Cunningham leads the Pirates in nearly every offensive category, batting .396 with 9 Home Runs. He’s not alone though. Five of ECU’s regular starters have batting averages over .300.
It will be a homecoming for Senior Wolfpack Third Baseman Alec Makarewicz, who transferred to NC State from ECU this offseason. A-Mak is having the best season of his career, hitting 15 Home Runs while batting .349. It would be fitting for Makarewicz to win at his old stomping grounds.
NC State’s Baseball team is solidly back in the Top-25 after winning a series over rival UNC this past weekend, winning 2 of 3 at home. Last week, the Wolfpack were ranked 22nd in the Baseball America poll, but in none of the others.
NC State will play a midweek game at East Carolina tomorrow night on the road, and the Pirates rank 7th in the D1Baseball and Coaches Poll.
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