NC State Baseball
NC State announces 2018 Baseball Schedule
Full schedule on GoPack.com (click here)
RALEIGH, N.C. – Now in his 22nd season as head coach of the NC State baseball program and one of just 15 active coaches with 1,000 or more career wins, Elliott Avent announced the team’s 2018 schedule Wednesday morning. The Wolfpack’s slate is highlighted by six games versus teams that advanced to the 2017 College World Series (CWS) and 16 games against NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago.
NC State will play 37 home games at Doak Field at Dail Park and 30 games against opponents that finished the 2017 season ranked among the top 100 of the NCAA RPI.
“We’ve historically played a very challenging schedule and 2018 will be no different, both within our league as well as our non-conference slate,” said Avent. “Our home schedule will be incredibly appealing with a strong mix of mid-week games and I also know our fans will be excited about playing UNC at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in April.
“We’re looking forward to facing these challenges with a strong nucleus of incoming freshmen and a group of upperclassmen that has given plenty of thrills to the Wolfpack faithful and will again this season.”
NC State opens the 2018 campaign with a three-game series against Seton Hall from Feb. 16-18.
The Furman Paladins will head to Raleigh on the second weekend of the season for a three-game set Feb. 23-25, following NC State’s mid-week matchups with North Carolina A&T (Feb. 20) and Charlotte (Feb. 21).
The Wolfpack will take on Bowling Green, Campbell, Canisius and UNCW in single games to conclude its season-opening 12-game homestand.
After a mid-week visit to Campbell, NC State opens Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play against Boston College at home from March 9-11. UNC Asheville heads to Doak Field for a pair of midweek games prior to the Wolfpack’s first conference road trip to Clemson (March 16-18).
The Pack returns home the following week to face Georgia Tech (March 23-25) before traveling to Virginia Tech (March 29-31). NC State opens April with a three-game series at Louisville before returning home the following weekend to host Notre Dame.
NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill will meet in a non-conference matchup at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park on April 17. The Wolfpack will travel to Duke after that mid-week battle for a road series held at Jack Coombs Field.
East Carolina and NC State will battle in a mid-week game at Doak Field on April 24. NCSU will also take on George Mason, Campbell and James Madison in home midweek matchups.
The Wolfpack and Tar Heels will square off in an ACC series at Doak Field from April 27-29. William & Mary visits Raleigh for a three-game non-conference series May 4-6.
NC State will conclude its regular-season conference slate by hosting Wake Forest (May 11-13) prior to a road trip to Tallahassee to face Florida State (May 17-19).
The 2018 ACC Championship returns to the state of North Carolina and will be held at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park from May 22-27. NCAA Regionals begin June 1 and the College World Series (CWS) convenes at Omaha’s TD Ameritrade Park from June 16-27.
NC State returns a strong core of players to the 2018 squad after making its third consecutive NCAA Tournament in 2017 and 15th in the last 20 seasons.
2018 NC State baseball season tickets are now on sale and can be found on GoPack.com/Pack9Tickets.
Top 100 RPI Teams on NC State’s Schedule
Boston College
Charlotte
Clemson
Duke
East Carolina
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Louisville
Seton Hall
UNC-Chapel Hill
NC State and #11 UNC will kickoff a 3-game series in Raleigh tonight, but before the two rivals hit the diamond, here’s a Bracketology report for the Wolfpack before the first pitch.
D1Baseball currently projects that NC State will be the #2 seed in Greenville Region, hosted by #9 seed East Carolina. Back on April 2nd, the Wolfpack lost 4-12 to the Pirates at the Doak.
Baseball America projects NC State will be a #2 seed in the Knoxville Region, hosted by #6 seed Tennessee.
The Wolfpack are currently 20-14 overall, ranking 33rd in the RPI.
#22 NC State Baseball continues to be a roller coaster ride to follow. After winning 2 out of 3 down at Clemson this past weekend, the Wolfpack lost 7-11 to Campbell in 12 innings last night.
NC State had their chances, leaving 19 batters on base (Campbell left 13). The Wolfpack trailed 7-2 heading into the bottom of the 8th, but they responded with 4 runs, cutting it to a 1-run game. In the bottom of the 9th, Sophomore Center Fielder Eli Serrano III hit a solo Home Run to tie the game to send it to extra innings.
CLUTCH 🥶#Pack9 | @eliserrano__ pic.twitter.com/z61sLMOYtG
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 17, 2024
Things went off the rails in the Top of the 12th. Serrano III almost made an incredible diving catch, but the ball popped out of his glove, which led to 2 Campbell runs. In the midst of the chaos, due to a throwing error on the play, a Camel runner advanced to third, and he was able to run across the plate on a groundout the very next at bat. A couple of batters later, with the bases juiced, NC State hit a batter, bringing across the 4th run of the inning.
Despite 2 errors, all 11 runs were earned runs. On the year, the ERA of NC State’s Pitching staff is 6.63, which ranks 2nd-to-last in the ACC. That’s a problem.
Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz was 2 for 5 with an RBI, 2 Runs and 2 Walks. Both of his Hits went for extra bases, with one being a bomb, and the other being a Double. The Home Run was Pennington’s 14th of the year. A-Mak’s batting .357, and his OPS is 1.188.
CLUTCH 🥶#Pack9 | @eliserrano__ pic.twitter.com/z61sLMOYtG
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 17, 2024
Senior 1st Baseman Garrett Pennington was 3 of 6 at the plate, with 2 RBI’s, 1 Run and 1 Walk.
Penny plates a pair ➕2️⃣#Pack9 | @Garrettpenn14 pic.twitter.com/bKjDyitXIh
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 17, 2024
Pennington’s batting average is .366 and his OPS is 1.125.
NC State has now lost 3 straight midweek games.
The Wolfpack will look to regroup as their rival #11 UNC comes to town for a 3-game series this weekend.
NC State Baseball
NC State Finds Their Way Back Into the Top-25 in 1 Poll After Series Win at Clemson
NC State won 2 of their 4 games last week, winning 2 out of 3 against Clemson on the road this past weekend, and losing to UNCW on the road in a midweek game. Prior to the 2 victories against the Tigers, the Wolfpack had lost 5 straight games, suffering a sweep at Louisville the weekend before.
As a result of NC State’s big series victory at Clemson, the Wolfpack are back in Baseball America’s Top-25.
NC State didn’t manage to crack the Top-25 for D1Baseball, Perfect Game or the USAToday Coaches Poll. The Wolfpack currently rank 31st in the Coaches Poll.
The NCBWA Poll hasn’t been released yet.
NC State will host Campbell tomorrow night at 6pm, which will be followed up by a series at the Doak this weekend against rival #11 UNC.