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NC State Baseball

NC State’s Kevin Keatts Talks Seton Hall: BULLETED

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6 years ago

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NC State head coach Kevin Keatts spoke with the media today about the Wolfpack’s upcoming trip to Wichita to face Seton Hall this Thursday. You can watch it here, or check it out in bulleted format below.

Opening

  • Excited about the opportunity. NC State hasn’t gone the past couple of years. Huge for us. Most of the guys on this team haven’t played on this big of a stage. Al Freeman played three years in the dance, Malik and Lennard once as Freshmen.
  • We have our work cut out for us with so many inexperienced guys.
  • From a coaching and staff perspective, this will be their third NCAA in as many years. They’ve done a tremendous job.

Seton Hall

  • Seton Hall gets out in transition, and shoots the ball well. Elite big guys. Mix up defense. Swagger and toughness.
  • They start 4 guys who have played in back-to-back NCAA’s. They’re hungry.
  • In the press conference they said Desi Rodriguez’s ankle was 75%, which means he will be 95%. I expect him to be at full strength. He’s good. Matchup problem. He has great size and will post our little guys up. He can get to the basket and is the emotional leader.

NC State

  • We are going to go and have more fun than the other 67 teams this week. We will prepare, and I want them to be excited. Want them to do what they have done all year: play hard and compete.
  • It means a lot to do this in the first year. If you look at how we started, picked 12th in the ACC, the way we started ACC play, and then finished tied for 3rd.
  • You could have your best team here at NC State and may not win 11 conference games. Excited about what these guys did in a short period of time.
  • This means everything to Sam Hunt. Such a wonderful and humble kid. NC kid that grew up an ACC guy and is playing with NC State in the NCAA tournament. Hope he’s so excited that he hits 6 threes in a game.
  • We have to compete like it’s your last game. Leave it all on the floor for 40 minutes. Don’t worry about the next game. Don’t worry about rest. Live in the moment.
  • Against BC we didn’t play well in the first half, but 2nd half was more of our identity. Played well. We didn’t fly around enough on defense. We didn’t hit shots at the beginning, and weren’t able to get in our press. I thought we just missed shots. Omer missed chippies. Don’t think it was the big stage. I know I’m fighting the NC State Stuff. This wasn’t STUFF. We missed shots. Give BC credit. They played good.
  • Georgia Tech was a game of different styles, & they played good basketball.
  • Gave the guys a couple of days off. Practiced for an hour and fifteen minutes yesterday. They were business like. Played hard. These guys have moved on from the loss. From a coaching stand point, it’s harder to move on.

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Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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NC State Baseball

NC State Baseball Bracketology Report Heading Into Series Against Ball State

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6 hours ago

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April 24, 2024

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#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

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NC State Baseball

#21 NC State 6 #7 ECU 10: Box Score (with notes)

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23 hours ago

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April 23, 2024

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#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’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.

NC State will look to flush this loss, and get ready for a 3-game series at home this weekend against Ball State.

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NC State Baseball

#21 NC State is Looking for Revenge Against #7 ECU

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2 days ago

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April 23, 2024

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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.

 

 

 

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NC State is Solidly Back in the Top-25 After Series Victory Over Rival UNC

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2 days ago

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April 22, 2024

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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.

Baseball America – 17th

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D1Baseball – 21st

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USA Today Coaches Poll – 23rd

Perfect Game – 25th 

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