#6 NC State opens 7-Game road stretch at VT today

NC STATE – VIRGINIA TECH
Dates: Thursday – Saturday, March 29-31
Location: English Field at Union Park
Times: 4 p.m. (Thurs. & Fri.) | 1 p.m. (Sat.)
Radio: WKNC 88.1 FM
Live Video: ACC Network Extra
Live Stats: Virginia Tech Live Stats

STARTING PITCHERS
Thursday – RHP Michael Bienlien (NCSU) vs. RHP Connor Coward (VT)
Friday – RHP Johnny Piedmonte (NCSU) vs. LHP Ian Seymour (VT)
Saturday – LHP Brian Brown (NCSU) vs. TBA (VT)

RALEIGH, N.C. – The sixth-ranked NC State baseball team will make its first trip to Blacksburg, Va., since 2014 and its second ACC road trip of the season this weekend to Virginia Tech. In observance of Easter Weekend, the series will be played Thursday through Saturday with no game on Sunday.

Thursday and Friday’s games are set for 4 p.m., while Saturday’s series finale is slated for 1 p.m. at English Field at Union Park.

All three games will be broadcast live on the ACC Network Extra, accessible through Watch ESPN and the Watch ESPN App. Radio coverage will also be available on WKNC 88.1 FM and on GoPack.com for premium subscribers.

NC State enters the weekend with a 21-4 overall record, including a 7-2 mark in ACC play while Virginia Tech is 10-13 and 4-5 in conference action.

The Series
NC State and Virginia Tech have met 66 times in the history of the programs with the Wolfpack owning a 43-21-2 advantage in the all-time series. NCSU has won 13 of the last 15 games in the series.

Last Time Versus Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech made the trip to Raleigh last season when NC State swept the series at Doak Field at Dail Park. The Wolfpack won game one of the series, 5-2, and clinched the series with an 8-6 victory in game two.

The Pack completed the sweep against the Hokies with a 14-2 win in the series finale. NC State recorded a team batting average of .330 for the series, headlined by Evan Mendoza with a .556 clip over the three-game set.

On the mound, Johnny Piedmonte pitched 6.2 innings to earn the win in the first game of the series, while Dalton Feeney threw two shutout innings of relief to pick up the win in game two. Brian Brown pitched seven innings in the series finale to record the win.

Last Time at Virginia Tech
NC State swept a doubleheader at Virginia Tech in 2014 to take the series, but the Hokies avoided the sweep with a win in the series finale. Each batter in the Wolfpack lineup had a hit in a 14-hit effort, as Carlos Rodon logged the win on the mound with five innings pitched in the series opener.

Cody Beckman picked up the win in game two of the twin bill, as NC State slipped past Virginia Tech, 6-5.

Piedmonte and Joe O’Donnell are the lone members of the 2018 team that have played at VT.

Scouting Virginia Tech
The Virginia Tech Hokies own a 10-13 record heading into the weekend, including a 4-5 mark in ACC play. VT came up short in its last outing at home on Tuesday evening against Liberty in extra innings, 4-3.

In their last conference series, the Hokies dropped the series at Boston College but won game three of the series to avoid the sweep.

Virginia Tech owns a team batting average of .264 and average 5.52 runs per game under the direction of first-year head coach John Szefc. Tom Stoffel leads the team at the plate with a team-high 31 hits complemented by a .320 batting average.

On the mound, the Hokies pitching staff has compiled a 5.33 ERA with 217 strikeouts in 204.1 innings.

Six in a Row for NC State
NC State has won its last six ACC series dating back to the Virginia Tech series from last year. The Wolfpack and Duke are the only two teams that have not lost a conference series this season.

The Pack’s six consecutive ACC series wins is the longest active streak in the conference, as the Blue Devils dropped their final conference series a year ago.

Wolfpack in the National, ACC Rankings
Batting Average – .317 (1st in ACC, 8th in NCAA)
Hits – 272 (2nd in ACC, 12th in NCAA)
Home Runs – 42 (1st in ACC, 4th in NCAA)
Home Runs Per Game – 1.68 (1st in ACC, 4th in NCAA)
Runs – 191 (1st in ACC, 18th in NCAA)
On-base Percentage – .409 (1st in ACC, 13th in NCAA)
Slugging Percentage – .517 (1st in ACC, 6th in NCAA)

Walks Plus Hits Per Inning Pitched (WHIP) – 1.21 (1st in ACC, 21st in NCAA)
Earned Run Average (ERA) – 2.96 (2nd in ACC, 26th in NCAA)
Hits Allowed Per 9 Innings – 7.28 (2nd in ACC, 22nd in NCAA)

40 And Counting for Wilson
Sophomore Will Wilson has reached base safely in 40 consecutive games dating back to the first game of the Delaware series last season. He singled against George Mason on Tuesday to extend his streak.

McLain on a 13-game Hitting Streak
Senior Josh McLain has enjoyed a stellar start to his senior season, as the Wolfpack’s center fielder is on a 13-game hitting streak. He opened the season on an 11-game hitting streak, so McLain has tallied a hit in 24 of NC State’s 25 games.

The lone game that he was held without a hit was against Canisius. He leads the team with 40 hits this season, which is second in the ACC.

Big Innings
NC State has scored four or more runs in an inning 14 times this season with the most recent occurrence in the eighth inning of Sunday’s series finale against Georgia Tech with five runs in that frame. The Wolfpack’s season high for runs in an inning is eight, accomplished in the fourth inning of the Campbell game on March 3 and the seventh inning of the Air Force game on Feb. 26.

The More, The Merrier
NC State is a perfect 18-0 on the year when recording more hits than its opponent.