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#4 NC State travels to #11 Louisville this weekend

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6 years ago

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NC STATE – LOUISVILLE
Dates: Friday – Sunday, April 6-8
Location: Jim Patterson Stadium
Times: 6 p.m. (Fri.) | 1 p.m. (Sat. & Sun.)
Radio: WKNC 88.1 FM
Live Video: ACC Network Extra
Live Stats: SideArm Live Stats

STARTING PITCHERS
Friday – RHP Johnny Piedmonte (NCSU) vs. LHP Adam Wolf (UL)
Saturday – LHP Brian Brown (NCSU) vs. LHP Nick Bennett (UL)
Sunday – RHP Michael Bienlien (NCSU) vs. TBA (UL)

RALEIGH, N.C. – The fourth-ranked NC State baseball team will make its second-ever trip Jim Patterson Stadium this weekend when the Wolfpack takes on No. 11 Louisville for a three-game series.

Friday’s game is set for 6 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday’s games are slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.

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 23-5 overall record, including a 9-3 mark in ACC play while Louisville is 19-9 and 5-7 in conference action.

The Series
The Wolfpack and Cardinals meet for the third consecutive season, as Louisville leads the all-time series, 8-2.

Last Time Versus Louisville
Louisville made the trip to Raleigh last season as the nation’s top-ranked team. NC State won the opening game of the series, 3-1, thanks to a pair of standout pitching performances from Sean Adler, who earned the win, and Joe O’Donnell, who was credited with the save.

In game two, the Wolfpack rallied with three runs in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings, but the Cards scored in the 10th and held on for the victory. Louisville took the series finale last season, 8-1, in the most recent matchup between the programs.

Last Time at Louisville
NC State last traveled to Louisville in 2016 and did so without its head coach Elliott Avent, as he was unable to make the trip after a snakebite so Associate Head Coach Chris Hart led the team in his absence.

The Wolfpack dropped a trio of hard-fought games, as the Cards won the series.

Scouting Louisville
The Louisville Cardinals are enjoying a strong season to this point in the year, as the squad is 19-9 and ranked No. 11 in the Collegiate Baseball Poll. The Cards opened the season 14-0 before suffering their first loss.

Louisville came up short in its most recent outing at No. 9 Kentucky on Tuesday afternoon, 8-5. In their last ACC series, Florida State clinched the series with a walkoff win in game two, but the Cardinals avoided the sweep with a win in the series finale.

The squad owns a team batting average of .272 and averages 6.79 runs per game. Logan Wyatt leads the team at the plate with a team-high 34 hits complemented by a .343 batting average.

On the mound, the Cards pitching staff has compiled a 3.65 ERA with 284 strikeouts in 246.2 innings.

Wolfpack in the National, ACC Rankings
Batting Average – .310 (1st in ACC, 11th in NCAA)
Hits – 299 (2nd in ACC, 16th in NCAA)
Home Runs – 44 (1st in ACC, 6th in NCAA)
Home Runs Per Game – 1.57 (1st in ACC, 5th in NCAA)
Runs – 208 (2nd in ACC, 23rd in NCAA)
Runs Per Game – 7.4 (1st in ACC, 18th in NCAA)
On-base Percentage – .402 (1st in ACC, 17th in NCAA)
Slugging Percentage – .499 (1st in ACC, 8th in NCAA)

Walks Plus Hits Per Inning Pitched (WHIP) – 1.23 (2nd in ACC, 18th in NCAA)
Earned Run Average (ERA) – 2.98 (1st in ACC, 19th in NCAA)
Hits Allowed Per 9 Innings – 7.42 (3rd in ACC, 22nd in NCAA)

Double Plays – 28 (1st in ACC, 16th in NCAA)
Double Plays Per Game – 1.00 (1st in ACC, 17th in NCAA)

Seven in a Row for NC State
NC State has won its last seven 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 seven consecutive ACC series wins is the longest active streak in the conference, as the Blue Devils dropped their final conference series a year ago.

Road Warriors
NC State owns the ACC’s best road record, as the Wolfpack is 5-1. The Pack is only team in the conference that has swept a road series in ACC play, when the squad accomplished the feat at No. 2 Clemson.

Midseason All-Americans
After turning in a pair of stellar starts to the 2018 season, NC State’s Brian Brown and Brett Kinneman have been named Midseason All-American’s by D1 Baseball and Perfect Game.

The Wolfpack is one of just six teams in the nation to have two players make the Perfect Game list and the only program from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). In the D1 Baseball listing, only NC State and Florida have two players on the list.

Brown the Nation’s ERA Leader
Brown has enjoyed one of the nation’s best starts to the season, as he currently leads all NCAA Division I pitchers with a 0.41 earned run average (ERA). He has allowed just two earned runs in 43.2 innings pitched.

The Glenmoore, Pa., native also owns a perfect 4-0 record in seven starts this season.

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NC State Baseball

WATCH All 9 of NC State’s RBI’s From Their 9-8 Walk-Off Win Over #11 UNC

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3 hours ago

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April 18, 2024

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NC State just defeated their rival #11 UNC 9-8 in dramatic fashion, walking it off in the Bottom of the 9th inning via a Solo Home Run from Junior Shortstop Brandon Butterworth.

The Wolfpack victory snapped a 5-game losing streak to the Tar Heels.

Check out all 9 RBI’s from NC State’s 6th walk-off win of the season, which leads the nation.

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NC State Baseball

NC State Defeats #11 UNC 9-8 with Walk-Off HR in Series Opener

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4 hours ago

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April 18, 2024

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NC State just defeated #11 UNC 9-8 via a walk-off Home Run from Junior Shortstop Brandon Butterworth in the Bottom of the 9th inning.

The Wolfpack have 6 walk-off wins in 2024, which leads the nation.

In a game in which there was a combined 8 Home Runs between both teams, it was the last one that mattered most.

UNC kicked things off in the Top of the 1st inning with a Home Run from Casey Cook. The Wolfpack would respond in the Bottom of the 1st with a 2-RBI Single from Junior Catcher Jacob Cozart.

Cook would hit another Home Run in the Top of the 3rd, and Vance Honeycutt would also hit a 2-Run Home Run, giving the Tar Heels a 4-2 lead.

Once again, the Wolfpack responded in the bottom frame. Senior Third Baseman Alec Makarewicz hit his 15th Home Run of the season.

Junior Outfielder Chase Nixon had an RBI Single, and his Freshman brother Luke (2B) brought in the third run of the inning on a fielders choice, giving the Wolfpack a 5-4 lead.

The 4th inning was the only inning of the contest in which no runs were scored.

UNC’s Park Harber tied the game in the Top of the 5th with a solo shot.

Cozart was the Wolfpack’s MVP, giving his team a 3-run cushion in the bottom of the 6th inning with a 3-run Home Run. He had 5 RBI’s this evening.

The cushion wasn’t enough, with the Tar Heels scoring 3 runs over the next two innings. Alberto Osuna hit a solo shot, Alex Madera had an RBI Single, and Harber hit a sac fly.

With the game tied in the bottom of the 9th, with one out, Brandon Butterworth crushed the ball over the left field fence, snapping a 5-game losing streak against UNC.

Wolfpack Starter Sam Highfill lasted 3.1 innings, giving up 4 runs, while striking out 4. His ERA on the year is 5.16.

It was Sophomore Shane Van Dam that brought stability to the mound, pitching 3.2 innings, giving up 2 earned runs, while striking out 5. On the year, Van Dam’s ERA is 2.90.

Sophomore Derrick Smith came in to close things out, and gave up 1 run on 1 hit in 2 innings, striking out 2. Smith picked up the Win, and is 3-0 on the year.

Game 2 of the series is tomorrow night at 6pm at Doak Field. The Wolfpack will look to secure their first series victory over their rival since 2021, and their first one at home since 2016.

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NC State Baseball

NC State vs. UNC: A Historical Perspective

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11 hours ago

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April 18, 2024

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The Wolfpack and the Tar Heels face one another on the diamond at 7pm on ACC Network.

NC State holds a 139-175-1 record against North Carolina in the all-time series.

NC State’s most recent series victory over North Carolina came in style, taking all three games in Chapel Hill with a three-game sweep over the Tar Heels from March 26-29, 2021. The Wolfpack allowed just six runs over three games in a dominant sweep over UNC, outscoring the Tar Heels 23-6 .

NC State has hosted UNC just twice over the past eight seasons. NC State’s most recent home series victory over North Carolina came from May 19-21, 2016. The Wolfpack won the rubber match, claiming the series with a dominant 10-1 victory on May 21.

North Carolina has won five straight in the series dating back to a series at Doak Field at Dail Park in 2022. NC State’s most recent win over the Tar Heels came in game one of a doubleheader on May 8, 2022, cruising to a 9-2 victory over UNC.

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NC State Baseball

NC State Baseball Bracketology Report Heading into UNC Series

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20 hours ago

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April 18, 2024

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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.

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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.

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