NOTRE DAME – NC STATE
Dates: Friday – Sunday, April 13-15
Location: Doak Field at Dail Park
Times: 6:30 p.m. (Fri. & Sat.) | 12 p.m. (Sun.)
Radio: WKNC 88.1 FM
Live Video: ACC Network Extra
Live Stats: SideArm Live Stats

STARTING PITCHERS
Friday – LHP Scott Tully (ND) vs. RHP Johnny Piedmonte (NCSU)
Saturday – LHP Tommy Sheehan (ND) vs. LHP Brian Brown (NCSU)
Sunday – RHP Cameron Junker (ND) vs. RHP Michael Bienlien (NCSU)

RALEIGH, N.C. – No. 2 NC State baseball will return home to Doak Field at Dail Park this weekend to host Notre Dame for a three-game series following a seven-game road stretch.

Friday and Saturday’s games are slated for 6:30 p.m., while Sunday’s series finale will begin at noon.

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 26-6 overall record, including an 11-4 mark in ACC play while Notre Dame heads to Raleigh with a 14-19 mark and a 5-7 ledger in conference action.

Last Time Out
In its last outing, NC State used a big fourth inning to earn an 8-3 victory at UNCW. The Wolfpack scored six runs in the fourth inning and didn’t look back en route to the win.

Freshman Reid Johnston earned the win on the mound with 2.1 innings of relief, while Will Wilson led the Pack at the plate with a pair of hits including a three-run homer.

The Series
NC State leads the all-time series against Notre Dame, 9-5, with 13 of the 14 meetings as ACC opponents. The Wolfpack and Fighting Irish have alternated series wins since the first matchup between the programs in 2014 with each team winning its series at home.

NC State won the first series in Raleigh before Notre Dame took the 2015 series on its home field. In 2016, the Pack recorded the series win and the Irish countered with a series win last season in South Bend.

Last Time Versus Notre Dame
The Wolfpack won the most recent meeting between the teams, as NC State closed out last year’s series with a 9-2 win. Michael Bienlien turned in a stellar performance on the mound with seven strong innings to earn his first career victory.

NC State led 2-1 through the first seven innings, but broke the game open with six runs in the ninth inning to run away with the victory. Notre Dame won the series with wins in game one and two.

Last Time Versus Notre Dame in Raleigh
NC State and Notre Dame split the first two games of the last series held at Doak Field before the Wolfpack clinched the series with a 16-6 win in the rubber game. The Irish jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the contest, but the Pack responded with six unanswered runs to grab a 6-5 advantage.

After ND knotted the score at six, NCSU plated a pair of runs in the fifth and six innings prior to a six-run outburst in the eighth inning. That game was shortened by an inning due to a travel curfew.

Joe O’Donnell threw a complete game in the first contest of the series and nearly has a shutout, but Notre Dame scored a run in the ninth on a solo homer. O’Donnell was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week following his standout performance.

Scouting Notre Dame
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish make the trip to Raleigh after splitting a pair of midweek games, earning an 8-7 with Michigan State on Tuesday before dropping a 2-0 decision at home against Northwestern on Wednesday.

Notre Dame opened the season with a big weekend in Baton Rouge, as the squad won the series at No. 9 LSU. The Irish took two of three games against Wake Forest at home to take that series as well.

Junior Nick Podkul leads the team at the plate with a .333 batting average and a team-high 40 hits. Cole Daily is second on the Irish with 48 hits complemented by a .281 clip at the dish. As a team, Notre Dame owns a .267 batting average and is scoring 5.39 runs per game.

Fighting Irish pitchers have struggled on the mound, as the staff has compiled a 5.16 earned run average (ERA). Friday starter Scott Tully is 4-1 on the year with a 3.02 ERA, Saturday’s starter Tommy Sheehan owns a 5.97 ERA with a 1-3 record, while Sunday’s starter Cameron Junker is 0-3 with a 6.44 slash.

Big Innings
NC State has scored four of more runs in an inning 17 times this season with the most recent occurrence at UNCW on Wednesday. The Wolfpack scored six runs in the fourth inning en route to the victory.

The Pack’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.

Eight in a Row
The Wolfpack owns the ACC’s longest active series-win streak, as NC State has won eighth consecutive conference series. NC State has each of its weekend matchups dating back to the Virginia Tech series from last season.

A League of its Own
NC State is the only team in the ACC that has not lost a conference series this season. The Wolfpack is also the only program that has swept a road series when NCSU accomplished the feat at No. 2 Clemson.

Matching the Highest-Ever Ranking
On Monday, NC State leaped to No. 2 in the national rankings, which matches the highest-ever listing for the program. The Wolfpack was also ranked No. 2 during the 2003 and 1993 seasons.

Two Golden Spikes Midseason Honorees
After helping lead the second-ranked NC State baseball team to its highest-ever ranking, NC State baseball’s Brian Brown and Brett Kinneman have been named to the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List, announced on Tuesday by the organization.

The Wolfpack is one of just six teams in the nation to have more than one player earn a spot on the list and the only program from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Brown and Kinneman are the fourth and fifth players in program history to be named to the distinguished list, joining Carlos Rodon, Trea Turner and Brett Austin.