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No. 3 NC State Travels to No. 11 Florida State for Final ACC Series

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6 years ago

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NC STATE – FLORIDA STATE WEEKEND SERIES
Dates: Thursday – Saturday, May 17-19
Location: Tallahassee, Fla.
Site: Dick Howser Stadium
Times: 6:00 p.m. (Thurs. & Fri.) | 1 P.M. (Sat.)
Radio: WKNC 88.1 FM
Live Video: ACC Network Extra
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast

STARTING PITCHERS
Thursday: RHP Reid Johnston (NCSU) vs. LHP Drew Parrish (FSU)
Friday: LHP Brian Brown (NCSU) vs. RHP Andrew Karp (FSU)
Saturday: TBA (NCSU) vs. RHP Cole Sands (FSU)

RALEIGH, N.C. – The third-ranked NC State baseball team travels to Tallahassee, Fla., this weekend for its final ACC series of the season versus No. 11 Florida State. The series will be played Thursday through Saturday, which is the normal setup for the last conference series.

First pitch of Thursday and Friday’s games is slated for 6 p.m. at Dick Howser Stadium, while Saturday’s game is set to begin at 1 p.m.

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 heads into its last regular-season series on an eight-game winning streak as the squad is 39-12 overall, including an 18-9 mark in ACC play. Florida State is 37-16 on the year with a 14-12 record against conference opponents.

Last Time Out
In its last outing, NC State completed the series sweep against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons with a 10-6 win on Senior Day. The Wolfpack scored six unanswered runs in the contest to pull away and close out its home schedule with a win.

The Seminoles swept a four-game weekend series versus Mount St. Mary’s, highlighted by a 22-0 win in the series finale on Sunday.

The Series
Florida State leads the all-time series with NC State, 68-30, but the Wolfpack won last year’s series in Raleigh.

Last Time Versus Florida State
After the Seminoles won game one of the series, NC State won games two and three of the series last year in Raleigh to clinch the series. The Wolfpack edged Florida State with a 4-3 win in game two and won the series finale, 8-4.

Brett Kinneman tallied his first career multi-home run game versus the Seminoles in game one. Homers from Evan Mendoza and Brad Debo, along with a strong outing from Brian Brown led the Wolfpack to the win in game two. A strong start from Michael Bienlien and 13 hits helped NC State clinch the series in game three.

Last Time at Florida State
Inclement weather interrupted the last series between the teams in Tallahassee, as only one game of the series was played. Florida State won that game 8-5 before the remainder of the series was cancelled due to rain.

Scouting Florida State
Led by legendary head coach Mike Martin, the Florida State Seminoles have hit their stride recently as the squad has won 13 of their last 17 games. Martin recently surpassed former Texas Head Coach Augie Garrido to become the all-time winningest head coach in NCAA Division I baseball history.

The ‘Noles have compiled a 28-6 overall record in home games this season and have only lost one ACC series at Dick Howser Stadium. FSU was edged in their last conference series at Clemson, as the Tigers hit a walkoff home run in the series finale to decide the series.

Cal Raleigh leads the squad at the plate with a .326 batting average to go along with a team-best 46 RBIs. Drew Mendoza has collected the most hits on the team with 63, while Jackson Lueck supplies the power in the lineup with 14 home runs.

As a team, Florida State owns a batting average of .269 and is scoring 6.96 runs per game. On the mound, the pitching staff has compiled a 4.00 earned run average (ERA) with 537 strikeouts in 472.2 innings.

Record Watch
NC State’s 18 ACC wins this season is one shy of tying the program record of 19 set by the 2012 and 2013 squads. With the series win, the Wolfpack would break the program record with its 20th ACC win.

Chasing 40
NC State is looking to record its first 40-win season since 2013 when the Wolfpack won a program-record 50 games and advanced to the College World Series (CWS). The Wolfpack has tallied eight 40-win seasons under the leadership of head coach Elliott Avent.

Clemson is the only program in the ACC that has reached 40 wins this year.

Road Warriors
The Wolfpack has compiled a 9-3 record in ACC road games this season, which is the second-best road mark for an ACC team. Only Clemson’s 10-2 ledger in conference road games is better.

NC State has not lost a series on the road this year.

McLain Leading the Way
For the fourth consecutive week, NC State’s Josh McLain continues to lead the ACC in hits. The Hiddenite, N.C., native has tallied 81 on the year, which is six more than any other player in the conference.

His 81 hits rank 14th in the NCAA.

Eight-Game Winning Streak
During NC State’s eight-game winning streak, the Wolfpack has compiled a .304 team batting average with 66 runs scored, an average of 8.25 runs per game.

In contrast, the Pack’s pitching staff has limited opponents to just 29 runs and has compiled a team earned run average (ERA) of 3.38.

Season High in Strikeouts for the Pack Pitching Staff
NC State pitchers struck out a season-high 17 batters in last Saturday’s win against Wake Forest to clinch the series, while only issuing four walks in the contest. That mark is the fourth most in an ACC game this season.

Wilson Makes History with Third ACC Player of the Week Selection
After turning in an outstanding week, Will Wilson was named ACC Player of the Week for the third time this season on Monday.

He becomes the first player in program history to claim ACC Player of the Week three times in a single season since the inception of the accolade in 1989. The last NC State player to claim more than three ACC weekly honors was Mike Rogers in 2004, when he claimed Pitcher of the Week five times that season.

The Kings Mountain, N.C., native was also tabbed National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball and College Sports Madness along with National Hitter of the Week by the NCBWA.

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NC State Baseball

WATCH: Highlights from NC State’s Series Clinching Win Over #11 UNC

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18 mins ago

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April 20, 2024

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NC State came from behind for the 2nd straight to defeat their rival #11 UNC. This evening, the Wolfpack scored 3 runs in the Bottom of the 8th to secure the series victory, with a 5-4 win at Doak Field over the Tar Heels. Check out the Highlights.





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NC State Baseball

NC State Came From Behind to Beat UNC 5-4 Securing 1st Home Series Win Over the Tar Heels Since 2016!

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3 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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NC State came from behind to defeat their rival #11 UNC 5-4, winning their first series at home against the Tar Heels since 2016. The last time NC State won a series against UNC was in Chapel Hill in 2021.

A good team learns to take advantage of their opponents mistakes, and that’s exactly what the Wolfpack did this evening. Of the 5 runs they scored, only 3 of them were earned.

In the Bottom of the 8th inning, with the Wolfpack trailing 4-2, Junior Shortstop Brandon Butterworth was the author of late-game heroics once again, hitting an RBI Single, knocking in Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz, but the play wasn’t over. Butterworth advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch, and Junior Catcher Jacob Cozart scored on a Wild Pitch. After a groundout by Junior Outfielder Chase Nixon, Butterworth would score on a Passed Ball during the next at bat, scoring the winning run of the game.

Sophomore Dominic Fritton was fairly steady, giving up 4 earned runs in 6 innings pitched, striking out 7 (4 walks). Fortunately, no one was on base for all three of UNC’s Home Runs.

When Fritton left the game, the Pack was trailing 4-1, with their only run coming off of an RBI Double by Senior 1st Baseman Garrett Pennington in the Bottom of the 3rd.

The Wolfpack bullpen was exceptional this evening, putting 0’s on the board for 3 straight innings after Fritton exited the game. Freshman Jaxon Lucas pitched two scoreless innings with 2 K’s, and Freshman Jacob Dudan pitched a scoreless 9th, picking up his 4th Save of the year. Lucas was credited with the Win, and is 2-0 on the year.

While I’m dishing out kudos, I don’t want to forget Sophomore Center Fielder Eli Serrano III’s RBI Double in the Bottom of the 7th, cutting UNC’s lead to 2 Runs.

This NC State is peaking at the right time, against the right teams.

The Wolfpack will look to finish things off with a sweep tomorrow afternoon, with the first pitch scheduled for 3pm.

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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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1 day 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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1 day 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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