No. 8 NC State to Open ACC Championship Play at 3pm vs UVA

Opponents: 10 seed Virginia, 6 seed Florida State
Dates: Thursday, May 24 & Friday, May 25
Location: Durham, N.C.
Site: Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Times: 3:00 p.m. (Thurs) & 7 p.m. (Fri)
TV: Regional Sports Networks (RSN), TV Affiliates
Radio: WKNC 88.1 FM
Live Video: ACC Network Extra
Live Stats

STARTING PITCHERS
Thursday: RHP Derek Casey (UVA) vs. RHP Reid Johnston (NCSU)
Friday: LHP Drew Parrish (FSU) vs. TBA (NCSU)

RALEIGH, N.C. – The eighth-ranked NC State baseball team will begin play in the 2018 ACC Championship this week, as the top seed in Pool C and the third overall seed in the event held at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

The Wolfpack will take on 10-seed Virginia in its first game of the championship Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. and sixth-seed Florida State in its second contest of the event Friday evening at 7 p.m.

Both games will be broadcast live on Regional Sports Networks (RSN) and on the ACC Network Extra (Subject to blackout in TV coverage areas). Radio coverage will also be available on WKNC 88.1 and on GoPack.com for premium subscribers.

NC State reached 40 wins in its last outing and enters the championship with a 40-14 overall record, while Virginia is 28-25 and Florida State is 40-17.

Last Time Out
In its last outing, the Wolfpack concluded its regular-season slate in Tallahassee against the Seminoles and NC State will face FSU for the fourth time this year on Friday. NCSU scored first in the contest and never trailed en route to the 5-3 win.

Last Time at the ACC Championships
Last season, the Pack was the seven seed in the tournament held in Louisville, Ky. NC State defeated Boston College in its first game of pool play but fell to UNC-Chapel Hill in its second game.

Last Time at the DBAP for the ACC Championships
NC State’s last trip to the DBAP for the ACC Championships featured matchups with Florida State, Miami and Georgia Tech. The Wolfpack dropped a 7-3 decision against the Seminoles in in its first matchup before being edged by top seed Miami, 8-7.

The Pack closed out play in the championship with a 7-5 win against the Yellow Jackets.

Noting the Pack
– NC State has won eight of its last 10 games heading into the ACC Championships.
– With its last win, the Wolfpack reached 40 wins for the first time since the 2013 season when the squad advanced to the College World Series (CWS).
– The Wolfpack is a top-four seed in the tournament for the first time since 2013, when NCSU was the fourth seed.
– NC State’s seven All-ACC selections announced by the conference on Monday is tied for the most in program history, matching the total of the 1992 squad.

About the Opponents
Virginia
– NC State and Virginia will meet for the first time since 2016 when the squads met for a three-game series in Charlottesville.
– The Wolfpack and Cavaliers last met in the semifinals of the 2015 ACC Championship, as NC State earned a 10-2 win to advance to the championship game against Florida State.
– Virginia dropped its opening game of the ACC Championship versus Florida State in extra innings, 3-2.
– The Cavs are led by Andy Weber, a First Team All-ACC selection. He has compiled a .340 batting average to go along with 70 hits.

Florida State
– The Wolfpack and Seminoles will meet for the fourth time in the last two weeks, after NC State’s trip to Tallahassee to conclude the regular season.
– Florida State defeated Virginia in extra innings Tuesday afternoon and the Seminoles would advance to the semifinals with a win against NC State Friday night.
– NC State and Florida State have met at some point in the tournament in three of the past four seasons. The squads squared off in the 2015 championship game, pool play in 2016 and will meet Friday night.
– FSU has won eight of its last nine games.

Wolfpack in the National, ACC Rankings
Team
Batting Average – .292 (2nd in ACC, 37th in NCAA)
Hits – 536 (2nd in ACC, 43rd in NCAA)
Home Runs – 80 (2nd in ACC, 4th in NCAA)
Home Runs Per Game – 1.48 (2nd in ACC, 3rd in NCAA)
On-base Percentage – .393 (3rd in ACC, 26th in NCAA)
Slugging Percentage – .482 (1st in ACC, 10th in NCAA)
Runs – 387 (1st in ACC, 20th in NCAA)
Scoring – 7.2 (1st in ACC, 18th in NCAA)

Walks Plus Hits Per Inning Pitched (WHIP) – 1.27 (2nd in ACC, 29th in NCAA)
Earned Run Average – 3.60 (3rd in ACC, 33rd in NCAA)
Hits Allowed Per 9 Innings – 7.88 (4th in ACC, 31st in NCAA)

Individual
Brian Brown
ERA – 2.37 (5th in ACC, 54th in NCAA)

Brett Kinneman
Home Runs – 17 (2nd in ACC, 17th in NCAA)
RBI – 60 (T1st in ACC, 21st in NCAA)

Josh McLain
Hits – 83 (1st in ACC, 20th in NCAA)
Hits Per Game – 1.54 (1st in ACC, 25th in NCAA)

Joe O’Donnell
Saves – 11 (T1st in ACC, 26th in NCAA)