RALEIGH, N.C. – The ninth-ranked NC State baseball team will open play in the NCAA Championships this weekend on its home field, Doak Field at Dail Park, as the Wolfpack is hosting for the sixth time in program history. NC State is the top seed in the Raleigh Regional and will face fourth seed Army on Friday evening at 7 p.m.

Second-seeded Auburn and third seed Northeastern will battle in the first game of the regional Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. The winners will meet at 7 p.m. on Saturday and the losers will square off at 2 p.m.

NC State will be making its 30th postseason appearance and fourth consecutive. The Wolfpack has earned an NCAA bid in 14 of the last 16 seasons and eight of the last nine.

The Pack heads into the weekend with a 40-16 overall record, while Auburn is 39-21, Northeastern is 36-19 and Army is 36-22.

Friday’s game will be the first meeting between NC State and Army. The Wolfpack and Auburn have met twice, and the series is tied at one apiece. NCSU has won all four meetings against Northeastern.

Regional Tournament Books are on sale now, while Single session tickets, if available, will go on sale Friday, June 1st at 8:00 am.

Game Coverage
Each game of the Raleigh Regional will be broadcast live on ESPN3/Watch ESPN with Jim Barbar (PXP) and Troy Eklund (Analyst) calling the action.

Radio coverage for NC State’s games will also be available on WKNC 88.1 and on GoPack.com for premium subscribers.

NC State in the NCAA Tournament
NC State is 51-58 all-time in NCAA Tournament games, highlighted by a 34-32 mark under current head coach Elliott Avent. The Wolfpack owns a 13-3 mark in NCAA Regional games at Doak Field at Dail Park and the squad has advanced to the Super Regionals on four of the five occasions hosting the event.

NCSU also hosted in 2003, but not in Raleigh as the stadium was under renovation so the Pack hosted in Wilson and posted a 3-0 record in the regional.

Wolfpack Storylines
– Hosting an NCAA Regional for the sixth time overall and second in the last three years.
– Making 30thNCAA appearance in program history.
– First 40-win season since 2013, when NC State advanced to the College World Series.
– 19 ACC wins ties the program record.
– Lost just two ACC series all season, tied with Clemson for the fewest in the conference.
– Won 10 consecutive conference series from 2017 to 2018 before first series loss against UNC-Chapel Hill.
– Seven All-ACC selections is tied for the most in program history.
– The four players on the first team is tied for the most in the conference along with Georgia Tech and seven total selections tied with Louisville for the highest.

Brown in a League of His Own
NC State senior pitcher Brian Brown has made 60 career starts on the mound, which is tied for the program record and leads all active NCAA Division I pitchers. In his next start, the Glenmoore, Pa., native will set the program record.

Inside the Regional
– The Army Black Knights led the Patriot League is nearly every category and boast the conference’s Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year
– Senior catcher Jon Rosoff garnered player of the year honors after compiling a .350 batting average with 69 hits to lead the Black Knights in both categories.
– Anthony Giachin secured the conference’s rookie of the year honor thanks to a .297 clip at the plate with 60 hits.
– Army second-year head coach Jim Foster served as the pitching coach at Boston College prior to taking over the Black Knights.

Magic Numbers
The Wolfpack is 29-3 on the year when scoring at least six runs in a game and is 33-6 when holding its opponents to five runs or fewer.

Wolfpack in the National, ACC Rankings
Team
Batting Average – .288 (3rd in ACC, 46th in NCAA)
Hits – 547 (3rd in ACC, 59th in NCAA)
Home Runs – 81 (2nd in ACC, 5th in NCAA)
Home Runs Per Game – 1.45 (2nd in ACC, 4th in NCAA)
On-base Percentage – .388 (4th in ACC, 37th in NCAA)
Slugging Percentage – .476 (1st in ACC, 14th in NCAA)
Runs – 391 (3rd in ACC, 27th in NCAA)
Scoring – 7.0 (1st in ACC, 25th in NCAA)

Walks Plus Hits Per Inning Pitched (WHIP) – 1.28 (2nd in ACC, 31st in NCAA)
Earned Run Average – 3.63 (4th in ACC, 39th in NCAA)

Individual
Brian Brown
Games Started – 15 (T1st in ACC, T16th in NCAA)
ERA – 2.37 (8th in ACC)

Brett Kinneman
Home Runs – 17 (2nd in ACC, 21st in NCAA)
RBI – 60 (T2nd in ACC, T38th in NCAA)

Josh McLain
Hits – 86 (1st in ACC, 23rd in NCAA)
Hits Per Game – 1.54 (1st in ACC, 26th in NCAA)

Joe O’Donnell
Saves – 11 (T1st in ACC, T31st in NCAA)