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Thoughts on NC State Baseball After 2 Series

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2 months ago

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#14 NC State is 4-2, winning their first two series of the 2024 season against VCU and Hawaii, taking 2 of 3 in both series. Before the Wolfpack hosts Queens today at 2pm, let’s breakdown what we’ve seen out of NC State through the first 6 games.

The Bats are on Fire

The Wolfpack bats have been scorching. As a team, NC State is batting .339 with an OPS of .945.

I know it’s only been 6 games, but the players NC State picked up out of the Transfer Portal have been lights out. 1st Baseman Garrett Pennington (SR), who transferred in from Wichita St., is batting .407 (team high for starters), with an OPS of .987. His 11 hits are tops on the squad, and his 4 extra base hits (4 2B) are tied for the most on the team. Left Fielder Josh Hogue (SO), who was a JUCO Transfer, is batting .391. 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz (SR), who transferred in from East Carolina, has been the Wolfpack’s most productive offensive player through 6 games. He is batting .360 with an OPS of 1.208, which leads the team. He also leads the Wolfpack in Runs (9), Home Runs (3), RBI’s (11), and ranks 2nd on the team in Walks (4).

The Wolfpack players who returned from last year are doing their thing as well.

Preseason All-American Catcher Jacob Cozart (JR) is 2nd on the team with an OPS of 1.154, and leads the Wolfpack with 6 walks. He’s batting .364 with 2 Home Runs.

A healthy Noah Soles is an essential part of the Wolfpack’s offensive attack. Batting leadoff, Soles is batting .333, ranks 2nd in Hits (9) and Runs (8). He also has 2 Home Runs.

Sophomore Center Fielder Eli Serrano III started the season cold, but head into today’s game batting .320.

Redshirt Freshman Drew Lanphere has been solid at DH, batting .357 through 6 games.

Freshman Luke Nixon’s production might eventually push the coaching staff to start him over Matt Heavner (SO) at 2nd Base. Nixon is batting .429, but he’s only been to the plate 7 times. To give Heavner credit, his Batting Average is a dismal .235, but his OPS is .904.

Freshman Alex Sosa has only played in 2 games thus far, but he has been impressive, batting .429. There’s no denying that Sosa is talented. I didn’t expect him to play Catcher instead of Cozart, but was wondering if he would settle in at Designated Hitter. The good news is the Wolfpack has talented depth, and another Freshman (RS) in Drew Lamphere has competed for that spot, and has played in 5 games, batting .357, as mentioned above.

Defensive Miscues Still Prevail 

Last year, NC State’s fielding percentage of .963 was tied for last in the ACC. Currently, the Wolfpack’s fielding percentage is actually worse than last year, sitting at .958. NC State has committed 9 errors in 6 games, giving up 10 unearned runs. That’s not a recipe for winning baseball games. There’s a lot of new players, and hopefully this is just a sign of new teammates learning how to play together.

Pitchers are Putting Too Many Batters on Base

NC State’s ERA as an entire pitching staff is 5.19. One of the reasons that number is so high, is because the Wolfpack pitchers have walked 41 batters, compared to 51 strikeouts. When you throw in the fact that they have hit 10 batters, that ratio of BB/HBP:K is literally 51:51. No wonder the WHIP of the Wolfpack’s pitching staff is an astounding 1.73. Clean up giving batters free bases, and the stats of this pitching staff will look leaps and bounds better.

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Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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NC State Baseball

NC State Defeats Ball St. 9-3, Securing the Series Victory

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13 hours ago

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April 27, 2024

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Sophomore Dom Fritton was solid this afternoon in NC State’s 9-3 win over Ball State, securing the series victory. He gave up 1 earned run in 5.2 innings, striking out 4 (3 walks). The bullpen was solid, with Freshman Jaxon Lucas pitching 1 inning with no earned runs (1 unearned run), while Sophomore Shane Van Dam gave up 1 run in 2.1 innings, striking out 3. Fritton is now 3-3 on the year with a 6.89 ERA.

Sophomore Center Fielder Eli Serrano III had a 2 RBI Single in the Bottom of the 2nd, which gave the Wolfpack their 3rd run of the inning after Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz scored off a wild pitch.

In the Bottom of the 3rd, Junior Catcher Jacob Cozart hit a solo shot, his 11th Home Run of the year, which is a new career high.

In the Bottom of the 5th, the Wolfpack would tack on 3 more runs. A-Mak had an RBI groundout, Junior Left Fielder Chase Nixon had an RBI Single, and then he scored when his brother Luke was caught stealing.

In the Bottom of the 7th, Chase Nixon knocked in 2 more with an RBI Double. He also had this web gem in the Top of the 8th, which would have surely scored 2 runs without his diving effort.

The Wolfpack and the Cardinals will close out the series tomorrow at 1pm at Doak Field.

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NC State Baseball

#21 NC State Convincingly Wins Series Opener Against Ball State 10-2

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1 day ago

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April 26, 2024

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#21 NC State convincingly defeated Ball State 10-2 in the series opener in Raleigh this evening.

Senior Sam Highfill pitched a Quality Start against the Cardinals, giving up 2 earned runs in 6 innings, while striking out 6. The Quality Start was Highfill’s 3rd of the season, and his record on the year is now 4-1.

Freshman Ryan Marohn was brilliant in relief, pitching 3 scoreless innings, giving up only 1 hit, while striking out 3. Marohn picked up his 1st Save of his collegiate career.

Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz was the Wolfpack’s Offensive MVP, going 2 for 4, with a Grand Slam.

Makarewica now has 17 Home Runs and 55 RBI’s.

Sophomore Right Fielder Josh Hogue, Junior Catcher Jacob Cozart, Junior Left Fielder Chase Nixon, Freshman 2nd Baseman Luke Nixon and Sophomore Matt Heavner all had an RBI apiece.

Junior Shortstop Brandon Butterworth was the only player besides A-Mak to have multiple hits, going 2 for 4 with a Double.

Game 2 is tomorrow at 3pm.

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NC State Baseball

NC State Baseball Bracketology Report Heading Into Series Against Ball State

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4 days ago

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April 24, 2024

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#21 NC State is coming off of a series victory over UNC this past weekend, and a loss to #7 ECU on the road last night. Where does NC State project to land in the 2024 NCAA Tournament?

The Wolfpack have already seen the Pirates twice this season, but according to D1Baseball and Baseball America, they might not be done playing ECU. Both of them project NC State to be a #2 seed in the Greenville Regional, with D1Baseball projecting the Pirates as the #6 seed and Baseball America projecting them as the #8 seed.

NC State has plenty of baseball left to play, with series against UVA (#14), FSU (#10) and Wake Forest (#8). If the Wolfpack can handle business in 2 of those 3 series, you could make an argument for NC State hosting their own regional.

D1Baseball

Baseball America

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NC State Baseball

#21 NC State 6 #7 ECU 10: Box Score (with notes)

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4 days ago

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April 23, 2024

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#21 NC State lost to #7 ECU 6-10 on the road this evening in a midweek game. As a result, the Pirates have won both games against the Wolfpack in 2024.

When you record 10 hits and score 6 runs, you would hope that’s enough offense to win a baseball game.

Unfortunately the Wolfpack pitching staff was unable to contain the bats of the Pirates, allowing ECU to put 15 hits and 10 runs in the Box Score.

Kudos to Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz for making a STATEment in his return to Clark-LeClair Stadium. A-Mak transferred to NC State from ECU this offseason. This evening Makarewicz was 2-4 with 1 RBI, 2 Runs, and 1 Walk.

A-Mak’s Home Run was a part of back-to-back-to-back Home Runs in the Top of the 3rd for the Wolfpack, with Sophomore Right Fielder Josh Hogue and Junior Catcher Jacob Cozart also hitting bombs.

NC State will look to flush this loss, and get ready for a 3-game series at home this weekend against Ball State.

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