NC State Baseball
After Falling Out of the Top-25, NC State has a Chance to Make a STATEment Against #13 Coastal Carolina
After losing all 4-games last week, NC State’s Baseball team (12-6) fell out of the Top-25, and understandably so. Tonight, the Wolfpack have the opportunity to make a STATEment against #13 Coastal Carolina (17-3) at the Doak.
You would like to think that this past week was a fluke, but there is no denying there are some areas where NC State needs to right the ship. The Wolfpack currently rank 11th in the ACC in runs scored, and 3rd in the ACC in runs given up.
A win against Coastal tonight would be huge step in showing that last week was just a bad week, but it won’t be an easy task.
The Chanticleers have won 16 of their last 17 games. Coastal has played 2 ACC opponents already, losing to Duke (then ranked 12th) 3-5, and defeating #7 Wake Forest 17-9.
Here’s a look at their offense.
2nd Baseman Blake Barthol leads the Chanticleers in pretty much every offensive statistical category. He ranks 1st nationally in Runs (35), 4th in Home Runs (12) and 10th in RBI’s (32).
3rd Baseman Sam Antonacci is tied with Barthol as the national leader in Runs.
If you just look at their Top-5 batters, the Chanticleers are swinging a really good bat to start the year. Five starters batting .350+. Four batters with a Slugging Percentage of .700+.
Josh O’Neill will be on the mound for Coastal, entering the contest with a 1-0 record, and a 4.11 ERA. His previous two starts have not been stellar, giving up 5 runs in 7.1 innings, while walking 7.
NC State will have Freshman Ryan Marohn on the mound, who enters the game with a 2-0 record, and a 4.24 ERA. He started the season in the weekend rotation, but that spot has been filled by Logan Whitaker now.
#20 NC State will head down to Tallahassee tomorrow for a 3-game series against #7 FSU. Before they do, here’s a look at where NC State is projected to land in the 2024 NCAA Tournament as things currently stand.
Last week, both D1Baseball and Baseball America projected the Wolfpack to play as a #2 seed in the Greenville Regional (ECU), with the former projecting the Pirates to be a #6 seed, and the latter projecting them to be a #8 seed.
This week, D1Baseball has NC State as a #2 seed in the Lexington Regional, with Kentucky as a #5 seed. Baseball America still has the Wolfpack as a #2 seed in the Greenville Region, with the Pirates still sitting as a #8 seed.
D1Baseball
Baseball America
#20 NC State lost to UNC-Wilmington 4-5 this evening at home, losing their 5th straight midweek game. The Wolfpack were swept by the Seahawks this year, ironically losing 4-5 down in Wilmington on April 9th.
Freshman Ryan Marohn got the starting nod, and he was excellent, giving up 1 earned run in 5 innings pitched, striking out 7. It was arguably his best start since his collegiate debut against VCU in the opening series.
Sophomore Shane Van Dam was Mr. Reliable through much of the season, but he hasn’t had his best stuff as of late. This evening, he faced four batters, hitting 2, walking another, and surrendering a hit to the other. Van Dam failed to record an out, and gave up 3 earned runs. Heading into the UNC game back on April 18th, Van Dam had a 2.63 ERA. After the past 4 appearances, his ERA has shot up to 3.96.
Freshman Jacob Dudan settled things down, pitching 4 scoreless innings, giving up only 1 hit, while striking out 5.
Unfortunately, Sophomore Derrick Smith allowed the Seahawks to score a run in the Top of the 10th, which was enough for the opposing team to leave Raleigh with a win, with NC State failing to score a run in the final 5 frames.
Junior Jacob Cozart continues an insane power surge, hitting two more Home Runs tonight. Cozart has hit 7 Home Runs in the past 6 games.
*Scheduled tweet* pic.twitter.com/eHvyuGT6so
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 30, 2024
SCOREBOARD SHOT 🚀 pic.twitter.com/tMvY8imzgG
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 30, 2024
Cozart now has 14 Home Runs on the year. His previous career high was 11.
Senior 1st Baseman Garrett Pennington also hit a Solo Home Run, his 11th bomb of the year.
Goodbye Baseball ✌️#Pack9 | @Garrettpenn14 pic.twitter.com/p0tySYt3aF
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 30, 2024
On Friday, the Wolfpack will head down to Tallahassee for a 3-game series against #7 Florida State.
After sweeping Ball State this past weekend, NC State jumped up in almost all of the Top-25 polls.
Baseball America – 13th (+4)
RPI – 20th (+9)
D1Baseball – 20th (+1)
USAToday Coaches Poll – 20th (+3)
Perfect Game – 25th (-)
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