NC State Baseball
No. 3 NC State Turns Away No. 11 Florida State to Reach 40 Wins
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The third-ranked NC State baseball team earned a 5-3 win in the series finale against No. 11 Florida State Saturday afternoon at Dick Howser Stadium. The Wolfpack reaches 40 wins with the victory, one of just three teams in the ACC to reach the mark this season.
NC State also clinched the No. 3 seed in next week’s ACC Championship held at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The Wolfpack will be paired with the No. 6 and No. 10 seeds in Pool C.
The full schedule of games will be announced on Sunday morning.
The Wolfpack scored in the second inning and never trailed en route to the win to move to 40-14 on the year and 19-11 in ACC play, which ties the program record for conference wins. The Seminoles fall to 39-17 and 16-13 in conference action.
Quick Hits
– NC State jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the game after a solo home run from Evan Edwards.
– The junior launched a 1-1 pitch over the right field wall for his 13th home run of the year.
– Brett Kinneman launched an opposite field solo shot in the fourth to put the Pack ahead 2-0 on his 17th homer of the year, which is the second most in the ACC.
– Florida State got on the board in the bottom half of the inning with a solo homer from Cal Raleigh, as the first three runs of the game were scored on long balls.
– The Wolfpack loaded the bases and pushed across a pair of runs in the top of the seventh to extend the lead to 4-1.
– Edwards drew an RBI walk after singles from Will Wilson, Patrick Bailey and a walk from Kinneman to make it 3-1.
– Stephen Pitarra hit into a double play, but it allowed Kinneman to score and extend the NC State lead to 4-1.
– The Seminoles got a pair of runs back in the bottom of the seventh after an RBI single from Rhett Aplin and a double by Cal Raleigh.
– Fortunately for the Wolfpack, relief pitcher Connor Centala struck out the next batter to end the threat and strand a pair of runners on second and third.
– NC State tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth following a sacrifice fly from Edwards, as he drove in his third run of the day.
– Kinneman doubled to start the inning after the FSU outfielder lost a ball in the sun and advanced to third on a groundout before scoring on the sac fly to extend the margin to 5-3.
– Three nice defensive plays by the Wolfpack in the bottom of the inning preserved the win.
Inside the Box Score
– Kinneman was 2-for-3 in the contest with three runs scored to lead NC State at the plate, highlighted by a home run and a double.
– Bailey, Brock Deatherage, Edwards, Pitarra and Wilson each had one hit for the Pack.
On the Mound
– Freshman David Harrison started on the mound for NC State and pitched 3.2 innings, allowing just three hits and one earned run.
– Kent Klyman threw 2.2 innings of relief to earn the win and move to 7-2 on the year, while Joe O’Donnell closed it out to nail down his 11th save of the year.
On Deck
NC State will return to action next week at the ACC Championship held at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park
#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 (-)
