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NC State Baseball Sweeps BC, Looks to Build Tournament Resume

Published

3 years ago

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No….State is not in the NCAAT field right now. But that doesn’t mean that over the last three weeks, they haven’t at least shown they are capable of making a run.

The Wolfpack have now won 10 out of their last 12, with crucial wins against ranked teams (UNC) and Atlantic foes (BC). More importantly, WE CURRENTLY HAVE A WINNING RECORD at 14-11.

 

State Sweeps BC

What’s State’s winning formula?

Have starting pitchers max out innings and the bats come alive…great strategy, no? State beat Boston College, 20-5, 5-4 and 7-0 behind six doubles, three triple and three home runs. State averaged 11 hits per game, while holding BC to just 5 per.

Offensively, the Wolfpack were lead by the resurgence of Devonte Brown (6 RBIs), always steady Luca Tresh (6 RBIs) and newcomer Jose Torres (5 RBIs). The consistency of quality at-bats stood out, as the team is seeing the ball better with improved patience.

The pitching for State continues to roll on. Over the course of the series, the bullpen was only needed for 4.1 innings, as Matt Willadsen went the distance in Game 3. Willadsen, for his efforts, was named ACC Pitcher of the Week. The biggest difference for State over the last three weeks, is the battery of Johnston (3-1), Highfill (2-2) and Willadsen (3-0) have gone well into games, with multiple quality starts.

 

Where State Sits Now

Coming into the weekend, Baseball America projected that Virginia would be on the bubble, and interestingly enough, they are comparable to State in a lot of ways.

Virginia: 16-15  |   RPI 71   |  SOS 35
State: 14-11  |   RPI 74   |  SOS 24

Virginia does have a few more Q1+Q2 wins, but State will have an upcoming schedule that could change that. Through the end of the month, the Wolfpack will have series against ND and VT (both Tourney teams and potential hosts) and Wake Forest. While this recent streak has bought them time, failure to not get a single series win will end their season, outside of a miraculous ACCT run. However, series wins against ND and/or VT, in particular, would further improve RPI and at least get them into bubble discussions.

It has become abundantly clear, that the loss of early non-conference opponents has hurt State. Not only from the standpoint of getting wins, but more so finding their groove. No doubt, in a normal season, they wouldn’t have had 9 games against ranked opponents in their first 17.

The steadying of the ship is credit to Avent and staff, a strong effort by starters and the easing up a bit by opponents’ strength. Being realistic, State shouldn’t be worried about seeding as they just need to find a way in. Unless they winn out, or come close, the best they could do is 4th in any given region. But hey, with State’s starters turning it around, we’d take a bid and a chance to steal a couple games, regardless of seed.

 

 

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NC State Baseball

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

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10 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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