NC State Baseball
NC State Baseball. Is. On. Fire.
Usually State Baseball season follows the same pattern; Start off winning every game, before fading late and leaving the postseason early. The ability to close out seasons has single-handedly kept Avent on the preverbal hot seat. So maybe it was time they changed it up a bit…
The Wolfpack have now won 22 of their last 27, including 10 wins versus ranked opponents. Heading into the last series of the season versus Florida State (the #3 team in the ACC), here’s three fun facts about State.
- #4 ACC Record
- #2 Overall Winning Percentage
- Best Road Record
It’s borderline insane how good they’ve been, especially when you consider they lost 9 of their first 13 to open the season. Keep in mind, that month stretch was a solid slate of opponents. The bumps along the way have made for this smooth transition. Sweeping their last two series against ranked opponents? Offensively being one of the top teams in the country? Starting pitching all with just two loses each and team ERA cut in half compared to two months ago?
The Pack is now also listed in the Top-25 for both Baseball America and D1Baseball.
Avent Deserves Credit
This team has shown ZERO quit thus far. Start off the season about as worse as they have in the last 20 years, while also dealing with arrests and suspension of players that were meant to play key roles. Starting pitchers weren’t getting further than the fifth, bats were slow and the bullpen was a disaster (the jury is still out to some extent on if this bullpen could actually hold a game together late).
If any other team in the ACC, or even the rest of the country, started the season in a similar fashion, their record wouldn’t be hitting the .500 mark, let alone second best in the Conference. Avent is always a patient manager and understands his players to a T. He truly feels like the coach that personifies what it is to be part of the Wolfpack family.
Will this be the magical run that gets him over the hump for some hardware?
Current ACCT Outlook
The 2021 ACC Tourney will go with the following format; Round robin of four groups of three, with winners moving to Semifinals.
If the season were to end today, State would head in as the leader of Pool D with Louisville and Virginia Tech (would have been just about the least ideal situation a little while back). State controls their seeding destiny by playing Florida State to round out the season. With a sweep, they would move up to at least #3 for ACCT. A loss or two puts them right back into the mess of 14-16 loss teams.
We’ll cover all the scenarios later this week.
Until then, stay hot Pack, stay hot.
#20 NC State upset #7 Florida St. 8-7 in the series opener down in Tallahassee this evening.
Freshman Cooper Consiglio was the hero on the mound this evening, coming in after Senior Sam Highfill and Sophomore Shane Van Dam, pitching 4.1 innings, while giving up only 1 earned run and striking out 5. It was probably Consiglio’s best performance of his collegiate career, marking the first time he’s ever pitched 4 innings, and given up 1 run or less. He now is 2-4 on the year with a 5.66 ERA.
Sophomore Derrick Smith picked up his 4th Save of the year, failing to give up a hit in 1.2 innings pitched, while striking out 3.
Left them loaded! @DrockSmith22 strikes out Fisher to leave the bases loaded in the eighth!#Pack9 pic.twitter.com/ZxrysbIJVI
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) May 4, 2024
Junior Catcher Jacob Cozart got things started off for the Wolfpack in the Top of the 2nd hitting his 9th Home Run in the past 9 games, and his 15th of the year.
Sophomore 2nd Baseman Matt Heavner led the Pack with 2 RBI’s tonight. The first followed Cozart’s bomb, hitting a Single in the Top of the 2nd that scored Sophomore Left Fielder Luke Nixon. Then Junior Chase Nixon hit a Single, and 2 NC State runners scored due to a wild throw.
In play, runs ➕2️⃣ pic.twitter.com/jb5gAAs727
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) May 3, 2024
Then in the Top of the 3rd, Heavner knocked in another run with a Sac Bunt, that scored Luke Nixon.
Small Ball™️ pic.twitter.com/4U61oxRbE5
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) May 3, 2024
Then Sophomore Center Fielder Eli Serrano III hit an RBI Single that scored Chase Nixon, giving the Wolfpack a 6-2 lead.
In the Top of the 6th, Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz hit a solo Home Run, his 18th of the season.
SEE. YOU. LATER. ✌️.#Pack9 | @Alec_mak99 pic.twitter.com/muKGGbkEqJ
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) May 4, 2024
In the same inning, Junior Shortstop Brandon Butterworth scored on a wild pitch, giving the Wolfpack their 8th run of the evening.
Senior starting Pitcher Sam Highfill was only able to pitch 2 innings, giving up 2 earned runs. Sophomore Shane Van Dam continues to struggle in relief, giving up 3 earned runs in 1 inning. His ERA is now up to 5.17. Van Dam left the game with an injury, which might have led to his exit.
The Wolfpack and the Seminoles will play Game 2 tomorrow at 7pm.
#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.
