NC State Baseball

NC State Baseball Faces Vanderbilt, Again, for Spot in CWS Final

Published

3 years ago

June 24, 2021

For 8 2/3 innings Wednesday night, it looked as though State would be facing Stanford…then it fell apart of the Cardinal. With two outs nobody on, Vanderbilt scored twice to win 6-5, the last run on a wild pitch. It’s now State’s job to find a way to beat the Commodores once in the next two games to advance to the CWS Finals.

It Would Have been Pitcher Perfect

Look, in must win games, you do whatever you need to do to advance. Stanford’s stud pitcher, Beck, went (what should have been) three innings. Meaning heading into the State matchup within two day would have meant limited rest and a huge advantage for the Wolfpack…but…oh well.

Instead State will face this year’s possible #1 draft pick in Kumar Rocker. Rocker is 13-3 on the season with a 2.58 ERA. Similar to Leiter, he has all the tools to succeed at the next level. About a 4.5-to-1 strikeout to walk average and opponents hitting just .161 on the year. It’s unbelievable that a single pitching staff can have two of the best pitchers in the land.

State Would Make Absolute History With Win

This is not a biased “well, he’s a State fan exaggerating again” opinion. If State wins Friday, this will be the most impressive run in the history of the NCAA Baseball Tournament, even without a CWS ring.

State is already the first team in the tournament seeding era to knockout the #1 overall seed and beat the defending national champion in the same Tournament. Then you look further at this run, specifically the last two weeks. With the #1 seed win against Arkansas, they also beat the College Baseball Player of the Year. With the Vanderbilt Game 1 win, they beat the SEC Newcomer of the Year and 1st Team SEC, Jack Leiter. In between, they beat the PAC-12 Pitcher of the Year, Brendan Beck.

Now they’ll face the potential #1 pick in this year’s MLB draft, in Kumar Rocker.

This run will never be duplicated. There is no way a team has to go through a gauntlet like that, the odds are just too great.

Game 2 Preview

State is in an awesome position. They’ve handled everything with maturity beyond their years, and thus, have all the confidence in the world. Leiter, in my opinion, is the better of the two Vandy starters. Although, to be fair, it’s the finest of lines. In his last four starts, Rocker has two wins, a loss and a no decision. When he’s on, he’ll have a shutout, double-digit strikeout, minimal hit afternoon (like versus ECU in Super Regionals: 3 Hits, 0 ER, 11 Ks). When he’s off though? He’ll give up runs and get a little wild pitching (Arkansas took him in the SECT for 5 runs).

If there is one thing I would bet all the money in the world on, Vanderbilt offense will get more than 0 runs on Friday. As much as I love and respect these State starters and Justice on the backend, it’s just near impossible to hold one of the best teams in the country back for two games in a row.

Likewise, this Wolfpack lineup needs to take any and all they can get from Rocker. If we have another bases loaded situation, there NEEDS to be runs that come across. Furthermore, no errors or miscues that allow the Commodores to find their grove.

This CWS, Vandy needed extras against Arizona, lost to State 1-0 and had a late 9th inning to beat out Stanford. They are human this Tournament, but that doesn’t mean you take your foot off their throat.

NC State versus Vanderbilt is at 2pm Friday on ESPN.

NC State Baseball

NC State Baseball Bracketology Report Heading Into Series Against FSU

Published

12 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Matthew Bradham

#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

NC State Baseball

#20 NC State Loses 4-5 to UNCW, Losing 5th Straight Midweek Game

Published

2 days ago

April 30, 2024

Matthew Bradham

#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.

NC State Baseball

NC State Outfielder Josh Hogue Out for Remainder of the Season

Published

3 days ago

April 29, 2024

Matthew Bradham

NC State will be without Sophomore Right Fielder Josh Hogue for the remainder of the season. Hogue unfortunately suffered a fractured leg due to a collision with Center Fielder Eli Serrano III on Saturday, with both players diving for a ball in the outfield.

Hogue will have to undergo surgery, and he is expected to be out 4 months.

NC State outfielder Josh Hogue has a fractured leg, coach Elliott Avent said. He collided with Eli Serrano III for a hard-hit ball last night.

Hogue is waiting to get surgery, hopefully this evening, and is expected to be out for about four months.

— Noah Fleischman (@fleischman_noah) April 28, 2024

This is a huge loss for the Wolfpack. Hogue has been batting 3rd in NC State’s lineup, with the 3rd best batting average on the squad (.314) and 4th best OPS (.848).

On Sunday, Freshman 2nd Baseman Luke Nixon moved out to Right Field to fill the void, and his brother Chase Nixon was in Right. Starter Senior Noah Soles has been out since the Notre Dame Series at the end of March, but he has been taking batting practice and should be returning soon.