Lowder pitched a great game. Nothing more you can say. Whitaker held his own, but it was going to be tough to win tonight because of the way Lowder pitched.

DrummerboyWolf said:

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wilmwolf80 said:

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That homer is why you can't simply say just throw strikes. Against a team that hits like this, you have to throw strikes in the right spot. Nelson isn't a bad pitcher, but like anyone else that isn't a flame thrower, he has to hit his spots and use his off speed stuff to keep guys out of sync. Tough break, but that's baseball. Let's just get the out and give the offense a long shot, and come back tomorrow and take the next two.

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You can't continually leave it up to the umpire to bail you out. Don't put yourself in 3 ball counts. It is a recipe for disaster. Hence the three run homer. No defense for walks. Never has been.

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I'm not saying you need to be in a position for the ump to bail you out, but at this level, against a team that hits like Wake does "just throw strikes" results in balls in the trees. You are absolutely right, you one hundred percent can't walk guys, but you can't just groove strikes to guys hitting .350 with 15 home runs either. If you're the pitching coach in a one run game and Tommy White is coming up to bat, are you telling your pitcher "just throw strikes, if he hits it he hits it"? I don't think you are. You have to pick your spots and execute, and we didn't. I don't think we're saying drastically different things, just one of my pet peeves when it comes to baseball. If you've got great stuff, then throw strikes and make them hit it, but we really only have one pitcher that I feel comfortable saying that about, and that's Villaman.

PaperWolf said:

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Happened a while ago now but hilarious watching the CF try to climb the wall for Groover's homer when it was clearly towering over him and GONE haha

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GINOOOOOO! pic.twitter.com/h4lXsYILSU

— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) May 19, 2022

NC State baseball's Tommy White belted his 23rd home run of the season on Thursday night in the Wolfpack's series opener with Wake Forest at Doak Field at Dail Park, breaking the Atlantic Coast Conference's freshman home run record.

It was a record that stood for 24 years, as it was set by Florida State's Chris Diaz in 1998. He was named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy Award earlier in the day, and he is now two home runs away from the NC State single season record and three away from the NCAA freshman record.

NC State (33-18, 14-13 ACC) suffered an 8-2 loss to the Demon Deacons (37-16-1, 113-14-1 ACC) in the contest, as Wake struck early and managed to never lose its lead.

The Demon Deacons scored first with a pair of runs in the second inning on Brock Wilken's two-run homer down the left field line after Nick Kurtz led off the frame with an outfield single.

NC State got on the board in the fourth with a solo shot off the bat of LuJames Groover III, his 10th of the year, to cut the deficit in half at 2-1.

Groover is the fourth player on the Wolfpack roster to record double-digit home runs.

In the eighth Wake Forest added to their lead on Brendan Tinsman's RBI single to right field with a runner in scoring position, but White managed to put the Pack once again within one in the bottom half of the inning with his 23rd home run of the season, making the score 3-2.

The Demon Deacons pulled away in the ninth with a five-run surge thanks to Michael Turconi's three-run homer to right field and Adam Cecere's two-run double to center, and the Pack was unable to overcome the deficit in its final three outs.

On the mound starting pitcher Logan Whitaker worked a career-high 7.1 innings surrendering three runs on five hits while fanning five batters. At the plate, White led the offense with a 2-for-4 outing while Payton Green, Groover and Josh Hood each tallied a hit in the contest.

NC State returns to action in game two of its series with Wake Forest Friday night, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. at Doak Field at Dail Park. The game will be broadcast on ACCNX and there will be a radio broadcast on WKNC 88.1 and the Varsity Network App.

https://gopack.com/news/2022/5/19/baseball-white-breaks-acc-freshman-home-run-record-in-pack9s-series-opener-with-wake-forest.aspx

Nice performance from Lowder. Hat tip. Let's get the win today with Willy/Villy and make it a staff day tomorrow in the blazing heat to set us up for the ACCT.

If the tourney started today, our pod would be:

2-Louisville
7-NC State
11-UNC

UNC was lucky to beat FSU last night and I think they lose the next 2. I think UNC will fall to 12 and Clemson/GT will be the 11. Two more FSU wins would lock us into the 7 seed with FSU at 6 regardless of our next two games.

wilmwolf80 said:

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DrummerboyWolf said:

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wilmwolf80 said:

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That homer is why you can't simply say just throw strikes. Against a team that hits like this, you have to throw strikes in the right spot. Nelson isn't a bad pitcher, but like anyone else that isn't a flame thrower, he has to hit his spots and use his off speed stuff to keep guys out of sync. Tough break, but that's baseball. Let's just get the out and give the offense a long shot, and come back tomorrow and take the next two.

---

You can't continually leave it up to the umpire to bail you out. Don't put yourself in 3 ball counts. It is a recipe for disaster. Hence the three run homer. No defense for walks. Never has been.

---

I'm not saying you need to be in a position for the ump to bail you out, but at this level, against a team that hits like Wake does "just throw strikes" results in balls in the trees. You are absolutely right, you one hundred percent can't walk guys, but you can't just groove strikes to guys hitting .350 with 15 home runs either. If you're the pitching coach in a one run game and Tommy White is coming up to bat, are you telling your pitcher "just throw strikes, if he hits it he hits it"? I don't think you are. You have to pick your spots and execute, and we didn't. I don't think we're saying drastically different things, just one of my pet peeves when it comes to baseball. If you've got great stuff, then throw strikes and make them hit it, but we really only have one pitcher that I feel comfortable saying that about, and that's Villaman.

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Fair enough. Just there is no defense for walks. I would much rather three guys get on base via a hit then by walks. If they hit then yes you have to make the plays to get them out. You walk them and there is no chance. That is my big pet peeve. I think at times our pitchers try to be too precise which leads to more pitches, more three ball counts and less chance of success in my opinion.

Have 4 tickets to tonight and tom in section 9 row A available. Asking $25 per seat per game if anyone is interested.

Starters for this evening as we look to even the series. pic.twitter.com/xrhwMZVilh

— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) May 20, 2022

Not a great start. Pack already down 2-0

Where we at boys? Not a lot of life in this team so far this series

If we lose tomorrow we will find ourselves squarely on the bubble.

Scoring 4 runs and collecting 10 hits in 18 innings of baseball isn't going to get you very many wins.

Letting Wake be world beaters again against State .

Frustrating.

I will say though. Wake looks like a team that needs to be in the tourney. They have an ace and they can rake.

Closing out the regular season this afternoon.

⏰ 1 PM
📍#TheDoak
📺 ACCNX
📻 @WKNC881
📊 https://t.co/ihv2LzCtFq pic.twitter.com/P93Rrfj4tX

— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) May 21, 2022

metcalfmafia said:

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I will say though. Wake looks like a team that needs to be in the tourney. They have an ace and they can rake.

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We made them look that way. I live in Winston-Salem and they don't always look that good. They have very short fences in Winston and their power, I think, are overinflated. We can't let them replace us in the tournament. These "meaningless " loss maybe lowering us in the pecking order. We need to win today to stop our streak and counteract any bad karma.

Packsd14me said:

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metcalfmafia said:

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I will say though. Wake looks like a team that needs to be in the tourney. They have an ace and they can rake.

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We made them look that way. I live in Winston-Salem and they don't always look that good. They have very short fences in Winston and their power, I think, are overinflated. We can't let them replace us in the tournament. These "meaningless " loss maybe lowering us in the pecking order. We need to win today to stop our streak and counteract any bad karma.

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Then why are their batting averages so high?

Forget everything before today. Go out there and get the win to close the regular season. Leave no doubts!

Our lineup for the regular season finale. pic.twitter.com/5JpgF14CMK

— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) May 21, 2022

Be nice to see a win from a team that is struggling so much down the stretch.

Really just a pathetic showing in this series so far.

As bad as we've looked since the Northeastern series.

Borowolf10 said:

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Really just a pathetic showing in this series so far.

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no hit through 3 innings today

Just going through the motions this series…. Hope the bats wake the heck up today.

metcalfmafia said:

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Packsd14me said:

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metcalfmafia said:

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I will say though. Wake looks like a team that needs to be in the tourney. They have an ace and they can rake.

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Have you seen where they play? Synthetic turf and short porches in left and right. Less than 300 ft to right. Their numbers look better than they are every year. Their scorekeeper is a bit of a homer, too. Watch them play a lot. Don't judge their performance on paper. They aren't as good as their stats say in any of the last few years. They are very beatable. We strike out way too much this year. We have made them look good.


We made them look that way. I live in Winston-Salem and they don't always look that good. They have very short fences in Winston and their power, I think, are overinflated. We can't let them replace us in the tournament. These "meaningless " loss maybe lowering us in the pecking order. We need to win today to stop our streak and counteract any bad karma.

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Then why are their batting averages so high?

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1 hit through 7 innings

Are we still safely in?

We were until we got swept at home by WF. This team choked bug time. Only needed one win this weekend and failed miserably. Only two hits in final game and both by Brown. They have a couple games left in ACCt and then they will be done for the year. Probably a good thing. What an embarrassing last 3 weeks.

metcalfmafia said:

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Are we still safely in?

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It's dicey now. Not safe at all.

Wake has been good in all aspects, but we've been very, very bad at the plate.

Firmly in 3 seed range sliding into the bubble.

I blame that what's needed to host thread - jinxed us. Lol.

UPDATE: The game has been suspended due to lightning in the area in the top of the ninth. Updates will be provided when able to.

UPDATE: The game has been suspended due to lightning in the area in the top of the ninth. Updates will be provided when able to.

— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) May 21, 2022

Not a good year, particularly considering they jacked up the ticket prices this year with the involuntary capital campaign contribution. We have the worst timing in baseball. Last time Avent made the WS, we also had sort of a stinker year the next year that basically took away any momentum or recruiting bounce. Given the heavy upcoming losses from a team that just wasn't that good in any aspect of the game this year, what are prospects for improvement next year?

I shelled out for the season tix this year, but only went to a handful of games, because, frankly, the early season OOC schedule was pathetic and uninteresting, and they frankly just weren't very much fun to watch because of the poor fundamentals. If the transfer portal/NIL shenanigans hit the baseball program in the offseason like they did mens hoops, I'm probably discontinuing my season tix next year.

final
Wake Forest 5
NC State 0