The NC State baseball team hosts No. 11 Louisville for its second home ACC series of the 2023 season. This weekend's series at Doak Field at Dail Park will run Friday through Sunday with first pitch times scheduled for 6 p.m., 6 p.m. and noon, respectively.
Friday's game will stream live on ACC Network Extra, while Saturday and Sunday's games will both be on national television. The Pack's game on Saturday will be televised on ACC Network, while Sunday's matchup will be televised on ESPNews.
A free audio stream will be available on the Varsity Network App for all three games with Tony Haynes on the call. All three games will also be available on the radio on WKNC 88.1.
NC State (18-7, 3-6 ACC) is 5-17 all-time against the Cardinals in 22 previous matchups.
PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
Friday RHP Logan Whitaker (NCSU) vs. RHP Ryan Hawks (Louisville)
Saturday RHP Matt Willadsen (NCSU) vs. LHP Greg Farone (Louisville)
Sunday LHP Dominic Fritton (NCSU) vs. RHP Carson Liggett (Louisville)
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST LOUISVILLE
For the first time since 2021, NC State will host Louisville at Doak Field at Dail Park. Louisville holds a 17-5 advantage in the all-time series history against the Pack. Other notes on this weekend's matchup at The Doak:
NC State and Louisville last met on April 22-24 at Jim Patterson Park with the Cardinals taking the series 2-1 with wins on Friday and Sunday. The Wolfpack notched a 15-10 comeback win in game two of the series, scoring six runs in the final two innings to even the series.
NC State outhit Louisville in games one and two on the weekend for a totla of 37 hits on the weekend.
The Wolfpack's most recent series victory over Louisville came in 2018 when NC State took two games out of three on the road, posting wins on Saturday and Sunday to return to Raleigh with a pair of wins over the No. 11 Cardinals. NC State scored first in both wins, recording a 9-6 victory on Saturday and a 10-3 triumph on Sunday.
In 2022, the Pack tallied 11 home runs in the series from seven different players.
SCOUTING LOUISVILLE
Louisville (20-4, 3-3 ACC) has dominated in nonconference play in 2023, sporting a 17-1 record against nonconference opponents this season. The Cardinals captured the 2023 Shriners Children's College Classic title with three straight wins in Houston, defeating then-No. 12 Texas A&M 14-5, then-No. 10 TCU 3-2 and Michigan 10-0 in seven innings to complete the sweep in Texas. In ACC action, Louisville earned a series win to open conference play on March 17-19, winning game three 9-3 over Georgia Tech to seal the series victory. Louisville dropped its first series of the season this past weekend at Notre Dame, avoiding the sweep after posting a 2-1 win in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader. All three games in the series against the Fighting Irish were decided by just a single run. The Cardinals ranked first in the Atlantic Division with 89 total points in the 2023 ACC Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll. Louisville also tied Wake Forest with six first-place votes for the overall ACC regular-season champion.
Junior Jack Payton leads Louisville with a .416 batting average, seven doubles, 23 RBI, 64 total bases and a .719 slugging percentage. The Cardinals rank second in the ACC with 46 stolen bases, highlighted by Christian Knapczyk's team-high 14 swipes. Louisville baserunners, however, have been caught stealing 18 times on 64 attempts this season. On the mound, starter Carson Liggett holds a 5-0 record in six starts, posting a 1.76 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP in 30.2 innings pitched.
https://gopack.com/news/2023/3/30/baseball-pack9-hosts-no-11-louisville-this-weekend-at-the-doak.aspx