It's an early morning in-state tournament matchup.

NC State will be the No. 9 seed in the ACC tournament and take on Duke at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 19th, in Charlotte.

Tickets🎟️: https://t.co/sI08TUAfdm pic.twitter.com/urbPkdu6qd

— NC State Baseball (@NCStateBaseball) May 17, 2026

poexcuse said:

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Bunt and hope!
NC State Baseball
Tee Shirts ?
Just kidding guys

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i hate to bunt as much as anybody just to move runners. Head's bunt was him trying to get on and move the runner. Since Ryan is still not himself, you did not want him to ground into a double play and he laid down a good bunt also. In that scenario it worked perfectly and both guys had to execute and they did. It was also in the 7th inning and we were trying to extend the lead from 3 to more after the homers.

I thought Elliott had gotten away from that mindset the last several years and it was a pleasant change, but old habits die hard. I hate bunting early in the game. Let your guys hit and don't give up an out.

wilmwolf said:

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I dunno, I actually thought this squad was at their best early in the year doing a lot of bunting, stealing bases, hit and runs, and putting pressure on the other team to get the outs. This isn't really a power hitting squad, despite a recent surge from Sherman, and if you aren't a power hitting team and aren't playing small ball, it's fairly difficult to score enough runs. I care about winning more than I dislike bunting.

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All valid points, and I don't know why we stopped attempting to steal. Maybe the pitchers were good at holding runners and delivering quicker. I would just prefer for our guys to swing the bats. I am not looking for homers but base hits. The last three weeks Luke has popped up trying to bunt for a hit and move the runner over. All good intentions, but we know about good intentions. Luke is hitting over .350, I want him to swing the bat then every once in a while bunt for a base hit. That is just me and we can agree to disagree.

As someone else mentioned, I believe the MLB analytics say it's better to let guys swing then try to move them over. I am not an analytics guy per se, but I just don't like to give outs away. Again that is just me.

Tonight, Chief Rico Boyce had the honor of throwing the opening pitch at the NC State Baseball game. ⚾

We thank NC State Baseball for celebrating and recognizing our department during National Police Week.#NationalPoliceWeek #RaleighPD #NCState #RPD pic.twitter.com/4eMty7zkZA

— Raleigh Police (@raleighpolice) May 16, 2026

we played much lesser teams early in the year-most things will work

Ty Head just shouldn't be bunting unless it is some special situation He is out best hitter and has some pop Giving up an out to get a guy over to second is an absolute no - maybe to get some to third with no one out but I would prefer to have Ty and Sherm swinging