NOTEBOOK: PACK9 Traveling To Pittsburgh For Crucial Series
NC State returns to action this weekend in a huge series at No. 16 Pittsburgh. Here are some notes on the Wolfpack.
LAST TIME OUT
NC State remained red hot even after a nine-day break from competition on Tuesday evening as it downed UNCW, 9-1, at Doak Field at Dail Park.
Six of the team's nine runs came by way of the home run, as Vojtech Mensik, Luca Tresh, Jonny Butler, and Devonte Brown each went yard in the contest. It was the fourth time this season the squad has hit at least four homers in a single game.
Behind the hot bats was a dominant outing on the mound by Chris Villaman who yielded just two hits and one walk while fanning a career-best 12 batters in the eight innings he pitched. Matt Willadsen tossed the final inning of the contest and tallied two strikeouts for a combined 14 on the night, matching the team's season best in a single game.
STARTING PITCHERS
Friday – RHP Reid Johnston (NCSU) vs. RHP Mitch Myers (PITT)
Saturday – RHP Sam Highfill (NCSU) vs. RHP Matt Gilbertson (PITT)
Sunday – TBA (NCSU) vs. RHP Billy Corcoran (PITT)
SERIES HISTORY
Heading into this weekend, NC State and Pitt have met a combined 10 times on the diamond as the Wolfpack leads the all-time series, 9-1.
Since the Panthers became a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the teams have played three series against each other -- in 2015, '17 and '19 -- and NC State has swept all three of them. The most recent meeting was on March 8-10, 2019 in Raleigh, and the Pack earned 4-3, 21-3, and 6-5 victories.
SCOUTING PITT
The Panthers took two of three against Boston College last weekend in its last time out after coming off of a two-week pause due to COVID issues among the team.
Pitt has been nationally ranked in the latter part of the season and enters the weekend ranked in all six major polls as its highest ranking comes from Baseball America and DI Baseball at No. 16. After being picked to finish seventh in the Coastal Division of the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll, the Panthers are in second place among the division and own the third-best win percentage among the league.
Its top two players, Sky Duff (.343/.447/.500) and Nico Popa (.325/.403/.519), rank among the top 15 hitters in the ACC this year. As a team, Pitt is batting .269 and is averaging 5.77 runs per game and 9.28 hits per game.
On the mound, its starting rotation of Mitch Myers, Matt Gilbertson and Billy Corcoran owns a combined 1.66 earned-run average and 126 strikeouts in a combined 23 starts this year. Chase Smith and Jordan McCrum lead the bullpen with 21 and 17 appearances, respectively, and Smith paces the pen with 29 strikeouts.
ON A ROLL
After a slow 1-8 start to its conference slate, NC State has found a way to improve to 14-13 in ACC play and earn four series wins (including three sweeps, two over ranked opponents).
After a 4-9 overall start to the 2021 season the Pack now owns a 19-5 record in its last 24 games, winning 14 of its last 17, which includes seven wins over nationally-ranked opponents.
PACK POWER
In its series win at Wake Forest on March 30-May 2 the Pack combined for 39 runs on 42 hits, including 11 homers. It marked the most runs scored in an ACC series since April 4-6, 2008 and the most hits in an ACC series since March 18-20, 2016 vs. Notre Dame.
FLASHING THE LEATHER
NC State continues to be one of the top defensive teams in the nation, as it has compiled a .984 fielding percentage through 37 games, which ranks second in the ACC third in the NCAA. The squad has only recorded more than one error in a game on five separate occasions, and held a season-high six-game streak from April 3-11 of not committing an error.
ON DECK
Thursday, May 20 · vs. Florida State · 6:30 PM
Friday, May 21 · vs. Florida State · 6:30 PM
Saturday, May 22 · vs. Florida State · 1 PM