NOTEBOOK: NC State Opens ACC Championship Play Tonight

NC State will face Pittsburgh tonight at 7pm in the ACC Championship and the winner advances out of pool play.  Check out these pre-tourney notes on the Wolfpack.

No. 15 NC State baseball (28-15, 19-14 ACC) begins postseason play Thursday evening at the 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship, held at Truist Field, home of the Chicago White Sox AA affiliate, Charlotte Knights, in Charlotte, N.C.

The Wolfpack, who is the No. 3 seed and top-seeded team in ‘Pool C’, will face 10th-seeded Pittsburgh (23-19, 16-17 ACC) Thursday, May 27 at 7 p.m. and sixth-seeded North Carolina (26-25, 18-18 ACC) Friday, May 28 at 7 p.m.

If the Pack reaches the weekend, it will face the winner of ‘Pool B’ Saturday, May 29 at 5 p.m., and the championship game will take place Sunday, May 30 at 12 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG

Regional Sports Networks from across the conference footprint and across the nation will carry all 12 games on Tuesday through Friday. Saturday's semifinals will be carried live on ACC Network, while Sunday's noon championship game will be nationally televised by ESPN2. All games will also be available via ACC Network Extra.

Live stats will be available on StatBroadcast.com, and there will be a live audio stream on WKNC 88.1 and the TuneIn App.

STARTING PITCHERS

Thursday – RHP Reid Johnston (NCSU) vs. RHP Matt Gilbertson (PITT)

Friday – TBA (NCSU) vs. RHP Austin Love (UNC)

LAST TIME OUT

The Pack earned 6-4 wins, including a walk-off win in game one thanks to a Luca Tresh two-run home run, over then-No. 9 Florida State on May 20 and 21 to clinch its sixth series win of the season. The series finale on May 22 was a slug fest between the squads, and ultimately ended in the Seminoles’ favor with a 15-11 result.

LAST TIME AT ACC CHAMPIONSHIP

NC State was the No. 3 seed in the 2019 ACC Championship, and overcame a three-run deficit to earn a 6-4 comeback win over Wake Forest on May 23. The win helped the squad earn a spot in the semifinals of the tournament.

The Pack dropped its other pool-play contest to Florida State on May 24 before falling to Georgia Tech, 9-2, in the semifinals on May 25 to end its run.

WOLFPACK EARNS NO. 3 SEED IN ACC CHAMPIONSHIP

After a 1-8 start to the season in conference action, NC State baseball managed to finish the regular season with an impressive 18-6 record down the stretch and earn the No. 3 overall seed in the pool-play portion of the 2021 ACC Baseball Championship.

MOVING ON UP

NC State is nationally ranked in all six major polls this week, with its highest ranking coming from Baseball America at No. 15. The Pack is also ranked No. 16 by DI Baseball and Perfect Game, No. 17 by USA Today, No. 18 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 25 by Perfect Game.

#PACK9 LEADS WAY WITH SEVEN ALL-ACC SELECTIONS

NC State had a league-best seven members named to the 2021 All-ACC Teams on Monday afternoon.

Jonny Butler, Terrell Tatum and Jose Torres were all named First Team All-ACC, Tyler McDonough and Austin Murr earned Second Team All-ACC honors while Reid Johnston and Evan Justice were tabbed Third Team All-ACC. Torres was additionally named to the ACC All-Freshman Team for a combined eight awards amongst the seven players.

SERIES HISTORY VS. PITTSBURGH

Prior to this week, NC State and Pittsburgh have met 13 times on the diamond as the Pack leads the all-time series, 12-1.

Since the Panthers became a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference the teams have played four series against each other, and NC State has swept all four of them. The most recent meeting was on May 14-16 of this year in Pittsburgh, and the Pack earned 3-2, 9-7 and 10-3 wins to pick up its fourth series sweep of the season.

SERIES HISTORY VS. NORTH CAROLINA

Heading into this weekend, NC State and North Carolina have met a combined 307 times on the diamond. It is one of the oldest rivalries in the conference, as the series dates back to 1895 with UNC leading 168-138-1 in the all-time series. 
 
The last time the teams met was on March 26-29 of this year in Chapel Hill, N.C., and the Wolfpack swept the series. Reid Johnston threw his second career complete game in the 9-2 series-opening win, and then the squad followed up the series with 6-1 and 8-3 wins to earn the program’s first-ever series sweep in Chapel Hill.

ON DECK

June 4-6 · NCAA Regional · TBD (Campus Site)