Thursday, May 11
Chapel Hill, N.C.
7 p.m.
NC State
at
North Carolina
Photo by: Jaylynn Nash
#Pack9 Set for Tobacco Road Series at North Carolina
5/10/2023 3:15:00 PM | Baseball
Game Times Against the Tar Heels: 7 p.m. (Thursday); 7 p.m. (Friday); 2 p.m. (Saturday)
RALEIGH – The NC State baseball team makes the short drive to Chapel Hill this weekend for an ACC road rivalry series at North Carolina. This weekend's series at Boshamer Stadium will run Thursday through Saturday with first pitch times scheduled for 7 p.m., 7 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
Friday night's game will be televised on ACC Network. Thursday and Saturday's games will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
A free audio stream will be available on the Varsity Network App for all three games with Andrew Sanders on the call. All three games will also be available on WKNC 88.1.
NC State (31-15, 10-13 ACC) holds a 139-172-1 all-time record against North Carolina (30-17, 11-11 ACC).
PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
Thursday – RHP Logan Whitaker (NCSU) vs. RHP Connor Bovair (North Carolina)
Friday – RHP Matt Willadsen (NCSU) vs. TBD (North Carolina)
Saturday – TBD (NCSU) vs. RHP Jake Knapp (North Carolina)
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST UNC
NC State enters this weekend's series against North Carolina with a 139-172-1 record against the Tar Heels. More notes from the series against North Carolina are listed below:
• NC State swept North Carolina the last time the two teams met in Chapel Hill back on March 26-29, 2021. The Pack outscored the Tar Heels 23-6 over the three-game sweep at Boshamer Stadium, limiting UNC to less than three runs in each contest. The Wolfpack ambushed the Heels with five runs over the first two innings in the series finale to cap off the series sweep.
• NC State has won five straight games in Chapel Hill dating back to May 17, 2019. The Pack has won its past two series over the Tar Heels at Boshamer Stadium.
• The Wolfpack went 1-3 against the Tar Heels this past season, dropping the regular-season series 2-1 before falling in the ACC Tournament Championship Game 9-5 in Charlotte.
LAST TIME ON THE DIAMOND
NC State's pitching staff helped lead the Wolfpack to back-to-back victories over Notre Dame this past weekend, helping the Pack secure its first ACC road series victory of the season. The series win also marked its first series victory at Notre Dame in program history (fifth series trip to South Bend). The Pack outscored the Fighting Irish 11-2 over the final two games, needing just four pitchers to toss the final 18 innings of the series. The Pack slugged two homers apiece in each victory and trailed after just one inning over the final two games of the series.
STRONG MARK IN THE RPI
NC State ranks No. 21 in Wednesday's RPI poll. The Pack is 22-1 in games against teams ranked above No. 50 in the most recent RPI poll. NC State ranks 27th nationally in overall strength of schedule. The Wolfpack tallied two wins over Notre Dame (No. 43) this past weekend in South Bend, improving to 4-2 against teams with an RPI ranking between 26-50. North Carolina checks in at No. 32 in Wednesday's RPI poll.
GINO'S IN A GROOVE
Junior LuJames Groover III had a breakout season for the Pack in 2022, making 55 starts and 57 total appearances in his first season in Raleigh. Groover III led NC State with a .364 batting average, 86 hits, 16 doubles and a .440 on-base percentage this past season. The junior tallied at least one hit in 48 of the Pack's 57 games this past season, reaching base safely in 50 contests. Since April 9, Groover III has caught fire, raising his average 60 points to .344. The third baseman has hit safely in 18 of his past 19 games and has reached base in 32 straight contests. Groover III's hot streak resulted in the junior winning ACC Player of the Week honors and Perfect Game National Player of the Week honors on April 17.
(THE STATE OF) NORTH CAROLINA ON MY MIND
NC State and North Carolina have a combined 35 student-athletes from the state of North Carolina on their 2023 rosters. NC State (21) has players from 16 different in-state hometowns, while the Tar Heels (14) have players from 13 different North Carolina hometowns. Between the two teams, the Pack and Heels have players representing 25 different hometowns in the state of North Carolina.
RECORD AGAINST IN-STATE OPPONENTS
The Wolfpack finished with a 13-9 record against in-state opponents in 2022, including a 9-2 record against in-state nonconference opponents. NC State is 7-4 against in-state opponents this season, completing season sweeps of UNCG and UNCW. The Pack's only nonconference losses came to in-state opponents Elon (March 14) and No. 12 East Carolina (April 4). NC State also recorded a 22-7 win over Davidson on April 18, a 5-4 victory over No. 12 ECU on April 25 and a 6-5 win over NC A&T on May 2.
Since taking over the NC State baseball program in 1997, head coach Elliott Avent has led the Pack to a 352-175 (.668) record against in-state opponents.
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina (30-17, 11-11 ACC) makes its return to ACC play after three straight games against nonconference opponents, all of which were decided by a single run. The Tar Heels recorded a 2-1 win at East Carolina on May 3 before recording a 5-4 win over Gardner-Webb on Tuesday. UNC dropped May 2's matchup to Campbell 6-5. North Carolina ranks third in the ACC in walks and hit-by-pitches to rank fifth in the league in team on-base percentage. Offensively, Mac Horvath leads North Carolina with 20 home runs, 58 RBI, 142 total bases, a .747 slugging percentage and 21 stolen bases. On the mound, UNC ranks seventh in the ACC in ERA (4.49) and ninth in the league with a 1.44 WHIP. Connor Bovair, Max Carlson and Jake Knapp have each made 10 or more starts this season with Bovair leading the Tar Heels with four pitching victories.
COMEBACK PACK
The Wolfpack has rallied to win 10 times after going behind first, including back-to-back comeback wins to open its series sweep of Florida State. The Pack has recorded two wins in home series finales in comeback, walk-off fashion when Payton Green hit a two-run homer on March 5 to flip a 5-4 deficit into a 6-5 win against NJIT and then Cannon Peebles hit a two-RBI single up the middle to flip a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 win over No. 14 Virginia on March 18. NC State completed its 10th comeback win of the year in Saturday's series-clinching victory at Notre Dame.
PUTTING UP CROOKED NUMBERS
NC State's offense has scored runs in bunches this season, posting 93 multi-run innings through just 46 games (2.02 per game). NC State's single-game high for runs scored in one inning was 10 runs in the bottom of the fourth against Davidson on April 18. NC State's single-game high for the number of multi-run innings is five, scoring multiple runs in a game five times in three different matchups.
STRIKE FIRST, STRIKE HARD, NO MERCY
NC State holds a 21-1 record when scoring first this season. The Pack has scored in the first inning 17 times and has scored in either the first or second inning 24 times in 2023.
#Pack9 | @NCStateBaseball
Friday night's game will be televised on ACC Network. Thursday and Saturday's games will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
A free audio stream will be available on the Varsity Network App for all three games with Andrew Sanders on the call. All three games will also be available on WKNC 88.1.
NC State (31-15, 10-13 ACC) holds a 139-172-1 all-time record against North Carolina (30-17, 11-11 ACC).
PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
Thursday – RHP Logan Whitaker (NCSU) vs. RHP Connor Bovair (North Carolina)
Friday – RHP Matt Willadsen (NCSU) vs. TBD (North Carolina)
Saturday – TBD (NCSU) vs. RHP Jake Knapp (North Carolina)
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST UNC
NC State enters this weekend's series against North Carolina with a 139-172-1 record against the Tar Heels. More notes from the series against North Carolina are listed below:
• NC State swept North Carolina the last time the two teams met in Chapel Hill back on March 26-29, 2021. The Pack outscored the Tar Heels 23-6 over the three-game sweep at Boshamer Stadium, limiting UNC to less than three runs in each contest. The Wolfpack ambushed the Heels with five runs over the first two innings in the series finale to cap off the series sweep.
• NC State has won five straight games in Chapel Hill dating back to May 17, 2019. The Pack has won its past two series over the Tar Heels at Boshamer Stadium.
• The Wolfpack went 1-3 against the Tar Heels this past season, dropping the regular-season series 2-1 before falling in the ACC Tournament Championship Game 9-5 in Charlotte.
LAST TIME ON THE DIAMOND
NC State's pitching staff helped lead the Wolfpack to back-to-back victories over Notre Dame this past weekend, helping the Pack secure its first ACC road series victory of the season. The series win also marked its first series victory at Notre Dame in program history (fifth series trip to South Bend). The Pack outscored the Fighting Irish 11-2 over the final two games, needing just four pitchers to toss the final 18 innings of the series. The Pack slugged two homers apiece in each victory and trailed after just one inning over the final two games of the series.
STRONG MARK IN THE RPI
NC State ranks No. 21 in Wednesday's RPI poll. The Pack is 22-1 in games against teams ranked above No. 50 in the most recent RPI poll. NC State ranks 27th nationally in overall strength of schedule. The Wolfpack tallied two wins over Notre Dame (No. 43) this past weekend in South Bend, improving to 4-2 against teams with an RPI ranking between 26-50. North Carolina checks in at No. 32 in Wednesday's RPI poll.
GINO'S IN A GROOVE
Junior LuJames Groover III had a breakout season for the Pack in 2022, making 55 starts and 57 total appearances in his first season in Raleigh. Groover III led NC State with a .364 batting average, 86 hits, 16 doubles and a .440 on-base percentage this past season. The junior tallied at least one hit in 48 of the Pack's 57 games this past season, reaching base safely in 50 contests. Since April 9, Groover III has caught fire, raising his average 60 points to .344. The third baseman has hit safely in 18 of his past 19 games and has reached base in 32 straight contests. Groover III's hot streak resulted in the junior winning ACC Player of the Week honors and Perfect Game National Player of the Week honors on April 17.
(THE STATE OF) NORTH CAROLINA ON MY MIND
NC State and North Carolina have a combined 35 student-athletes from the state of North Carolina on their 2023 rosters. NC State (21) has players from 16 different in-state hometowns, while the Tar Heels (14) have players from 13 different North Carolina hometowns. Between the two teams, the Pack and Heels have players representing 25 different hometowns in the state of North Carolina.
RECORD AGAINST IN-STATE OPPONENTS
The Wolfpack finished with a 13-9 record against in-state opponents in 2022, including a 9-2 record against in-state nonconference opponents. NC State is 7-4 against in-state opponents this season, completing season sweeps of UNCG and UNCW. The Pack's only nonconference losses came to in-state opponents Elon (March 14) and No. 12 East Carolina (April 4). NC State also recorded a 22-7 win over Davidson on April 18, a 5-4 victory over No. 12 ECU on April 25 and a 6-5 win over NC A&T on May 2.
Since taking over the NC State baseball program in 1997, head coach Elliott Avent has led the Pack to a 352-175 (.668) record against in-state opponents.
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina (30-17, 11-11 ACC) makes its return to ACC play after three straight games against nonconference opponents, all of which were decided by a single run. The Tar Heels recorded a 2-1 win at East Carolina on May 3 before recording a 5-4 win over Gardner-Webb on Tuesday. UNC dropped May 2's matchup to Campbell 6-5. North Carolina ranks third in the ACC in walks and hit-by-pitches to rank fifth in the league in team on-base percentage. Offensively, Mac Horvath leads North Carolina with 20 home runs, 58 RBI, 142 total bases, a .747 slugging percentage and 21 stolen bases. On the mound, UNC ranks seventh in the ACC in ERA (4.49) and ninth in the league with a 1.44 WHIP. Connor Bovair, Max Carlson and Jake Knapp have each made 10 or more starts this season with Bovair leading the Tar Heels with four pitching victories.
COMEBACK PACK
The Wolfpack has rallied to win 10 times after going behind first, including back-to-back comeback wins to open its series sweep of Florida State. The Pack has recorded two wins in home series finales in comeback, walk-off fashion when Payton Green hit a two-run homer on March 5 to flip a 5-4 deficit into a 6-5 win against NJIT and then Cannon Peebles hit a two-RBI single up the middle to flip a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 win over No. 14 Virginia on March 18. NC State completed its 10th comeback win of the year in Saturday's series-clinching victory at Notre Dame.
PUTTING UP CROOKED NUMBERS
NC State's offense has scored runs in bunches this season, posting 93 multi-run innings through just 46 games (2.02 per game). NC State's single-game high for runs scored in one inning was 10 runs in the bottom of the fourth against Davidson on April 18. NC State's single-game high for the number of multi-run innings is five, scoring multiple runs in a game five times in three different matchups.
STRIKE FIRST, STRIKE HARD, NO MERCY
NC State holds a 21-1 record when scoring first this season. The Pack has scored in the first inning 17 times and has scored in either the first or second inning 24 times in 2023.
#Pack9 | @NCStateBaseball
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