Following its 40th win of the season to take one game from a series at Florida State Sunday, the NC State baseball team will head down the road to Durham Bulls Athletic Park for the ACC Tournament this week.
The Wolfpack (40-14, 19-11 ACC) is seeded third, and sits in a group with sixth-seeded Florida State (39-17, 16-13 ACC) and 10th-seeded Virginia (28-24, 12-18 ACC). The Pack and Cavaliers will meet Thursday at 3 p.m., and the Wolfpack and Seminoles will meet for a fourth time in just over a week Friday at 7 p.m. in the final game of pool play. Virginia and Florida State will play each other Tuesday at 3 p.m.
NC State dropped two of three games at Florida State to end the regular season, with both losses coming via extra-innings, walk-off home runs. The Pack and Cavaliers did not meet. This will also not be the Wolfpack’s first trip to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park this year, having beaten rival UNC-Chapel Hill (37-17, 22-8 ACC) 8-3 there in a nonconference battle earlier in the season.
In the pool play round, each team plays just two games, one against each of the other two teams in its group. The top finisher from each group advances to Saturday’s semifinals. A team that goes 2-0 will advance out of its group. In the case of all three teams going 1-1, the highest seed advances, which bodes well for the Wolfpack.
NC State’s pool, pool C, will matchup with the winner of pool B in the semifinals. Pool B features No. 2 Clemson, No. 7 Miami and No. 11 Notre Dame. Winners of pool A and D, headlined by No. 1 UNC and No. 4 Duke, will meet in the other semifinal, with the championship game on Sunday at 12 p.m.
NC State enters the tournament on a bit of an ACC skid, losing two of its final three series after winning its first seven. However, the Wolfpack still boasts the most runs per game in the conference, and the top team slugging percentage at .482. The Pack’s 80 home runs are second to only Clemson.
Junior outfielder Brett Kinneman leads this charge, and has caught fire late in the season after hitting a slump in the middle months. Kinneman is second in the ACC with 17 homers, and leads the league with 60 RBIs.
Sophomore shortstop Will Wilson and senior outfielder Brock Deatherage have also had the long ball working, both with 14. Junior first baseman Evan Edwards is one behind with 13.
On the mound, starting pitching is particularly important in these tournament setting. Pack senior lefty Brian Brown and freshman righty Reid Johnston have been the two most reliable starters on the year, and will need to have strong outings.
The bullpen for NC State also features a strong contingent of talented arms, led by sophomore lefty Kent Klyman and redshirt senior righty Joe O’Donnell.
The Wolfpack has had a strong season, and is likely to be an NCAA Regional host regardless of its ACC Tournament. However, a run in Durham this week would see the Pack lock down its hosting spot.
