The NC State baseball season is more than one-third of the way finished, and at this point we have a good idea of where the Wolfpack stacks up against not only other teams across the nation but also against its conference foes in the ACC.
The Wolfpack enters this weekend’s series with a 16-7 (3-3 ACC) record after falling to UNC-Wilmington on the road Tuesday night. The coming schedule will be tough, as the team will play its next seven games away from Doak Field. As the Wolfpack prepares for a huge conference road series against Florida State this weekend, here are some quick thoughts about the team.
Wilmington Blues
The Wolfpack fell into a 4-0 hole to the Seahawks after three innings and was never able to recover in a 6-4 loss. The Wolfpack had taken care of business in weekday games so far this season (6-2 overall record in weekday games) but was less than convincing in some of the wins.
The pitching staff has struggled mightily, and that trend continued Tuesday with freshman right-hander Christian Demby lasting only three innings and allowing four runs. Junior right-hander Cory Wilder relieved him and didn’t fare much better, laboring through two innings while walking three and allowing two more runs to score. The Seahawks are a good team with high aspirations for the 2016 season, and this loss won’t necessarily hurt them, but these are games the Wolfpack needs to have.
Salvaging the Series
The Wolfpack’s weekend nearly turned disastrous on Sunday, as the team trailed Notre Dame 5-0 in the third inning of the weekend’s rubber match. The Wolfpack took the first game of the series in convincing fashion, dismantling the Fighting Irish 9-1, but fell in Saturday’s matchup 8-4 in 12 innings. The Wolfpack led 4-2 entering the ninth inning, but couldn’t hold on down the stretch and gave the game away with walks in extra innings.
Losing Sunday would’ve been a disastrous start to ACC play for NC State, as the loss would’ve put its record at 2-4 in league play with back-to-back series against Florida State and Virginia coming up.
Instead the Wolfpack rallied behind a bases-clearing double by junior first baseman Preston Palmeiro and ultimately broke the game wide open with six runs in the seventh inning to secure a 16-6 win and an overall series victory.
Scouting Florida State
The Seminoles are currently tied for first in the Atlantic Division with a 5-1 record in ACC play. The number that should put the Wolfpack on notice is the Seminoles’ home record. The Seminoles have dominated teams at home, boasting a 13-3 record, including a three-game sweep of Georgia Tech.
The offense is led by senior infielder John Sansone, but seven Seminoles boast batting averages north of .300, and there have been some new faces that have stepped up to give Florida State some good production.
Sansone has started the 2016 season on fire, hitting .412 with three home runs and 31 RBIs. The senior leads the team in hits, batting average, home runs and RBIs and is second on the team in doubles and stolen bases.
Freshman catcher Cal Raleigh has been electric in a starting role batting .333 with 22 RBIs. The highly touted recruit has caught six would-be base stealers but allowed 19 to reach safely, meaning there may be running room for the Wolfpack speedsters.
In all likelihood, the Wolfpack will see redshirt senior Mike Compton (3-1, 3.21 ERA) on Friday night, with sophomore Drew Carlton (4-0, 3.08 ERA) starting Saturday and freshman Cole Sands (3-2, 2.59 ERA) taking the ball on Sunday.
The Wolfpack will undoubtedly counter with junior Joe O’Donnell (3-1, 2.64 ERA) and sophomore Brian Brown (2-0, 3.33 ERA) but who the third starter is remains yet to be seen. Redshirt junior Johnny Piedmonte (0-2, 2.70 ERA) started last Sunday with disastrous results, while junior lefty Ryan Williamson (4-0, 2.52 ERA) was erratic but remained mainly untouched in relief.
Sitting just two games behind the Seminoles in the standings, the series gives the Wolfpack a chance to sink or swim in conference play. The pitching staff will be tasked with keeping the team afloat, and against a team of Florida State’s caliber, it’ll be the toughest test yet.
