Between rain delays, multiple home runs and a nearly six-hour extra-inning thriller, it’s certainly been an interesting week for the NC State baseball team despite a 2-2 record in its past four matchups. With a 15-4 victory in its second game against then-No. 8 Florida State the Pack (11-8, 1-4 ACC) was able to secure its first ACC victory of the season. Let’s take a look at some key takeaways from these past few days of action:
It’s all about the bullpen, baby
If there’s any unit on the Pack9 who deserves some praise for the past week, it’s the bullpen. NC State relievers pitched 23.8 innings of the 44 innings of action over the past week.
Aside from sophomore right-hander Matt Willadsen, no starter lasted longer than five innings in the past four games. Willadsen had a terrific outing in NC State’s victory in game two against the Seminoles, pitching six innings while giving up three earned runs while striking out seven, but the rest of the pitching storylines lay within the bullpen.
The performances of redshirt junior Logan Adams and sophomore Chris Villaman out of the pen were the most notable. Adams calmed the red-hot Florida State bats in game one of the series, striking out four while giving up two earned runs in 3.2 innings. Villaman pitched six innings in game three without giving up a run and striking out twelve.
There’s been a lot of questions about the bullpen as the season moves along but this past weekend has shown that there are arms capable of holding down top offensive teams in the ACC.
Impact offensive players of the week
On the offensive side of things, standouts from the week include freshman infielder Payton Green, redshirt junior infielder Josh Hood and senior outfielder Devonte Brown.
Green was all the offense for the Pack in the first matchup against the Seminoles as he grabbed his first two collegiate homers and was responsible for four of NC State’s five runs.
Game two was much more of a team effort but Hood really shined going 3 for 4 with an RBI and a walk. His home run in the final game of the series tied the game in the eighth for the Pack.
Brown was also a key player in that third matchup as his home run in the 12th inning gave the Wolfpack a 5-3 lead at the time before the Seminoles were able to tie it back up again. He also went 3 for 5 in game two with three RBIs of his own.
This Wolfpack offense has struggled as of late, but if there’s one thing to take away from this weekend, it’s that this team still can hit. It just needs to work on its consistency.
‘Tommy Tanks’ strikes again
For those still keeping up with freshman infielder Tommy White’s stats, it’s important to note he took two different Florida State pitchers deep in NC State’s win over the Seminoles. His first homer in the third inning was a two-RBI bomb to right field to give the Pack a 3-0 lead, and his second of the day, another two-run shot, started a scoring rally in the seventh.
Now totaling 11 home runs and 36 RBIs so far this season, he still leads the team in both categories. White sits near the top of the national leaderboards as well, tied for second in both categories.
Defensive update
With wet conditions throughout the weekend, the Pack9 continued its struggles defensively this week with two errors in game one versus the Seminoles and three more in the series finale.
There are some bright spots from the past few days though, including this diving play from freshman infielder Will Marcy to keep the game tied in the 14th inning, and another stolen base attempt foiled courtesy of freshman catcher Jacob Cozart.
The search for more ACC victories
NC State showed some fight against Florida State, bouncing back for the win after a game one loss and taking the rubber match to 17 innings, but it still just has one ACC win so far this season. The Pack is set to host NC A&T in a midweek matchup on March 22 before hosting another ACC foe, Georgia Tech, over the weekend from March 25-27.
