It was quite the week for NC State Athletics. With the baseball and softball teams opening their respective seasons, there were blowouts galore. Meanwhile, the men’s and women’s tennis teams continued to pick up wins while the men’s and women’s basketball teams celebrated their respective senior days. Let’s take a look at some of the best performances of the week.
Game of the week: No. 9 baseball comes back vs. Quinnipiac Saturday, Feb. 26
The baseball team played Quinnipiac twice on Saturday in a doubleheader, winning both, but the game of the week was the series opener. Despite being down 6-0 in the middle of the fourth inning and 9-3 in the middle of the seventh, the baseball team found a way to take the game to extra innings and get the 12-10 win.
NC State was able to ride a five-run eighth inning to a 10th inning, where sophomore second baseman LuJames Groover III smashed a two-run walk-off home run to ice the game.
Read the recap here.
Athlete of the week: freshman first baseman Tommy White
How could it be anyone else? White has been one of the most impressive players in the nation, off to a scorching start on the bats, homering a whopping nine times in eight games. As a freshman, White has 29 RBIs, 20 hits and 18 runs in 34 at-bats and is batting an absurd average of .588.
White is already a superstar through just eight games and any time he’s on the field, it’s must-watch baseball.
Upset of the week: Then-No. 4 women’s tennis over Then-No. 3 Texas on the road
The Wolfpack got its revenge for the NCAA Championships semifinal from last year when it upset the Texas Longhorns 4-3 on Sunday, Feb. 20. The win was NC State’s second over a then-third-ranked team on the season and its sixth ranked victory on the season.
NC State is now 11-1 with one of the best resumes in college tennis, and the victory over Texas bumped the Wolfpack up to the No. 2 ranking in this week’s poll.
Read the recap here.
Blowout of the week: No. 3 women’s basketball vs. Syracuse
There were plenty of blowouts to be had for NC State athletics with baseball and softball dominating their early-season schedules, along with men’s tennis dispatching Radford and N.C. A&T, but the crown has to go to the women’s basketball team, who completely dominated in every aspect of its game against Syracuse on senior day.
The Wolfpack was locked in all evening, noted by junior wing Jakia Brown-Turner’s dominant first quarter and the eventual 95-53 victory. Graduate forward Kayla Jones ended the day with 18 points and the win gave NC State its first regular-season ACC title in 32 years. It was quite the way for the seniors to go out.
Read the recap here.
Quote of the week
Tommy White just can’t be stopped and after he hit two home runs in the series opener against Quinnipiac, one of which being a grand slam, baseball head coach Elliott Avent had quite the prediction for his star freshman.
“This guy isn’t gonna buy a burger or pizza in three years at NC State,” Avent said on Friday, Feb. 25. “I think it goes back to how much he likes to play. He wants to win and he doesn’t really get caught up in the moment of what’s going on. And it’s not about him. He just wants to win. He’s that old-timey, old-school guy who just likes to win and has fun with the game.”
Read the recap here.
