The No. 9 NC State baseball team swept the Evansville Purple Aces in its season-opening series, outscoring them 37-10. As the Pack9 begins its bid to return to the College World Series, let’s see how NC State looks so far.
Tommy White is the real deal
The collegiate debut of freshman first baseman Tommy White was arguably the biggest headline in all of college baseball this weekend, let alone just the Pack9. White popped off against Evansville to the tune of five home runs, including three on opening day, a total that put him at the top of the national home run leaderboard.
Make no mistake, this isn’t a case of beginner’s luck or a decent power hitter just doing a good job pulling the ball. All five of White’s homers cleared the fence in either center or left center field, showing he can use his raw power to square up pitches and drive the ball to the deepest part of the ballpark.
These “Tom bombs” weren’t inflated by an easy opponent, either. While Evansville isn’t a perennial postseason contender, it’s still a reasonably strong program especially at the start of the year. The Purple Aces knocked off then-No. 12 Georgia on opening day in 2021, so White’s had to work at least a little bit for his trips around the bases.
It’ll be interesting to see how he handles the Pack’s tougher opponents that lie ahead, especially in conference play. But at least for right now, White is swinging the hottest bat in college baseball.
Pack9 offense is reloading, not rebuilding
Accompanying White’s early success is a bevy of new bats throughout the Wolfpack lineup. With seven of the Pack’s starting nine going pro after last season, there were concerns that NC State’s offensive production would fall off significantly. A combination of promising youngsters and swanky transfers are ensuring there is no shortage of runs for the Pack9.
Sophomore designated hitter Dominic Pilolli is also going deep right off the bat after transferring from UNC-Charlotte last offseason. Pilolli owns the other two Wolfpack homers by a player not named Tommy White while also producing the second-most RBIs on the team.
Redshirt junior third baseman Josh Hood is also providing a valuable veteran presence with a steady glove and the most doubles on the team. Hood transferred to NC State from Penn after deciding not to sign with the Boston Red Sox, who selected him in the 20th round of the 2021 MLB draft.
Freshman catcher Jacob Cozart looks like a promising youngster as well. Although the hitting numbers aren’t there yet, Cozart’s patient bat leads the Pack with four walks. Similarly, sophomore right fielder Noah Soles doesn’t have any eye-popping numbers so far, but he is providing steady production in right field as senior outfielder Devonte Brown shifts over to center this season.
Fielding needs to improve
It’s easy to point and ogle at NC State’s batting prowess and call it a day, but there are a few weaknesses in the Wolfpack’s overall solid results. One of the bigger ones is in the often-overlooked aspect of fielding. While it hasn’t cost the Pack any wins yet, seven errors in three games is not exactly the best way to start a season.
While most of this figure can be chalked up to early-season jitters, there’s still cause for concern. In particular, senior second baseman’s J.T. Jarrett’s two errors on the season is surprising considering Jarrett has been a sound fielder throughout his career. The small sample size prevents the Pack’s fielding woes from being too alarming, but this opening-weekend anomaly needs to be ironed out sooner rather than later.
Bullpen is the main question mark
Fielding miscues can be coached out in practice, but NC State’s inexperienced relievers can only improve with more, well, experience. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Chris Villaman is practically the only proven commodity in State’s bullpen, but he didn’t see the field this weekend as several youngsters got their sea legs on the mound.
Five different Wolfpack relievers took the field on opening day but none of them pitched for more than one inning. The quintet gave up a combined three earned runs in 3.2 IP, but the latter two games brought a more representative sample of NC State’s bullpen outlook this season.
The last two games saw just two calls to the bullpen each by head coach Elliott Avent. The four total relievers combined for two earned runs on four hits in 7.1 innings pitched along with seven strikeouts. NC State’s very green bullpen will need the likes of Villaman and senior southpaw Canaan Silver to take the bulk of the relief appearances later in the season, but for right now the Wolfpack is racking up vital experience for its younger arms.
Veterans preparing for long season
On the flip side of the pitching staff, the Pack’s rotation is set for another heavy load this season as the bullpen gets its bearings. Sophomore right-hander Sam Highfill faltered a bit in the sixth inning of the opening game, prompting Avent to pull him from the game, but that move was probably more about load management than anything else.
In keeping with that theme of avoiding unnecessary mileage on the starters in the first series of the season, sophomore righty Matt Willadsen exited Saturday’s contest in the fifth inning after throwing 94 pitches. Willadsen struggled with his command early in the outing with four walks, but he also kept the Purple Aces to no runs on just one hit while striking out six.
Senior lefty David Harrison finished the weekend in style, hurling seven shutout innings with just four hits allowed, two walks and four strikeouts. With Highfill and Willadsen coming off a long but successful 2021 season, Harrison will need to continue to go deep into games for the Pack to succeed on the mound.
