The bats of N.C. State hitters have been warming up lately. On Sunday, they caught fire en route to a series sweep against Wake Forest.
After rain kept State from playing Saturday night, a Sunday doubleheader saw the Pack win 14-4 in game one and 18-6 in game two. With the victories against Wake, State improved its record to 20-9 overall and 8-6 in the ACC.
“Ever since the Carolina weekend, we’ve had different approaches at the plate,” coach Elliott Avent said of his team’s hitting performance. “It’s just a whole different mindset offensively.”
State’s recent momentum continued with the three wins against Wake Forest, as the team has now won six consecutive games, with four of those six victories coming against conference opponents.
Redshirt freshman catcher Chris Schaeffer, who had five hits for the weekend, said State’s winning streak is having a positive effect on the entire team.
“It’s kind of the snowball effect,” he said. “Everybody’s getting the adrenaline from everybody else. Everybody’s feeling it.”
The six-game winning streak has seen State play some of its best baseball of the season, according to Avent.
“We’re just putting every facet of the game together,” he said. “Nobody feels like they have to do anything. We’re just starting to believe in one another and feed off one another.”
Coupled with the recent hot hitting, solid State pitching continued through the weekend as junior Clayton Shunick, junior Eric Surkamp and redshirt senior Eryk McConnell all picked up wins, tallying 25 strikeouts along the way.
“We’ve got a good pitching staff,” McConnell said. “Our bullpen is just as good as our starters, we believe. Our job is to go out there and throw strikes and let our hitters hit.”
The weekend series saw State do just that.
“It does make it a little easier [to pitch],” McConnell said of the Pack’s hitting. “Just going out there knowing you need to throw strikes and let your defense work for you.”
The winning streak for the Pack has come at a good time, as Friday’s game marked the midway point of the regular season.
“Definitely we’re getting on a role now,” Schaeffer said. “Everybody’s starting to feel it, and everybody’s playing well. Hopefully we can keep it going.”
For State to keep it going, according to Avent, the little things, like being focused at the plate and running the bases well, will have to continue to be a priority for the players.
“When the bats wake up and you run the bases a little better and everything else [pitching and defense] stays the way it is, you really start believing in one another,” he said. “We’ve got to keep our focus and keep showing up to the ballpark every day with this kind of intensity.”
By the numbers3.09 N.C. State’s team ERA4 home runs in Sunday’s first game of the doubleheader6 games won in a row by State9 State has nine players hitting higher than .300 on the season34 strikeouts by Wolfpack pitchers during the series39 runs scored against Wake Forest, including season-high 18 in Sunday’s finale49 hits by the baseball team over the weekendSource: N.C. State Athletics
