After several miscues led to another NC State baseball loss on Tuesday night, the team must regroup and reset with the No. 1 Louisville Cardinals coming to Raleigh this weekend. The Cardinals have one lone blemish on their record, a 6-3 loss to Cincinnati on Tuesday that spoiled what was a perfect 19-0 record.
Louisville has not played a particularly difficult schedule but has dominated the slate it has faced. The Cardinals have only played one true road game this season: the loss to Cincinnati. The team issued six walks, a hit by pitch, a balk and booted two errors.
The soft early schedule and lack of road games this season could be warning signs that this Louisville team is a bit overrated at No. 1 in the country. However, it is impossible to deny that the Cardinals have a dangerous lineup and a lethal pitching staff.
It all starts for Louisville with junior left-handed pitcher and first baseman Brendan McKay. It’s quite possible he is the best player in the country, having been named to six All-America teams and making the All-ACC team at two positions. He is currently projected by Baseball America as the No. 2 pick in the upcoming 2017 MLB First Year Player Draft.
McKay has been ridiculously dominant this season, allowing only two runs (one earned) in 25 innings this season. He is 4-0 with a 0.36 ERA and has 41 strikeouts to only six walks this season.
On top of his pitching dominance, he is a team leader with a .466 batting average and has four home runs, 17 RBIs and 19 runs. He has walked 16 times to only seven strikeouts and has only been out of the lineup once this season.
McKay is a matchup nightmare and is a huge reason why this Louisville squad has been so dominant. He is not the only dangerous bat in the lineup, nor is he the only dominant pitcher on the staff.
Junior third baseman Drew Ellis is hitting .368 with four home runs and 20 RBIs, complementing senior outfielder Logan Taylor (.377 BA, 12 stolen bases), junior shortstop Devin Hairston (.333 BA, eight extra base hits, 22 RBIs) and sophomore outfielder Josh Stowers (.327 BA, seven bases) in a treacherous Louisville lineup.
Louisville is hitting .318 as a team and overall walks more than it strikes out, with 107 walks to 100 strikeouts. It can also run, with 37 stolen bases this season, while NC State has 18.
The Cardinals weekend rotation is stacked with McKay leading the charge on Friday night, junior right-hander Kade McClure (3-0, 1.82 ERA) on Saturday and freshman left-hander Nick Bennett (2-0, 0.86 ERA) on Sunday.
The bullpen has been on lockdown all season, with junior right-handed closer Lincoln Henzman yet to allow a run this season in seven appearances. The bullpen is rounded out by sophomore Sam Bordner, freshman Adam Elliott and junior Rabon Martin, who have combined to allow zero unearned runs over 17 appearances.
Again, Louisville has not played the hardest schedule in the world by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a team with talent and depth.
The Wolfpack will have to tighten up and play sound baseball, minimizing errors and walks, to be able to win this series. That being said, it is not far-fetched to believe that NC State can win this series if it lives up to its full potential.
