The NC State baseball team will take on Boston College in a road conference series this weekend in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Saturday’s game will take place at Fenway Park in Boston.
The Wolfpack (20-17, 8-10 ACC) looks to top the struggling Eagles (12-22, 3-15 ACC) and improve its postseason resume.
NC State finds itself on the edge of the NCAA Championship bubble and own several marquee wins and a series victory over Florida State two weeks ago. A series win over the Eagles would keep the team’s NCAA Tournament stock in place for the time being.
Keeping with its weekend rotation, Elliott Avent, head coach of the Wolfpack, will likely send out senior Sean Adler Friday, junior Brian Brown Saturday and freshman Michael Bienlien Sunday.
Adler has been the main Friday starter for Avent’s squad, tossing 46.2 innings in nine starts while sporting a solid 4.05 ERA and striking out 41 opposing batters and walking 16. Brown has also pitched well in limited time, throwing 28 innings in six starts to the tune of a 3.54 ERA. Bienlien has seemingly filled the role of starting on Sundays, as the right-hander has pitched to a 4.23 ERA in four starts.
Redshirt senior Johnny Piedmonte has been a formidable part of the bullpen in recent weeks, including an impressive five-inning scoreless relief stint against UNC-Chapel Hill last weekend. Redshirt sophomore Austin Staley has been another integral piece of the relief core. Staley has thrown 30 innings in 18 appearances out of the bullpen. The right-hander holds a 3.6 ERA on the season and has been one of the go-to options for Avent in relief.
Freshman Brad Debo and junior Stephen Pitarra have both been hot at the plate in recent weeks. Debo has mashed opposing pitching to a .364 batting average and a .925 OPS, both team highs, while also racking up 27 RBIs. Pitarra, after a slow start to the season, is now hitting .278 with an excellent .409 on-base percentage as the main leadoff option and first baseman for the Pack.
Boston College has suffered through a rough season up to this point, a far cry from the 35-22 campaign in 2016. The Eagles have accrued just three conference wins and currently sit in last place in the Atlantic Division of the ACC. The team’s only series victory came last weekend, when it picked up two wins against a middling Duke squad. The only other conference victory came when it topped Florida State in Tallahassee but ultimately dropped the series.
Despite the team’s rough showing, junior Donovan Casey has been a bright spot for Boston College. The outfielder and pitcher has been a true two-way player in 2017, tossing 16 innings in relief and logging a team-best 2.25 ERA. He has also started all 34 games, hitting .305 to go with a .387 on-base percentage.
The Eagles are clearly out of the NCAA Tournament picture, but the Wolfpack will need a series victory or sweep to keep itself squarely in the field of 64 come June.
The series begins Friday at 2:30 p.m. and Saturday’s tilt will be broadcasted on ESPNU and held at Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox, and first pitch will be at 4 p.m. The series finale will take place Sunday at 1 p.m. in Chestnut Hill.
