After a shaky and inconsistent 20-20 start to its season, the NC State baseball team has seemed to hit its stride as of late, winning 11 of its last 12 games, including six straight ACC victories.
The Wolfpack (31-21, 14-13 ACC) has outscored its opponents 99-35 during the recent hot streak, including putting up 29 runs in an overwhelming three-game sweep over conference-foe Pittsburgh. The Pack will host No. 13 Clemson (38-15, 16-11 ACC) this weekend in its final series of the regular season.
State currently sits sixth in the ACC standings, but could jump all the way up to the four seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament with a sweep over the Tigers. However, if the Wolfpack slips up against Clemson it could find itself holding the seven or eight seed, which would mean a tough grouping with either No. 2 Louisville or No. 3 UNC-Chapel Hill.
While this Clemson series is of incredible importance to the Pack’s ACC placing, it may hold even more weight for State on the national stage. The Wolfpack has been right on the bubble of making the NCAA Tournament all season, and is in danger of missing the tourney for the first time since 2014 and just the third time in the last 15 years. However, a series win over a top-15 team in Clemson would bolster State’s resume greatly.
Clemson has been trending in a much worse direction than the Wolfpack lately, having been swept by Louisville and UNC in its last two ACC series. The Tigers have won just 5of their last 13 games, and have been on the losing end of seven straight conference matchups.
Despite their recent struggles, the Tigers are still a formidable opponent that should prove to be a tough test for the Pack. Reed Rohlman has been the spark for the offense all season, as he leads the team with an outstanding .387 batting average and a 1.069 OPS. The duo of Seth Beer and Chris Williams have provided the power for the Tigers, with 13 home runs apiece.
Freshman Brad Debo and juniors Josh McLain and Joe Dunand have set the mark for State’s offense this season. Debo’s .347 batting average leads the team, and his 39 RBIs are the second most on the squad behind Dunand’s 47. Dunand also has a team-high 16 home runs, the second most in the ACC. McLain is hitting .320 and is second in the ACC with 19 doubles.
Thursday’s pitching matchup will feature redshirt senior lefty Johnny Piedmonte (6-0, 1.66 ERA) for the Pack versus Tigers lefty Charlie Barnes (5-4, 2.83). Piedmonte, who started the season in the bullpen for the Pack, is a perfect 5-0 in five starts this season, and has compiled a 1.35 ERA in his three weekend starts. Barnes has allowed four runs in both of his last two ACC starts, albeit against two very potent offenses in Louisville and UNC.
Friday’s starter for Clemson should be righty Alex Eubanks (6-4, 3.76 ERA), who hasn’t picked up a win since tossing a complete-game shutout against Wake Forest on April 22. In his last two starts he has allowed nine runs in just 12 innings.
Lefty Pat Krall (7-2, 2.73 ERA) will take the mound for the finale on Saturday. Krall has been the anchor for the Tigers pitching staff this year, but he gave up five runs to Louisville over the weekend, tied for the most runs he has allowed in a game all season.
For the Pack, freshman righty Michael Bienlien (3-2, 3.90 ERA) and junior lefty Brian Brown (3-1, 3.29) will take the mound for the final two games of the series, though head coach Elliott Avent has flipped around the order in which they have pitched all year.
The Pack has won the last three games that Bienlien has started, although he has only picked up the win in one of those. He only lasted four innings in his last start against Pitt, surrendering five runs. Brown has picked up the win in his last two ACC starts, throwing seven innings in wins over both Pitt and Virginia Tech.
NC State needs to win this series if it wants to help out its case for the NCAA Tournament, but it won’t come easy with Clemson coming to town. With the Pack playing its best baseball of the year recently, it will need to carry that momentum with it into this weekend and next week’s ACC Tournament if it wants to keep its season alive.
