After a successful season opening series in Hawaii, the NC State baseball team returns to Raleigh to face Austin Peay in the home opening series this weekend.
The Wolfpack (2-1) used stifling starting pitching to shut down the Rainbow Warriors in its two wins, allowing only one hit on Sunday in an 8-1 win.
Sophomore outfielder Brett Kinneman had a blistering start to the season, going 6 of 12 with four doubles and a home run in the series. Freshman Will Wilson had an impressive debut, belting two doubles and driving in three runs.
The Wolfpack will need similar performances this weekend to take its series against Austin Peay, one of the top hitting teams in the country.
The Governors (2-1) finished in the top 25 in slugging percentage, batting average, on-base percentage, doubles, home runs and runs scored in the nation last season and return several experienced bats to continue that success.
Austin Peay scored 27 runs over its three game opening weekend tournament, and cracked eight home runs over that span. Six different Govs homered, including two home runs from senior first baseman Dre Gleason and redshirt junior outfielder Cayce Bredlau.
The Governors’ lineup is littered with landmines for NC State pitchers. In addition to Gleason and Bredlau, the Govs boast preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference Team selection Chase Hamilton in the outfield. The senior had five hits, including two doubles and a home run, in the opening series.
Austin Peay debuted new starters at three infield positions and they hit the ground running immediately.
Redshirt freshman third baseman Parker Phillips went 6 of 11 with a home run, three RBIs and five runs. Junior transfer shortstop Kyle Wilson, acting as the lead-off hitter on opening night, homered on the second pitch he saw as a Governor. Finally, junior transfer second baseman Garrett Giovannelli had three hits and drove in a pair of runs.
With all the power in the lineup, it can be easy to forget that Austin Peay returns an entire weekend rotation, led by senior Alex Robles.
Robles, tabbed as the OVC preseason pitcher of the year, will take the ball on Friday night for the Govs. The right-hander was 10-6 with a 4.67 ERA last season, striking out 89 batters. Amazingly, Robles also is a mainstay in the Governors’ lineup, as he batted .317 with four home runs and 39 RBIs last season.
Robles started the season on the right foot by winning his first start while getting four hits, including a home run.
Joining him in the rotation is left-handed junior Michael Costanzo and senior right-hander Caleb Powell. Costanzo went 7-4 with a 6.60 ERA in 15 starts last season, while Powell was 7-2 with a 3.96 ERA.
Costanzo struggled away from home, and the Wolfpack hitters should be ready to pounce on the Austin Peay pitchers. They will just have be able to keep up with the Governors’ offense.
The weekend series could bring the season debut of junior lefty Brian Brown, who was held out of the Pack’s opening series against Hawaii due to forearm tendonitis.
If he is to return to the rotation, it will mean one of the three starters from the Hawaii series will be bumped. Likely candidates are redshirt junior left-hander Cody Beckman, who struggled mightily in his first start, or junior right-hander Tommy DeJuneas, who battled control issues to pitch an otherwise clean start on Sunday.
With the weather being exceptionally warm for a February weekend, the ball should be flying around Doak Field as two high-powered offenses will battle it out in a tough nonconference series for NC State.
If NC State can get good starting pitching and keep up offensively, it could be another successful weekend for the Pack.
