After being swept by Boston College and losing to Elon on Wednesday, the State baseball team (26-17 overall, 9-12 ACC) has its work cut out for it heading into this weekend against No. 8 Georgia Tech (35-7, 16-5 ACC). However, this is the same Wolfpack that upset No. 1 Virginia after losing to Campbell and Miami the week before.
“That’s the thing about our team. We have great guys, great coaches, and we’re just staying positive and believing in each other,” junior center fielder Russell Wilson said.
State needs all the positivity it can get as the team has committed 14 errors in the past four games. Although the Wolfpack is ranked second in the ACC in team batting average (.340), it also has the second-lowest fielding percentage with 74 errors this season.
“We’re making it really complicated,” senior second baseman Dallas Poulk said. “It’s a mental thing. We need to just come out here and play with a lot of confidence.”
The Yellow Jackets are currently sitting atop the ACC, but proved to be beatable this weekend, dropping a home series against underdog Virginia Tech. The Jackets returned to top form on Tuesday, though, defeating in-state rival Georgia, 6-4.
State is now fourth in the Atlantic Division and eighth overall. With only three ACC series left in the season, winning is crucial.
“Every game is a must-win from here on out,” said Russell Wilson. “We have to cut down on some of the mistakes, just continue to focus, and continue to hit the ball.”
Despite a few bad games, the Pack still has plenty going for it. State continues to lead the ACC offensively in several categories, including hits, runs scored, and on-base percentage. If the statistics prove true, this weekend should be evenly matched on the offensive side. Georgia Tech leads the ACC in several categories as well, including home runs, slugging percentage, and RBIs.
On the defensive side, Georgia Tech yields a slight advantage. The Yellow Jackets’ pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.76, compared to the Wolfpack’s 5.31. Georgia Tech’s Friday starter, Deck McGuire, is the reigning ACC Pitcher of the Year and proved himself this weekend, despite the loss, allowing only one earned run with eight strike outs in seven strong innings.
As the ACC tournament approaches, the Wolfpack realizes the need for a series win this weekend against the Yellow Jackets. Aside from last weekend, State has only been swept once, and followed the next weekend with a convincing series win against Wake Forest, scoring 25 runs in three games. Poulk sees this weekend as the opportune time for the winning ways of the Wolfpack to return.
“This is a big weekend coming up. Because we’ve fallen back a little bit, we need to get that step back up,” Poulk said. “We need to get back in the right direction.”
Action begins Friday night at 6:30, with games also slated for Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m., all at Doak Field at Dail Park.
