The NC State baseball team is just one win from tying its best start in program history, a 12-0 start in the 1992 season, after sweeping Minnesota this past weekend.
Most Wolfpack fans probably remember the great start last year’s team had behind Brett Kinneman and his wave of homers, but even that team lost to Seton Hall and Canisius before March 5, 2018.
That 10-2 start was great but the team beat teams like Seton Hall, Furman, Air Force, N.C. A&T, Charlotte, Campbell and Bowling Green to get there and finished 11-2 before its first ACC series against Boston College.
The 2019 version of NC State has faced a much more difficult road but has seen an even better result. It has still topped the lower-tier teams like Bucknell (3-6), Elon (7-4) and Campbell (8-3) but other opponents have been more difficult challenges.
The weekend at the beach was a big step with wins over Kent State (4-7), Michigan State (1-9) and Coastal Carolina (10-2). The win over Coastal, another ranked team, was the biggest and most important.
The most recent accomplishment came from the three-game sweep over defending Big Ten Champions, Minnesota. NC State outscored the Golden Gophers 11-6 in the first two games and topped the weekend off with a come-from-behind walkoff win in the ninth.
Although Minnesota’s record is 2-8, it can be a little deceiving about how good it is. Outside of losing three to the Pack, the preseason Big Ten favorite lost to Oregon State (10-1), Gonzaga (4-6), New Mexico (8-4) and Dallas Baptist (8-3, including a sweep over Kent State).
Outside of that, the Golden Gophers have yet to play a home game, obviously due to the weather they experience this time of the year. Minnesota might not advance to an NCAA Super Regional as it did last season, and lost to Oregon State, but it is an excellent series sweep for an NC State team looking to get some good nonconference wins.
Lineup Depth
Besides the 4-for-5 day that senior first baseman Evan Edwards had on Sunday, the top of the lineup struggled to produce at its normal or expected level. What this shows more than anything is the ability to win using the bottom of the order.
Freshman third baseman Vojtech Mensik was the hero in game two with his first-inning grand slam, but he was also a consistent hitter in the seventh spot going 3 for 9 with two runs and five RBIs in the series. Adding him to an already-fantastic infield solidifies the third-baseman question from the beginning of the year.
One of the biggest takeaways of the series was the reemergence of junior designated hitter Brad Debo. He played limited time last season after his great freshman year, but had a great weekend against Minnesota, along with a great start to the year.
Debo had five hits in 11 at-bats with two runs and three RBIs in three games. He was also a huge contributor to the third-game comeback, knocking in the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning.
Another player making an impact is freshman center fielder Tyler McDonough who has started his first season batting .349, second on the team to Edwards at .370. Ignoring his 0 for 3 in game two, he went 4 for 9 with two runs and two RBIs in the games against Minnesota. The outfield was the biggest question mark of the team and McDonough is making an early case for an everyday role going forward.
Although it was a slower weekend for sophomore outfielder Jonny Butler, junior shortstop Will Wilson and sophomore catcher Patrick Bailey at the top of the lineup, there is confidence that they will get to the consistency they’ve had in the past. When everyone in the lineup starts clicking at the same time, from top to bottom, it can produce a very long day for opposing pitchers.
Senior infielder Evan Edwards sprints to third base against Minnesota on Sunday, March 3, 2019 at Doak Field. Edwards went 4-5 with two doubles, two runs scored and one run batted in in the Wolfpack's 5-4 walk-off win over Minnesota.
