With a little over a month left before the conclusion of the regular season, there are a few things that should be taken into consideration when watching the NC State baseball team. The inconsistency of the otherwise-dominating Pack offense could continue to lead to issues as NC State continues conference play in this last part of the season, but that volatility could be canceled out by the up-and-coming freshman pitching staff.
Great, but inconsistent, offensive ability
The Pack is fourth in the ACC when it comes to batting average with a team average of .277. Three players have batting averages over .300. Junior infielder Austin Murr leads the team offensively with the highest batting average, the most runs and the most doubles this season. Murr is backed by sophomore catcher Luca Tresh, who leads the team in home runs and RBIs.
Even with these stats, NC State still struggles to perform offensively and is inconsistent from game to game. This was very apparent in the most recent series against Notre Dame. After pushing just enough to overtake other opponents, the Pack struggled this weekend to get anything going offensively that would have given it the edge over the dominant Fighting Irish. The skill is there for this team, but inconsistency between games and the inability to perform is where the Pack is lacking.
Freshman pitching staff
Freshman right-handed pitcher Sam Highfill led the Pack to its only win against Notre Dame. Highfill was able to retire seven consecutive batters in that game and had three 1-2-3 innings out of the six that he pitched. On the season, his ERA is 4.47 and Highfill’s record is 3-2.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Matt Willadsen leads the Pack with an ERA of 3.42 and a record of 3-1, with the lone loss coming against Notre Dame. His ERA puts him at eighth in the ACC. While he doesn’t lead the team in strikeouts, Willadsen is only two behind the team high of 38.
These two freshmen have really shined this season, and they show hope for the Pack’s pitching staff for the rest of this season and into the next season.
Finishing out ACC play this season
NC State has four more ACC opponents in the regular season: Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh and Florida State. The Pack is currently 9-12 in the conference, which is only better than Wake Forest’s conference record out of those opponents. Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh are ranked first and second, respectively, in the ACC Coastal division. Florida State is only one spot above NC State in the Atlantic division, so the series could go either way.
Playing in the ACC is no small task, and the Pack has held up considerably well this season, but the real test will be in the next month when it takes on Pitt and Virginia Tech. However, there is hope for NC State against these teams after it secured one win against No. 10 Notre Dame. That game swung in NC State’s favor mostly due to amazing pitching that kept Notre Dame from being able to get anything going offensively while the Pack’s offense was able to get ahead early. Games like that will be the key to a successful end to this season for the Pack.
