The NC State baseball team is set to host No. 22 Virginia Tech for a three-game series April 22-24. The Hokies are currently in first place of the ACC Coastal.
With NC State (16-13, 9-12 ACC) currently sitting as one of the first teams out in the NCAA Tournament bubble, according to D1Baseball.com, this is a huge chance for the Wolfpack to get a series win over a ranked opponent.
In its last outing, Virginia Tech (21-12, 15-9 ACC) defeated VMI 7-5, but prior to that, it lost a series two games to one against Georgia Tech. NC State did not have a midweek game this week and is coming off a series loss to No. 10 Notre Dame after losing the rubber match last Sunday.
As a team, the Hokies are a strong hitting bunch. They rank third in the ACC in batting average at .282 and have four players batting over .290. Defensively, Virginia Tech has a fielding percentage of .975.
The No. 1 name on the scouting report for Wolfpack pitchers this week is Gavin Cross. He is making hitting look easy this season, batting .412 and tallying 54 hits, both of which lead the ACC. Cross also has some pop in his barrel as he has 10 home runs to his name, good for tied for fourth in the conference.
TJ Rumfield is another player that is having a great season for the Hokies. He bats .346 and has 31 RBIs on the season, which has him tied for the team lead with Cross. Kevin Madden and Tanner Schobel are the other two top hitters for Virginia Tech, batting .299 and .291, respectively.
On the mound, the Hokies will likely send out Peyton Alford, Anthony Simonelli and Shane Connolly, who have each thrown over 36 innings so far this season.
Alford goes out on Friday nights and is a lefty who can really get streaky with strikeouts. He has had eight or more strikeouts four times this season, including 10 in back-to-back starts against UNC-Chapel Hill and Florida State to start March.
Simonelli is coming off his best performance of the season against Georgia Tech, going six innings of shutout baseball and allowing just two hits. The right-handed pitcher has a ERA of 3.47 for the entire season.
Connolly has seen time as a starter and out of the bullpen this season, but pitched well last weekend giving up just three earned runs in six innings. The left-handed pitcher from Huntersville, North Carolina has an ERA of 3.60 in 14 appearances.
The three players who have led the way consistently all year for NC State have been junior first baseman Austin Murr, junior left fielder Jonny Butler and sophomore center fielder Tyler McDonough. Each player in the trio bats over .300.
The Wolfpack will look to get strong outings on the bump once again from junior right-handed pitcher Reid Johnston and freshmen right-handed pitchers Sam Highfill and Matt Willadsen. Each has been a key part in the Wolfpack’s turnaround after a subpar start to the season.
Game one from Doak Field is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday with the game being televised on ACC Network Extra. Follow @TechSports on Twitter for live updates.
