Wolfpack baseball faces off versus App State in midweek tilt

The NC State baseball team will take on the Appalachian State Mountaineers in a midweek matchup this Tuesday, April 6 at Doak Field. 

The Wolfpack (10-11, 5-10 ACC) is coming off a three-game series this past weekend versus Clemson, where the team managed to win one out of three games in the series. NC State had a chance to win game one after taking a 6-2 lead, but gave up eight unanswered runs. 

The Mountaineers (11-12) had their weekend series versus Coastal Carolina postponed, and haven’t played since Tuesday, March 30, in a 7-15 loss versus Wake Forest. The only common opponent between App State and the Wolfpack is UNC Wilmington, where the Mountaineers were swept in a three-game series. Across the three games, the offense only managed three runs total. 

The App State offense has mustered a .244 batting average across 23 games. The offense has been led by junior infielder Luke Drumheller, who has batted .326 with 29 hits thus far. The Mountaineers do not hit many home runs; they have only compiled 11 this season. 

The App State defense has struggled at times, giving up an average of 6.24 earned runs per game. The strongest pitcher on the roster has been sophomore Noah Hall, who has a 4-0 record and a 2.40 ERA. The righty pitcher also leads the team with 34 strikeouts on the year. 

The Mountaineers lost their only game to a Power 5 school, a 7-15 loss to Wake Forest, and got swept by No. 17 ECU. While App State may not be the strongest team the Wolfpack has faced all year, the Pack will need to stay focused and not play down to its competition. If NC State can continue its success on offense and can get a solid performance from the bullpen, the team can feel good about its chances.

The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Doak Field at Dail Park. The game will be streamed live on the ACC Network Extra.