After losing a series for the first time this season on the road against Virginia this past weekend, the No. 11 NC State baseball team returns to Raleigh this week to host UNC-Charlotte and North Carolina A&T in two mid-week games.
The Wolfpack (13-2, 1-2 ACC) is coming off its first true road series of the season, during which the team dropped two out of three games to No. 25 Virginia. It was also the Pack’s first series of conference play.
In the series, NC State gave up a total of 19 runs and left 36 runners on base. The team hopes to improve its defense and find ways to capitalize on scoring opportunities this week.
The Pack also cooled off a bit offensively over the weekend. After averaging over 10 runs per game through the first 12 games of the season, the team combined to score just 12 runs in all three games against Virginia. Junior right fielder/third baseman Devonte Brown, who leads the team in hits this season with 21, did not record a single hit in the final two games of the series after getting a hit in every game prior. He and the rest of the team will look to heat back up offensively this week.
Charlotte (8-8) has lost four games in a row, including a recent three-game sweep at the hands of East Carolina and a 15-6 loss to Coastal Carolina, a team that NC State beat 24-7 last week. The 49ers have had series wins this season against St. John’s and UMBC.
The 49ers were picked to finish second-to-last in the Conference USA preseason poll a year after finishing in that same spot in the conference standings. They bring in one preseason all-conference selection in relief pitcher Colby Bruce, who has an ERA of 2.40 in 15 innings pitched this season. Left fielder Dominic Pilloli leads Charlotte’s offense with an ERA of .387 and 24 hits.
NC A&T (7-8) is coming off a series loss against Lehigh, but won the last game of the series 1-0. The Aggies have faced two ACC teams this season, beating Boston College twice and falling 8-0 to North Carolina.
The Aggies were picked to finish first in the MEAC preseason poll a year after winning their division. They bring in four all-conference selections, including MEAC preseason pitcher of the year Michael Johnson. Third baseman Connor Knapp leads the team in batting average at .360, while right fielder Camden Williamson leads the team in hits with 19 on the season.
The Pack will host Charlotte first on Tuesday, March 10 at 6 p.m., followed by NC A&T on Wednesday, March 11 at 6 p.m. Both games will be played at Doak Field and will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
