This past weekend, the NC State baseball team swept the James Madison Dukes in a three-game set. On opening day, the Pack got a 4-0 win behind junior Nick Swiney’s 11-strikeout performance despite a slower day at the plate. In game two, it needed a five-run eighth inning to come back for a win, but Sunday was an easier 11-2 victory. Here are some of the weekend numbers that tell the story of NC State’s 3-0 start.
.583 — Batting average of junior infielder/outfielder Devonte Brown in his first three games in the cleanup spot. After a great summer in the SunBelt Baseball League where Brown took the home run crown, there was an expectation of him stepping into a bigger role. He shattered the expectation in the first series, going 7 for 12 with three doubles, five RBIs and four runs. His production will open up a lot of opportunities for this offense if he’s able to continue.
6 — Number of walks junior catcher Patrick Bailey drew in his first three games, including four walks on Saturday alone, which was more than the rest of the team combined that day. Although Bailey struggled otherwise, with one hit in seven at-bats, he led the team in runs with five because of an on-base percentage that is tied for third on the team among players with at least two starts. This could be a trend for the season, and if pitchers continue to avoid the MLB prospect, the rest of the lineup should get better pitches to hit.
11 — On Friday, junior Nick Swiney gave the best starting performance of the weekend, striking out 11 batters and allowing two hits in seven scoreless innings. He also did it at a pretty efficient clip, with just 90 pitches and two walks. It was a fairly long start for the beginning of the season but at least the Pack knows of one sure-fire starter for the rest of the year.
91.67% — Stolen base success rate for NC State over three games. Some of the teams in past years have not had much speed, but this year, the Pack has a number of players that can steal bases. It seems like the team might not have the power hitters it normally does, so the speed will be really useful on offense.
5 — Sophomore outfielder/infielder Tyler McDonough went 5 for 5 in stolen base attempts of the weekend, with three of them coming in Sunday’s 11-2 win. Brown, Bailey, junior first baseman Austin Murr and junior outfielder Terrell Tatum all went 1 for 1, while junior outfielder Jonny Butler went 2 for 3. On the flip side, Bailey caught one of four attempts while behind the plate.
9 — Number of NC State newcomers to find the field this weekend. Between freshmen and transfers, the Pack has a number of unfamiliar players that will help out the team a lot this year, most notably Murr, freshman shortstop Jose Torres and a number of pitchers, like redshirt junior Logan Bender and freshmen Chris Villaman, Sam Highfill and Matt Willadsen.
3 — Most importantly, the team stepped away from the weekend with three wins. After last season’s great start of going undefeated into ACC play, it was important to get off to another great start in 2020, and it should be able to carry the momentum through Longwood Tuesday and Tennessee Tech next weekend.
