North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State To Host Key ACC Series Vs. Clemson
3/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 27, 2003
RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State will look to build on its fast start in conference play this weekend with a three-game series against Clemson, March 28-30, at Grainger Stadium in Kinston. Game times will be 7 p.m. on Friday, and 1:30 on Saturday and Sunday.
The Wolfpack, which defeated Florida State twice in a three-game series last weekend in Kinston, is 2-1 in ACC play and 21-6 overall. Clemson is 18-4 and has yet to play an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.
NC State enters play this weekend ranked 16th by Collegiate Baseball, 17th by Baseball America, and 21st by USA Today Sports Weekly. The No. 16 ranking is the highest that NC State has been ranked since USA Today Baseball Weekly ranked the Pack No. 9 on May 5, 1997.
Clemson enters this weekend's series ranked 10th by Collegiate Baseball, 13th by Sports Weekly and 14th by Baseball America.
NC State trails the series with Clemson by an 80-67 tally, and the Tigers have dominated the series recently, taking seven of the last nine games between the two teams. The Wolfpack is 8-12 against Clemson since Elliott Avent became the Wolfpack's head coach in 1997. He is 6-3 against Clemson at Doak Field, 2-6 vs. the Tigers at Kingsmore Stadium, and 0-3 against them in the ACC Tournament.
A year ago in Death Valley, NC State dropped two of three games to the then-No. 1 Tigers, winning the middle game of the series 3-0 behind the four-hit pitching of Mike Prochaska, but losing the series opener 6-4 and the finale by a 10-2 score. In May at St. Petersburg, Fla., Clemson eliminated NC State from the ACC Tournament, 5-3.
Junior lefthander Nate Cretarolo (2-2, 7.50) will start for NC State on Friday night against Clemson. This will be Cretarolo's eighth appearance and his fourth start of 2003. He has worked 24 innings, allowed 28 hits, walked 16 and struck out 27. His last appearance was a relief outing March 23 against Florida State at Grainger Stadium. He allowed one run on two hits in 2-2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out two. Tyler Lumsden (5-0, 1.32) will start for Clemson on Friday.
Junior righthander Vern Sterry (6-0, 2.36) will make the start for the Wolfpack on Saturday night. This will be his eighth appearance, all of them starts. He has allowed 33 hits in 49-2/3 innings, walked 13 and struck out 65. In his last start, March 22 vs. Florida State, Sterry allowed two runs on three hits in eight innings. He walked three and struck out eight. He retired the side in order just twice, but aside from the sixth inning, when the Seminoles scored both their runs, Sterry did not allow a runner past first base. Jason Berken (3-0, 1.42) will start for the Tigers on Saturday.
Redshirt-freshman righthander Mike Rogers (6-1, 1.78) will start on Sunday for NC State. This will be his eighth appearance of the season, all of them starts. He has worked 50-2/3 innings, allowed 38 hits, walked 15 and struck out 45. In his last start, March 22 vs. Florida State, he allowed two runs on five hits in eight innings on the mound. He walked three and struck out six in picking up his fifth straight win, a 4-2 decision over the Seminoles. Rogers allowed a manufactured run in the first inning, and a run on a leadoff homer in the top of the third. From that point on, he allowed just six baserunners and retired 12 of the last 14 Seminoles he faced.Rogers has allowed just five earned runs in his last 36-2/3 innings. Clemson's Sunday starter has not been named.
The games will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM, which is at 88.1 on the FM dial. The broadcasts will be available on the internet at gopack.com, and live in-game stats will be carried on the gametracker, also on gopack.
