North Carolina State University Athletics
Baseball Plays Host To ECU On Tuesday
4/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. Two weeks ago, NC State went to East Carolina as a team reeling offensively. Now, with the Pirates making the return trip to Raleigh on Tuesday, the Wolfpack has found itself on offense and is one of the hottest teams around.
NC State and East Carolina meet at Doak Field at Dail Park on Tuesday for a 6:30 p.m. game that finds both teams in the national rankings. ECU is at No. 23 in the latest poll by Rivals.com, with NC State two spots back at No. 25. WKNC-FM (88.1) will broadcast the game live, with the broadcast available on-line at gopack.com through the Pack Pass package.
The game is a near sellout. Tickets are available through the NC State ticket office, but only to Wolfpack Club members and to baseball season-ticket holders wishing to purchase additional seats for this game.
Redshirt-sophomore Alex Sogard will start for NC State. A transfer from Oregon State, Sogard is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA. He is coming off his most impressive appearance of the season, a start last Wednesday vs. Coastal Carolina during which he allowed no runs on two hits in four innings, which tied for his longest appearance of the season. Sogard has allowed no runs on six hits in his last seven appearances, covering 10 2/3 innings.
Stihl Sowers (3-2, 5.19) will start for the Pirates. He started for ECU two weeks ago against the Wolfpack and allowed four runs on four hits in four innings. In his last start, April 8 vs. Old Dominion, he allowed two runs, one earned, on six hits in 6 1/3 innings and got credit for East Carolina’s 4-2 victory over the Monarchs. He walked one and struck out four.
Through 23 games, NC State was batting .266 as a team and scoring a mere 5.5 runs per game, puny numbers by college baseball standards. The low point came during a four-game span vs. Clemson, Marshall and North Carolina. In those four games, the Pack managed just 11 runs (9 of them in one game) and 17 hits (again, 9 of them in one game). Twice, vs. Clemson on March 23 and Marshall on March 26, opposing pitchers came precariously close to throwing no-hitters at the Wolfpack. The Pack got three hits in a combined 57 at-bats in those two games. On March 26, five Marshall pitchers combined on a one-hit shutout, the one hit being an infield single by Marcus Jones in the seventh inning.
The Marshall game was rock bottom, and NC State has rebounded offensively. In 12 games since the one-hitter against the Thundering Herd, NC State has walloped the ball with authority, batting .358 (152-for-425), scoring 8.5 runs per game with a .434 on-base percentage and a .572 slugging percentage. The Pack managed double-figure hit totals in nine of the 12 games and double-figure run totals in five, including four of the last seven games. NC State has bashed out 29 doubles and 18 home runs in the 12 games, and has raised its team batting average 33 points, from .270 to .303.
The leaders of the Pack’s offensive surge are Ryan Pond, Jeremy Synan, Dallas Poulk, Matt Payne and Tommy Foschi. In the 12 games, Pond is hitting .429 (21-for-49) with four doubles, two home runs and 19 RBIs. Synan is hitting .432 (19-for-44) with three doubles, a triple, three home runs and 12 RBIs. Poulk is hitting .405 (17-for-42) with three doubles, one triple, two home runs and 10 RBIs. Payne is hitting .354 (17-for-48) with a double, two home runs and 10 RBIs. Foschi is hitting .342 (13-for-38) with seven doubles and nine RBIs.
After going the better part of a month without winning a weekend series and struggling offensively, even against midweek opponents, NC State currently is 23-11 and on a hot streak. The Wolfpack has won nine of its last 11 games, taking five of its last six weekend games (vs. Wake Forest and Duke), and winning three of four games vs. ranked teams. NC State now has a 6-6 record vs. ranked teams this season entering the game vs. East Carolina.
The Pirates enter Tuesday’s game on a hot streak of their own, having won their last seven games in a row. ECU is 8-1 since losing 4-3 to NC State on April 1 at Clark-LeClair Stadium. The Pirates won two of three at No. 20 Southern Miss the weekend of April 5-6, then swept Marshall this past weekend in Greenville.
Center fielder Harrison Eldridge leads the Pirates. Eldridge is batting .382 with seven doubles, two triples, two home runs, 18 RBIs and 22 steals. Catcher Corey Kemp is the Pirates’ leading power source, with seven doubles and 12 home runs, and he comes into Tuesday’s game batting .366. Shortstop Ryan Wood and first baseman Kyle Roller both have eight home runs apiece.
NC State holds a 61-36 lead in the series with East Carolina, including a 13-9 record since Elliott Avent became head coach of the Wolfpack in 1997. In the Avent era, NC State is 6-3 vs. the Pirates at Doak Field at Dail Park, 5-2 at Clark-LeClair Stadium, and 2-4 on neutral fields.
Despite the overall strength of both teams, NC State has enjoyed a surprising advantage in the series in recent years, winning four games in a row against ECU and eight of the last nine. The Wolfpack won 4-3 earlier this season in Greenville, and took both meetings a year ago.
NC State and East Carolina meet at Doak Field at Dail Park on Tuesday for a 6:30 p.m. game that finds both teams in the national rankings. ECU is at No. 23 in the latest poll by Rivals.com, with NC State two spots back at No. 25. WKNC-FM (88.1) will broadcast the game live, with the broadcast available on-line at gopack.com through the Pack Pass package.
The game is a near sellout. Tickets are available through the NC State ticket office, but only to Wolfpack Club members and to baseball season-ticket holders wishing to purchase additional seats for this game.
Redshirt-sophomore Alex Sogard will start for NC State. A transfer from Oregon State, Sogard is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA. He is coming off his most impressive appearance of the season, a start last Wednesday vs. Coastal Carolina during which he allowed no runs on two hits in four innings, which tied for his longest appearance of the season. Sogard has allowed no runs on six hits in his last seven appearances, covering 10 2/3 innings.
Stihl Sowers (3-2, 5.19) will start for the Pirates. He started for ECU two weeks ago against the Wolfpack and allowed four runs on four hits in four innings. In his last start, April 8 vs. Old Dominion, he allowed two runs, one earned, on six hits in 6 1/3 innings and got credit for East Carolina’s 4-2 victory over the Monarchs. He walked one and struck out four.
Through 23 games, NC State was batting .266 as a team and scoring a mere 5.5 runs per game, puny numbers by college baseball standards. The low point came during a four-game span vs. Clemson, Marshall and North Carolina. In those four games, the Pack managed just 11 runs (9 of them in one game) and 17 hits (again, 9 of them in one game). Twice, vs. Clemson on March 23 and Marshall on March 26, opposing pitchers came precariously close to throwing no-hitters at the Wolfpack. The Pack got three hits in a combined 57 at-bats in those two games. On March 26, five Marshall pitchers combined on a one-hit shutout, the one hit being an infield single by Marcus Jones in the seventh inning.
The Marshall game was rock bottom, and NC State has rebounded offensively. In 12 games since the one-hitter against the Thundering Herd, NC State has walloped the ball with authority, batting .358 (152-for-425), scoring 8.5 runs per game with a .434 on-base percentage and a .572 slugging percentage. The Pack managed double-figure hit totals in nine of the 12 games and double-figure run totals in five, including four of the last seven games. NC State has bashed out 29 doubles and 18 home runs in the 12 games, and has raised its team batting average 33 points, from .270 to .303.
The leaders of the Pack’s offensive surge are Ryan Pond, Jeremy Synan, Dallas Poulk, Matt Payne and Tommy Foschi. In the 12 games, Pond is hitting .429 (21-for-49) with four doubles, two home runs and 19 RBIs. Synan is hitting .432 (19-for-44) with three doubles, a triple, three home runs and 12 RBIs. Poulk is hitting .405 (17-for-42) with three doubles, one triple, two home runs and 10 RBIs. Payne is hitting .354 (17-for-48) with a double, two home runs and 10 RBIs. Foschi is hitting .342 (13-for-38) with seven doubles and nine RBIs.
After going the better part of a month without winning a weekend series and struggling offensively, even against midweek opponents, NC State currently is 23-11 and on a hot streak. The Wolfpack has won nine of its last 11 games, taking five of its last six weekend games (vs. Wake Forest and Duke), and winning three of four games vs. ranked teams. NC State now has a 6-6 record vs. ranked teams this season entering the game vs. East Carolina.
The Pirates enter Tuesday’s game on a hot streak of their own, having won their last seven games in a row. ECU is 8-1 since losing 4-3 to NC State on April 1 at Clark-LeClair Stadium. The Pirates won two of three at No. 20 Southern Miss the weekend of April 5-6, then swept Marshall this past weekend in Greenville.
Center fielder Harrison Eldridge leads the Pirates. Eldridge is batting .382 with seven doubles, two triples, two home runs, 18 RBIs and 22 steals. Catcher Corey Kemp is the Pirates’ leading power source, with seven doubles and 12 home runs, and he comes into Tuesday’s game batting .366. Shortstop Ryan Wood and first baseman Kyle Roller both have eight home runs apiece.
NC State holds a 61-36 lead in the series with East Carolina, including a 13-9 record since Elliott Avent became head coach of the Wolfpack in 1997. In the Avent era, NC State is 6-3 vs. the Pirates at Doak Field at Dail Park, 5-2 at Clark-LeClair Stadium, and 2-4 on neutral fields.
Despite the overall strength of both teams, NC State has enjoyed a surprising advantage in the series in recent years, winning four games in a row against ECU and eight of the last nine. The Wolfpack won 4-3 earlier this season in Greenville, and took both meetings a year ago.
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