North Carolina State University Athletics
Baseball To Host Hot Appalachian State
5/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. A long, disappointing season got suddenly more enjoyable over the weekend when NC State won a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series from then-No. 1-ranked North Carolina, two games to one at Doak Field at Dail Park.
The Tar Heels may have been No. 1, but no team is hotter than the Wolfpack’s next opponent, Appalachian State. The Mountaineers (30-18) come to the Doak for a 6:30 p.m. game on Tuesday. The game will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1) and on-line at gopack.com via Pack Pass.
Redshirt-freshman righthander Vance Williams (0-1, 4.58) will start for NC State against freshman righthander Andrew Webster (4-1, 4.50) for Appalachian State, which comes into the game on a roll. After a near-disastrous start that saw the Mountaineers lose 14 of their first 20 games, they won 24 of their next 28, including winning streaks of eight and nine games. Appalachian has won 11 of its last 12 games, and 19 of its last 21.
Senior infielder Issac Harrow leads Appalachian State offensively with eye-popping numbers. Harrow is batting .415 (78-for-188) with 21 doubles, six triples, 12 home runs, 72 RBIs and 13 steals in 17 attempts. He sports a .502 on-base percentage and a .782 slugging percentage.
Harrow is not a one-man band, however. Junior infielder Wes Hobson, the younger brother of former Wolfpack pitcher Gib Hobson, is hitting .381 (80-for-210) with 20 doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 49 RBIs and nine stolen bases in 14 attempts. Senior outfielder Rand Smith, riding a nine-game hitting streak, is batting .366 (78-for-213) with 16 doubles, three triples, 10 homers, 40 RBIs and eight steals in 10 attempts.
Appalachian State is batting .310 as a team and scoring 8.0 runs per game. They have hit 115 doubles and 57 home runs.
NC State can’t match those offensive numbers, but the Wolfpack didn’t need great offense to defeat North Carolina over the weekend by scores of 3-0 on Friday and 9-4 on Sunday. The Tar Heels took the middle game of the series 5-2. The Wolfpack, which improved to 24-28 for the season with the two wins over the Heels, batted just .207 (19-for-92) as a team for the three-game series, but it was a series that was dominated by pitching and defense. North Carolina batted just .220 (22-for-100).
Junior center fielder Kyle Wilson (3-for-8 with 2 home runs), freshman third baseman Andrew Ciencin and sophomore second baseman Russell Wilson (3-for-10 apiece) led the NC State offense, but the story for the Pack was strong pitching and vastly improved defensive play. The staff ERA for the series was 3.00, against one of the top offenses in the nation. Defensively, the Wolfpack committed just two errors in the three games and turned all the routine plays.
For the season, senior outfielder Devon Cartwright leads the Wolfpack. Cartwright is hitting .272 with 11 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 30 RBIs and nine stolen bases in 11 attempts. Freshman utilityman Pratt Maynard and junior outielder Drew Poulk add pop to the lineup. Maynard and Poulk share the team lead with six home runs each. Maynard leads the team in runs batted in with 37 and Poulk is second with 31. Kyle Wilson leads the club with 35 runs scored and 28 stolen bases in 32 attempts. He is one steal shy of tying Jeff Meszar’s single-season school record of 29 steals, set in 1992. Wilson also has five home runs, that number bolstered by his two-homer game on Sunday at the expense of the Tar Heels.
NC State is hitting .264 as a team and scoring 6.6 runs per game.
The Tar Heels may have been No. 1, but no team is hotter than the Wolfpack’s next opponent, Appalachian State. The Mountaineers (30-18) come to the Doak for a 6:30 p.m. game on Tuesday. The game will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1) and on-line at gopack.com via Pack Pass.
Redshirt-freshman righthander Vance Williams (0-1, 4.58) will start for NC State against freshman righthander Andrew Webster (4-1, 4.50) for Appalachian State, which comes into the game on a roll. After a near-disastrous start that saw the Mountaineers lose 14 of their first 20 games, they won 24 of their next 28, including winning streaks of eight and nine games. Appalachian has won 11 of its last 12 games, and 19 of its last 21.
Senior infielder Issac Harrow leads Appalachian State offensively with eye-popping numbers. Harrow is batting .415 (78-for-188) with 21 doubles, six triples, 12 home runs, 72 RBIs and 13 steals in 17 attempts. He sports a .502 on-base percentage and a .782 slugging percentage.
Harrow is not a one-man band, however. Junior infielder Wes Hobson, the younger brother of former Wolfpack pitcher Gib Hobson, is hitting .381 (80-for-210) with 20 doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 49 RBIs and nine stolen bases in 14 attempts. Senior outfielder Rand Smith, riding a nine-game hitting streak, is batting .366 (78-for-213) with 16 doubles, three triples, 10 homers, 40 RBIs and eight steals in 10 attempts.
Appalachian State is batting .310 as a team and scoring 8.0 runs per game. They have hit 115 doubles and 57 home runs.
NC State can’t match those offensive numbers, but the Wolfpack didn’t need great offense to defeat North Carolina over the weekend by scores of 3-0 on Friday and 9-4 on Sunday. The Tar Heels took the middle game of the series 5-2. The Wolfpack, which improved to 24-28 for the season with the two wins over the Heels, batted just .207 (19-for-92) as a team for the three-game series, but it was a series that was dominated by pitching and defense. North Carolina batted just .220 (22-for-100).
Junior center fielder Kyle Wilson (3-for-8 with 2 home runs), freshman third baseman Andrew Ciencin and sophomore second baseman Russell Wilson (3-for-10 apiece) led the NC State offense, but the story for the Pack was strong pitching and vastly improved defensive play. The staff ERA for the series was 3.00, against one of the top offenses in the nation. Defensively, the Wolfpack committed just two errors in the three games and turned all the routine plays.
For the season, senior outfielder Devon Cartwright leads the Wolfpack. Cartwright is hitting .272 with 11 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 30 RBIs and nine stolen bases in 11 attempts. Freshman utilityman Pratt Maynard and junior outielder Drew Poulk add pop to the lineup. Maynard and Poulk share the team lead with six home runs each. Maynard leads the team in runs batted in with 37 and Poulk is second with 31. Kyle Wilson leads the club with 35 runs scored and 28 stolen bases in 32 attempts. He is one steal shy of tying Jeff Meszar’s single-season school record of 29 steals, set in 1992. Wilson also has five home runs, that number bolstered by his two-homer game on Sunday at the expense of the Tar Heels.
NC State is hitting .264 as a team and scoring 6.6 runs per game.
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