NC State Baseball Hosts Top-Ranked Louisville This Weekend

LOUISVILLE - NC STATE WEEKEND SERIES
Dates: Friday - Sunday, March 24-26
Location: Raleigh, N.C.
Site: Doak Field at Dail Park
Times: 6:30 p.m. (Fri.) | 1 p.m. (Sat.) | 1 P.M. (Sun.)
Radio: WKNC 88.1 FM
TV: Regional Sports Network (RSN, Sat.)
Talents: Tom Werme (PXP) & Nick Green (Analyst)
Live Video: ACC Network Extra (Fri. & Sun.)
Live Stats: SideArm Stats
Notes: NCSU | UL
Tickets

RSN Affiliates for Saturday's Game

STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: LHP Brendan McKay (UL) vs. LHP Sean Adler (NCSU)
Saturday: RHP Kade McClure (UL) vs. LHP Brian Brown (NCSU)
Sunday: LHP Nick Bennett (UL) vs. RHP Cory Wilder (NCSU)

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State baseball team will host the nation's top-ranked team this weekend when the Louisville Cardinals visit Raleigh. Friday's game is set for 6:30 p.m. at Doak Field at Dail Park, while Saturday and Sunday's contests are slated for 1 p.m.

Saturday's game will be broadcast live on Regional Sports Network (RSN) with Tom Werme handling play-by-play and Nick Green serving as the analyst. For a full list of TV affiliates in your area click here.

Friday and Sunday's games will air live on the ACC Network Extra, accessible through Watch ESPN and the Watch ESPN App. Radio coverage will also be available on WKNC 88.1 FM and on GoPack.com for premium subscribers for all three games.

NC State enters the weekend with a 12-10 overall record and a 3-3 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play. Louisville suffered its first loss of the season in its last outing and is now 19-1 and 6-0 in league action.

Last Time Out
In its most recent outing, the Wolfpack dropped an instate battle to the Campbell Camels, 9-8. NC State found itself in an early hole, but rallied from the deficit and had the tying run on base and the winning run at the plate when the game ended in the ninth inning.

Louisville also experienced a minor setback Tuesday evening, as the Cards saw their 19-game win streak come to a close at Cincinnati, 6-3.

The Series
NC State and Louisville have only met seven times in the history of the programs and six of those meetings have occurred since the Cardinals joined the conference prior to the 2015 season.

Louisville leads the all-time series, 6-1.

Last Time Versus Louisville
The Cardinals swept the Wolfpack during the 2016 series in Kentucky, as NC State was without head coach Elliott Avent after a copperhead snake bit him a few days prior to the series.

Last Time Versus Louisville in Raleigh
Louisville last visited Raleigh in 2015 when the Cardinals took the series by winning the decisive game three, after the teams split the first two games. Brian Brown earned the win in the second game for the Wolfpack with 5.1 innings pitched and seven punchouts to lead NC State to the 3-2 victory.

Scouting Louisville
Louisville began the season ranked among the top 10 in almost all of the preseason rankings, but has risen to the top spot in the Baseball America, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and USA Today Coaches' Poll.

The Cardinals swept Pittsburgh and Boston College at home in their first two conference series, but this weekend will be the team's first road series. Louisville has only played one true road game and it was the only game they've lost this season, at Cincinnati on Tuesday evening.

Louisville owns the second-highest team batting average in the conference with a .318 clip at the dish. Brendan McKay sits atop the individual standing for highest batting average in the league with a .466 average.

The Cardinals average 10.95 hits per game and are scoring 8.6 runs per game.

On the mound, Cards' pitchers have tallied the second-best staff ERA in the country with a 1.92. Louisville has only allowed 39 earned runs in 183 innings pitched.

Avent Approaching 1,000 Career Wins
NC State head coach Elliott Avent is approaching 1,000 career wins, as he heads into the weekend with 991 to his credit. He would become the fifth active head coach in the ACC with 1,000 or more career wins.

Here Comes Staley
NC State reliever Austin Staley has made a team-high 12 appearances this season, which is tied for the third-most in the ACC.

Staley's ERA of 2.86 ranks among the top 20 in the conference.

Double Trouble
The Wolfpack has hit 50 doubles as a team in 2017, the third most in the conference behind Wake Forest with 53 and Virginia Tech with 52.

In addition, junior Josh McLain is second in the ACC with 10 doubles this season.

Lucky Six
NC State has scored 28 runs in the sixth inning this season, the most in any inning this year. Also, the Wolfpack is 9-2 when scoring at least six runs in a game.

Additionally, NC State is 12-1 when limiting opponents to fewer than six runs.

First to Score
The Wolfpack is 8-2 when scoring the first run of a game this season.

Turn Two
The Wolfpack has turned 23 double plays this year, the third most in the ACC. NC State turned a season-high four double plays in the win at UNCG.

The More, The Better
NC State has recorded more hits than its opponent in nine games this year and has won all nine contests. Additionally, the Wolfpack is 3-1 when hits are tied and 0-9 when the opponent tallies more hits.

NC State Baseball Hosts Top-Ranked Louisville This Weekend

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Players Mentioned

Sean Adler

Brian Brown

Josh McLain

Austin Staley

Cory Wilder