No. 13 Baseball Travels To UNC-Chapel Hill For Final Regular Season Series

Thursday, May 16

Chapel Hill, N.C. (Boshamer Stadium)

6 P.M.

NC State

#13 UNC-Chapel Hill

No. 13 Baseball Travels To UNC-Chapel Hill For Final Regular Season Series

5/15/2019 12:18:00 PM | Baseball

Opponent: No. 13 UNC-Chapel Hill
Dates: Thursday, May 16th – Saturday, May 18th
Times: 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 4:30 p.m. Saturday
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C.
Site: Boshamer Stadium
TV: ACC Network Extra (Thurs. and Fri.), ESPNU (Sat.)
Radio: WKNC 88.1 FM
Live Stats

STARTING PITCHERS
Thursday – RHP Jason Parker (NCSU) vs. RHP Tyler Baum (UNC-CH)
Friday – RHP Reid Johnston (NCSU) vs. RHP Austin Bergner (UNC-CH)
Saturday – TBA (NCSU) vs. TBA (UNC-CH)

*NC State is ranked 13th in this week's Baseball America and Perfect Game polls, while UNC-CH is ranked 13th in this week's Collegiate Baseball poll (reflects highest ranking among major polls)*

RALEIGH – No. 13 NC State baseball is set to close out its regular season schedule this week in a top 15 matchup with 13th-ranked UNC-Chapel Hill at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C. The teams will play at 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday while the series finale Saturday is slated for a 4:30 p.m. first pitch.

The first two games will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra, and Saturday will be nationally televised on ESPNU. There will additionally be a free audio stream on WKNC 88.1 FM.

The Wolfpack enters the weekend with a 39-14 overall record while the Tar Heels are 37-15. Both squads are 16-11 in ACC play and are in a four-way tie for third in the conference standings.

Last Time Out
NC State picked up its sixth ACC series win of the season as it won two of three games last weekend at home versus Clemson. The Pack downed the Tigers, 6-1, on Friday, and forced game two to extra innings but ultimately came up short, 4-3 (10 inn.), on Saturday.

Behind a complete effort, the Pack closed out the weekend with an 8-3 victory in the rubber match on Sunday. Including nonconference opponents, NC State has earned nine series wins this year.

The Series
NC State and UNC-CH have met 301 times in the history of the programs, with the Tar Heels owning a 167-133-1 advantage in the all-time series.

Last Time Versus UNC-Chapel Hill
Last year, UNC-CH made the short trip to Raleigh for a three-game set on April 27-29. The Heels swept the series, 6-5, 8-6, and 5-4.

The teams did meet in a nonconference game at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park last season on April 17, and NC State picked up an 8-3 win.

Approaching 1,100 Career Wins
Head coach Elliott Avent is approaching 1,100 career wins, as he currently owns a 1,096-736 ledger in his 31st season at the helm of a program. He will be one of four active coaches in the ACC to reach the milestone and is among the top 18 winningest active head coaches.

Approaching 40 Wins In 2019
The 2019 NC State baseball squad is one win away from reaching the 40-win plateau. It would be the 10th time under Avent that the team has reached the threshold, and 17th time in program history that a squad has done so.

Practice Makes Perfect
Senior first baseman Evan Edwards and freshman center fielder Tyler McDonough have been essential in the Pack's league-leading .981 fielding percentage. The two own a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage, as Edwards has started all 53 games this season and McDonough has earned 52 starts in 53 appearances.

Making A Call To The Bullpen
The Wolfpack's bullpen has effective this season, as relievers have compiled a 3.36 ERA and have collected 313 strikeouts in 287.0 innings. NC State relievers have accounted for 28 of the teams 39 wins.

In contrast, opposing teams' bullpens have charted a 7.47 ERA and have yielded 231 runs in 243.1 innings.

The Rundown On UNC-Chapel Hill
-The Heels shut out High Point, 7-0, on Tuesday at home in its last time out.
-In its last ACC matchup, UNC-CH traveled to Pittsburgh and dropped the series. The Heels lost game one, 7-1, and then split a Saturday doubleheader. Carolina won game two, 10-6, and dropped the finale, 7-3.
-UNC-CH was picked to win the Coastal Division, as head coach Mike Fox was named 2018 ACC Coach of the Year and the squad has a pair of returning All-ACC selections from last year. Michael Busch was named to the Second Team, and Ike Freeman garnered Third Team honors.
-The Heels swept the ACC weekly baseball honors this week. First baseman Aaron Sabato won ACC Player of the Week as he collected 12 hits, homered three times and drove in nine runs. Austin Bergner was tabbed ACC Pitcher of the Week, as he allowed two hits in eight shutout innings, walking one and striking out seven.
-The squad holds a .274 team batting average and a 4.27 earned-run average.
-Sabato is the team's top offensive threat as he leads the squad in batting average (.326) and RBI (50), and is tied for team lead in homers with 12.
-Busch is tied with Jonny Butler for the ACC lead in runs scored with 61.
-Starting pitcher Tyler Baum leads the team in strikeouts with 75.