Friday, March 26
Chapel Hill, N.C. (Boshamer Stadium)
6 PM
NC State
at
#11 North Carolina
#Pack9 Continues Road Swing At No. 11 North Carolina This Weekend
3/25/2021 1:21:00 PM | Baseball
RALEIGH – NC State baseball (5-9, 1-8 ACC) will continue its five-game road swing this weekend when it travels to Tobacco Road rival No. 11 North Carolina (13-6, 8-4 ACC) for a three-game series. This matchup will mark the Wolfpack's first road series of the year and the fourth-straight top 15 conference opponent it has faced this season.
The teams will play at 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C., and all three games will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra. There will additionally be a free audio stream on WKNC 88.1 and the TuneIn App.
STARTING PITCHERS
Friday – RHP Reid Johnston (NCSU) vs. RHP Austin Love (UNC)
Saturday – RHP Sam Highfill (NCSU) vs. RHP Max Alba (UNC)
Sunday – TBA (NCSU) vs. TBA (UNC)
LAST TIME OUT
NC State got back in the win column on Tuesday evening in its first road game of the season as it held off UNCW, 5-3, at Brooks Field.
The Wolfpack turned in a solid performance at the plate with 10 hits, led by 2-for-4 outings from Luca Tresh, Jose Torres and Vojtech Mensik, while its bullpen did not allow a run to score in the final 12 outs of the game.
Cooper King picked up his first collegiate win on the mound while Chris Villaman tallied his first career save.
SERIES HISTORY
Heading into this weekend, NC State and North Carolina have met a combined 304 times on the diamond. It is one of the oldest rivalries in the conference, as the series dates back to 1895 with UNC leading 168-135-1 in the all-time series.
The last time the teams met was on May 16-18, 2019 in Chapel Hill, N.C., and the Wolfpack won the series. NC State dropped the opener, 5-3, but battled back to outscore the Heels 22-2 in the final two games to clinch the series.
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA
The Tar Heels are coming off of a midweek win over No. 8 East Carolina and took two of three on the road last weekend against then-No. 21 Boston College.
UNC was picked to finish fifth in the Coastal Division of the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll, but currently ranks second in the division and has the fourth-best win percentage in conference action among the league.
Austin Love and Max Alba have started every weekend this season on the mound for the Heels, as Love leads the staff with a 4-0 record and Alba is 2-1 on the year. Love leads the conference with 32.0 innings pitched and ranks among the top five in the league with 38 strikeouts and a 2.24 earned-run average.
Out of the bullpen, Caden O'Brien, Connor Ollio and Nik Pry all pace the squad with two saves apiece. Meanwhile, five different pitchers have picked up a win in relief.
At the plate UNC is led by Justice Thompson who owns a .356 batting average, 26 hits, 20 runs scored and 10 stolen bases in his 11 attempts. Additionally, Danny Serretti has driven in a team-best 16 runs while nine of Caleb Roberts' 15 RBIs have been from his team-best five home runs.
ON DECK
March 30 · @ UNCG · 6 PM
The teams will play at 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C., and all three games will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra. There will additionally be a free audio stream on WKNC 88.1 and the TuneIn App.
STARTING PITCHERS
Friday – RHP Reid Johnston (NCSU) vs. RHP Austin Love (UNC)
Saturday – RHP Sam Highfill (NCSU) vs. RHP Max Alba (UNC)
Sunday – TBA (NCSU) vs. TBA (UNC)
LAST TIME OUT
NC State got back in the win column on Tuesday evening in its first road game of the season as it held off UNCW, 5-3, at Brooks Field.
The Wolfpack turned in a solid performance at the plate with 10 hits, led by 2-for-4 outings from Luca Tresh, Jose Torres and Vojtech Mensik, while its bullpen did not allow a run to score in the final 12 outs of the game.
Cooper King picked up his first collegiate win on the mound while Chris Villaman tallied his first career save.
SERIES HISTORY
Heading into this weekend, NC State and North Carolina have met a combined 304 times on the diamond. It is one of the oldest rivalries in the conference, as the series dates back to 1895 with UNC leading 168-135-1 in the all-time series.
The last time the teams met was on May 16-18, 2019 in Chapel Hill, N.C., and the Wolfpack won the series. NC State dropped the opener, 5-3, but battled back to outscore the Heels 22-2 in the final two games to clinch the series.
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA
The Tar Heels are coming off of a midweek win over No. 8 East Carolina and took two of three on the road last weekend against then-No. 21 Boston College.
UNC was picked to finish fifth in the Coastal Division of the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll, but currently ranks second in the division and has the fourth-best win percentage in conference action among the league.
Austin Love and Max Alba have started every weekend this season on the mound for the Heels, as Love leads the staff with a 4-0 record and Alba is 2-1 on the year. Love leads the conference with 32.0 innings pitched and ranks among the top five in the league with 38 strikeouts and a 2.24 earned-run average.
Out of the bullpen, Caden O'Brien, Connor Ollio and Nik Pry all pace the squad with two saves apiece. Meanwhile, five different pitchers have picked up a win in relief.
At the plate UNC is led by Justice Thompson who owns a .356 batting average, 26 hits, 20 runs scored and 10 stolen bases in his 11 attempts. Additionally, Danny Serretti has driven in a team-best 16 runs while nine of Caleb Roberts' 15 RBIs have been from his team-best five home runs.
ON DECK
March 30 · @ UNCG · 6 PM
Players Mentioned
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