Friday, March 24
Chestnut Hill, Mass.
4 p.m.
NC State
at
Boston College
Photo by: Jaylynn Nash
Wolfpack Travels to Boston College for Weekend ACC Series
3/23/2023 2:45:00 PM | Baseball
Weekend Game Times: 4 p.m. (Friday) | 2 p.m. (Saturday) | 1 p.m. (Sunday)
RALEIGH – The NC State baseball team travels to Chestnut Hill for an ACC weekend series at No. 16 Boston College (15-4, 4-2 ACC). This weekend's series at Harrington Athletics Village will run Friday through Sunday with first pitch times scheduled for 4 p.m., 2 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.
All three games at Boston College will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra. A free audio stream will be available on the Varsity Network App for all three games with Andrew Sanders on the call. All three games will also be available on the radio on WKNC 88.1.
NC State (16-5, 2-4 ACC) holds a 33-16 advantage in the all-time series against the Eagles.
PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
Friday – RHP Logan Whitaker (NCSU) vs. RHP Henry Leake (Boston College)
Saturday – RHP Matt Willadsen (NCSU) vs. RHP Chris Flynn (Boston College)
Sunday – LHP Dominic Fritton (NCSU) vs. TBD (Boston College)
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST BOSTON COLLEGE
NC State travels to Boston College this weekend for the first time since 2021. The Wolfpack holds a 33-16 advantage in the all-time series against the Eagles. Other notes on this weekend's matchup at Harrington Athletics Village:
• The programs first met in 2003 at Doak Field with the Wolfpack earning a 4-3 victory.
• In 2006, once Boston College joined the ACC, the two teams faced each other for the first ACC weekend series of the season. NC State swept the Eagles in the three-game series in Raleigh.
• In 2021, the teams met in Newton, Massachusetts (April 9-11). The Wolfpack swept the Eagles in the three-game series, outscoring Boston College 32-9 in the series.
• The teams last faced each other at Doak Field in 2022 (April 14-15). The Wolfpack swept the Eagles in the three-game series, walking off Boston College twice for the 3-0 weekend.
• The last time NC State lost the series against the Eagles was in 2017 (April 22-23) after Boston College won all three matchups.
• NC State has won six straight games against Boston College with its last loss coming on April 7, 2019, at Harrington Athletics Village. NC State has won eight of its last 10 and 11 of its last 13 games against Boston College.
LAST TIME ON THE DIAMOND
For the first time this season, NC State entered extra innings in its Tuesday night matchup at UNCW. The Pack outlasted the Seahawks 11-8 in 10 innings, moving to 14-1 in nonconference play in its longest game (4:10) of the 2023 season. The 10-inning contest marked the Pack's first extra-inning matchup against UNCW since 2008, and NC State used three runs in the top of the ninth inning to pull away from UNCW for good. After a throwing error allowed the go-ahead run to score, Jacob Cozart and Payton Green smacked back-to-back two-out RBI singles to stretch the lead to 11-8. Justin Lawson struck out three Seahawks in the bottom of the 10th to seal the victory.
SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE
Boston College (15-4, 4-2 ACC) has had a hot start to its 2023 campaign, winning all four of its weekend series to open the season. The Eagles have also impressed in midweek action, earning a 7-6 victory in Knoxville over then-No. 2 Tennessee. Despite dropping the opening game of each of its first two ACC weekend series, the Eagles responded with back-to-back wins to clinch road series wins at Virginia Tech and Florida State. Boston College is 1-1 this week after playing a pair of local midweek matchups against Northeastern (L, 6-2) and Sacred Heart (W, 8-7). This weekend's series at Harrington Athletics Village will mark Boston College's first home weekend series of the season. At the plate, Barry Walsh leads the Eagles with a .359 batting average and 23 total hits. Joe Vetrano and Cameron Leary pace Boston College with six homers apiece. On the mound, Chris Flynn holds a perfect 5-0 record with a 0.91 ERA. Flynn was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week this past week after tossing a BC career-high seven innings while striking out nine batters with just one walk.
PUTTING UP CROOKED NUMBERS
The Wolfpack offense has scored runs in bunches this season, posting 54 multi-run innings through just 21 games (2.57 per game). NC State's single-game high for runs scored in one inning was seven runs in the bottom of the seventh against Radford. NC State's single-game high for the number of multi-run innings is five, scoring multiple runs in a game five times in three different matchups.
STELLAR STARTERS
NC State starting pitchers exceled in this past weekend's series against Virginia, combining to pitch 18 innings while allowing just 10 hits and four runs (just two earned). Wolfpack starting pitchers struck out 19 batters and allowed just five walks throughout the weekend. No NC State starting pitcher allowed more than four hits in their respective outings against a talented Cavaliers' lineup.
WINNING ON SUNDAY (AND A SATURDAY, TOO)
An often mentioned adage said during postgame baseball press conferences stresses the importance of "winning on Sunday" in weekend series. After Saturday's comeback over Virginia in the series finale, NC State improved to 5-0 in weekend series finales this season. The Pack is 4-0 on Sunday this season and 1-0 on series finales played on Saturday.
HOMECOMING FOR THE NIXON FAMILY
NC State sophomore outfielder Chase Nixon is returning to his birthplace this weekend. Nixon's father, Trot Nixon, was an outfielder for the Boston Red Sox from 1996 to 2006, batting .278 with 133 home runs, 523 RBI and 204 doubles during his 10-year Red Sox career.
COMEBACK PACK
NC State has trailed after the second inning in just nine games this season. The Wolfpack has rallied to win five of those games, twice with multi-run team at-bats in the seventh inning, twice behind two-RBI walk-off hits in the bottom of the ninth inning and once with three runs in the top of the 10th inning. The Pack has recorded its last two wins in home series finales in comeback, walk-off fashion when Payton Green hit a two-run homer on March 5 to flip a 5-4 deficit into a 6-5 win against NJIT and then Cannon Peebles hit a two-RBI single up the middle to flip a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 win over No. 14 Virginia on Saturday.
#Pack9 | @NCStateBaseball
All three games at Boston College will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra. A free audio stream will be available on the Varsity Network App for all three games with Andrew Sanders on the call. All three games will also be available on the radio on WKNC 88.1.
NC State (16-5, 2-4 ACC) holds a 33-16 advantage in the all-time series against the Eagles.
PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
Friday – RHP Logan Whitaker (NCSU) vs. RHP Henry Leake (Boston College)
Saturday – RHP Matt Willadsen (NCSU) vs. RHP Chris Flynn (Boston College)
Sunday – LHP Dominic Fritton (NCSU) vs. TBD (Boston College)
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST BOSTON COLLEGE
NC State travels to Boston College this weekend for the first time since 2021. The Wolfpack holds a 33-16 advantage in the all-time series against the Eagles. Other notes on this weekend's matchup at Harrington Athletics Village:
• The programs first met in 2003 at Doak Field with the Wolfpack earning a 4-3 victory.
• In 2006, once Boston College joined the ACC, the two teams faced each other for the first ACC weekend series of the season. NC State swept the Eagles in the three-game series in Raleigh.
• In 2021, the teams met in Newton, Massachusetts (April 9-11). The Wolfpack swept the Eagles in the three-game series, outscoring Boston College 32-9 in the series.
• The teams last faced each other at Doak Field in 2022 (April 14-15). The Wolfpack swept the Eagles in the three-game series, walking off Boston College twice for the 3-0 weekend.
• The last time NC State lost the series against the Eagles was in 2017 (April 22-23) after Boston College won all three matchups.
• NC State has won six straight games against Boston College with its last loss coming on April 7, 2019, at Harrington Athletics Village. NC State has won eight of its last 10 and 11 of its last 13 games against Boston College.
LAST TIME ON THE DIAMOND
For the first time this season, NC State entered extra innings in its Tuesday night matchup at UNCW. The Pack outlasted the Seahawks 11-8 in 10 innings, moving to 14-1 in nonconference play in its longest game (4:10) of the 2023 season. The 10-inning contest marked the Pack's first extra-inning matchup against UNCW since 2008, and NC State used three runs in the top of the ninth inning to pull away from UNCW for good. After a throwing error allowed the go-ahead run to score, Jacob Cozart and Payton Green smacked back-to-back two-out RBI singles to stretch the lead to 11-8. Justin Lawson struck out three Seahawks in the bottom of the 10th to seal the victory.
SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE
Boston College (15-4, 4-2 ACC) has had a hot start to its 2023 campaign, winning all four of its weekend series to open the season. The Eagles have also impressed in midweek action, earning a 7-6 victory in Knoxville over then-No. 2 Tennessee. Despite dropping the opening game of each of its first two ACC weekend series, the Eagles responded with back-to-back wins to clinch road series wins at Virginia Tech and Florida State. Boston College is 1-1 this week after playing a pair of local midweek matchups against Northeastern (L, 6-2) and Sacred Heart (W, 8-7). This weekend's series at Harrington Athletics Village will mark Boston College's first home weekend series of the season. At the plate, Barry Walsh leads the Eagles with a .359 batting average and 23 total hits. Joe Vetrano and Cameron Leary pace Boston College with six homers apiece. On the mound, Chris Flynn holds a perfect 5-0 record with a 0.91 ERA. Flynn was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week this past week after tossing a BC career-high seven innings while striking out nine batters with just one walk.
PUTTING UP CROOKED NUMBERS
The Wolfpack offense has scored runs in bunches this season, posting 54 multi-run innings through just 21 games (2.57 per game). NC State's single-game high for runs scored in one inning was seven runs in the bottom of the seventh against Radford. NC State's single-game high for the number of multi-run innings is five, scoring multiple runs in a game five times in three different matchups.
STELLAR STARTERS
NC State starting pitchers exceled in this past weekend's series against Virginia, combining to pitch 18 innings while allowing just 10 hits and four runs (just two earned). Wolfpack starting pitchers struck out 19 batters and allowed just five walks throughout the weekend. No NC State starting pitcher allowed more than four hits in their respective outings against a talented Cavaliers' lineup.
WINNING ON SUNDAY (AND A SATURDAY, TOO)
An often mentioned adage said during postgame baseball press conferences stresses the importance of "winning on Sunday" in weekend series. After Saturday's comeback over Virginia in the series finale, NC State improved to 5-0 in weekend series finales this season. The Pack is 4-0 on Sunday this season and 1-0 on series finales played on Saturday.
HOMECOMING FOR THE NIXON FAMILY
NC State sophomore outfielder Chase Nixon is returning to his birthplace this weekend. Nixon's father, Trot Nixon, was an outfielder for the Boston Red Sox from 1996 to 2006, batting .278 with 133 home runs, 523 RBI and 204 doubles during his 10-year Red Sox career.
COMEBACK PACK
NC State has trailed after the second inning in just nine games this season. The Wolfpack has rallied to win five of those games, twice with multi-run team at-bats in the seventh inning, twice behind two-RBI walk-off hits in the bottom of the ninth inning and once with three runs in the top of the 10th inning. The Pack has recorded its last two wins in home series finales in comeback, walk-off fashion when Payton Green hit a two-run homer on March 5 to flip a 5-4 deficit into a 6-5 win against NJIT and then Cannon Peebles hit a two-RBI single up the middle to flip a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 win over No. 14 Virginia on Saturday.
#Pack9 | @NCStateBaseball
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