Friday, March 31
Raleigh, N.C.
6 p.m.
NC State
vs
Louisville
Photo by: Mollie Mitchell
#Pack9 Hosts No. 11 Louisville This Weekend at The Doak
3/30/2023 4:00:00 PM | Baseball
Weekend Game Times: 6 p.m. (Friday) | 6 p.m. (Saturday) | Noon (Sunday)
RALEIGH – The NC State baseball team hosts No. 11 Louisville for its second home ACC series of the 2023 season. This weekend's series at Doak Field at Dail Park will run Friday through Sunday with first pitch times scheduled for 6 p.m., 6 p.m. and noon, respectively.
Friday's game will stream live on ACC Network Extra, while Saturday and Sunday's games will both be on national television. The Pack's game on Saturday will be televised on ACC Network, while Sunday's matchup will be televised on ESPNews.
A free audio stream will be available on the Varsity Network App for all three games with Tony Haynes on the call. All three games will also be available on the radio on WKNC 88.1.
NC State (18-7, 3-6 ACC) is 5-17 all-time against the Cardinals in 22 previous matchups.
PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
Friday – RHP Logan Whitaker (NCSU) vs. RHP Ryan Hawks (Louisville)
Saturday – RHP Matt Willadsen (NCSU) vs. LHP Greg Farone (Louisville)
Sunday – LHP Dominic Fritton (NCSU) vs. RHP Carson Liggett (Louisville)
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST LOUISVILLE
For the first time since 2021, NC State will host Louisville at Doak Field at Dail Park. Louisville holds a 17-5 advantage in the all-time series history against the Pack. Other notes on this weekend's matchup at The Doak:
• NC State and Louisville last met on April 22-24 at Jim Patterson Park with the Cardinals taking the series 2-1 with wins on Friday and Sunday. The Wolfpack notched a 15-10 comeback win in game two of the series, scoring six runs in the final two innings to even the series.
• NC State outhit Louisville in games one and two on the weekend for a totla of 37 hits on the weekend.
• The Wolfpack's most recent series victory over Louisville came in 2018 when NC State took two games out of three on the road, posting wins on Saturday and Sunday to return to Raleigh with a pair of wins over the No. 11 Cardinals. NC State scored first in both wins, recording a 9-6 victory on Saturday and a 10-3 triumph on Sunday.
• In 2022, the Pack tallied 11 home runs in the series from seven different players.
LAST TIME ON THE DIAMOND
The NC State pitching staff headlined the Pack's 6-2 win over UNCG on Tuesday. After allowing 13 hits in its 15-13 win over the Spartans earlier this year on March 7, the Wolfpack pitching staff shut down the Spartans' offense by allowing just six hits and two runs (both unearned). Overall, NC State pitchers combined to tally 13 strikeouts while allowing just two walks. Rio Britton earned his first pitching victory in an NC State uniform and Eli Serrano III and Chase Nixon recorded a pair of RBI apiece in the the midweek victory.
PUTTING UP CROOKED NUMBERS
The Wolfpack offense has scored runs in bunches this season, posting 60 multi-run innings through just 25 games (2.40 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.
STRIKE FIRST, STRIKE HARD, NO MERCY
NC State holds a 13-1 record when scoring first this season. The Pack has scored in the first inning 10 times and has scored in either the first or second inning 14 times in 2023.
COZART ON A ROLL
Sophomore catcher Jacob Cozart has been on fire in ACC play, batting a team-high .556 while pacing all Wolfpack hitters in hits (15), doubles (five), RBI (nine), total bases (26) and on-base percentage (.639). Cozart leads all ACC batters with his .556 batting average and .639 on-base percentage. He also is tied for first with five doubles, second alone with a 963 slugging percentage and tied for sixth in league play with nine RBI. Cozart has hit safely in 10 straight contests and reached base in 16 straight games. He has recorded eight multi-hit games during his current 10-game hitting streak.
SCOUTING LOUISVILLE
Louisville (20-4, 3-3 ACC) has dominated in nonconference play in 2023, sporting a 17-1 record against nonconference opponents this season. The Cardinals captured the 2023 Shriners Children's College Classic title with three straight wins in Houston, defeating then-No. 12 Texas A&M 14-5, then-No. 10 TCU 3-2 and Michigan 10-0 in seven innings to complete the sweep in Texas. In ACC action, Louisville earned a series win to open conference play on March 17-19, winning game three 9-3 over Georgia Tech to seal the series victory. Louisville dropped its first series of the season this past weekend at Notre Dame, avoiding the sweep after posting a 2-1 win in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader. All three games in the series against the Fighting Irish were decided by just a single run. The Cardinals ranked first in the Atlantic Division with 89 total points in the 2023 ACC Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll. Louisville also tied Wake Forest with six first-place votes for the overall ACC regular-season champion.
Junior Jack Payton leads Louisville with a .416 batting average, seven doubles, 23 RBI, 64 total bases and a .719 slugging percentage. The Cardinals rank second in the ACC with 46 stolen bases, highlighted by Christian Knapczyk's team-high 14 swipes. Louisville baserunners, however, have been caught stealing 18 times on 64 attempts this season. On the mound, starter Carson Liggett holds a 5-0 record in six starts, posting a 1.76 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP in 30.2 innings pitched.
STARTER STREAKS
NC State has had three players compete in all 25 games so far this season — Kalae Harrison, Payton Green and LuJames Groover III. Green holds the longest current active streak of consecutive games played for the Pack with 82, starting all 57 of his games as a freshman in 2022 before making the first 25 starts so far this season. Groover III has made 36 straight starts dating back to 2022 and has started 80 of his 82 games at NC State.
COMEBACK PACK
The Wolfpack has rallied to win five times after going behind first, once with five runs in the sixth inning, twice with multi-run team at-bats in the seventh inning and twice behind two-RBI walk-off hits in the bottom of the ninth 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 March 18.
PACK PROS
Four former members of the #Pack9 competed in the MLB in 2022 — Trea Turner (Los Angeles Dodgers), Carlos Rodon (San Francisco Giants), Andrew Knizner (St. Louis Cardinals) and Joe Dunand (Miami Marlins). Two competed in the 2022 MLB Postseason with Knizner's Cardinals and Turner's Dodgers each reaching the playoffs out of the National League. In 2023, Turner (Phillies) and Rodon (Yankees) will open the season with new teams while Knizner will begin another season with the Cardinals.
#Pack9 | @NCStateBaseball
Friday's game will stream live on ACC Network Extra, while Saturday and Sunday's games will both be on national television. The Pack's game on Saturday will be televised on ACC Network, while Sunday's matchup will be televised on ESPNews.
A free audio stream will be available on the Varsity Network App for all three games with Tony Haynes on the call. All three games will also be available on the radio on WKNC 88.1.
NC State (18-7, 3-6 ACC) is 5-17 all-time against the Cardinals in 22 previous matchups.
PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
Friday – RHP Logan Whitaker (NCSU) vs. RHP Ryan Hawks (Louisville)
Saturday – RHP Matt Willadsen (NCSU) vs. LHP Greg Farone (Louisville)
Sunday – LHP Dominic Fritton (NCSU) vs. RHP Carson Liggett (Louisville)
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST LOUISVILLE
For the first time since 2021, NC State will host Louisville at Doak Field at Dail Park. Louisville holds a 17-5 advantage in the all-time series history against the Pack. Other notes on this weekend's matchup at The Doak:
• NC State and Louisville last met on April 22-24 at Jim Patterson Park with the Cardinals taking the series 2-1 with wins on Friday and Sunday. The Wolfpack notched a 15-10 comeback win in game two of the series, scoring six runs in the final two innings to even the series.
• NC State outhit Louisville in games one and two on the weekend for a totla of 37 hits on the weekend.
• The Wolfpack's most recent series victory over Louisville came in 2018 when NC State took two games out of three on the road, posting wins on Saturday and Sunday to return to Raleigh with a pair of wins over the No. 11 Cardinals. NC State scored first in both wins, recording a 9-6 victory on Saturday and a 10-3 triumph on Sunday.
• In 2022, the Pack tallied 11 home runs in the series from seven different players.
LAST TIME ON THE DIAMOND
The NC State pitching staff headlined the Pack's 6-2 win over UNCG on Tuesday. After allowing 13 hits in its 15-13 win over the Spartans earlier this year on March 7, the Wolfpack pitching staff shut down the Spartans' offense by allowing just six hits and two runs (both unearned). Overall, NC State pitchers combined to tally 13 strikeouts while allowing just two walks. Rio Britton earned his first pitching victory in an NC State uniform and Eli Serrano III and Chase Nixon recorded a pair of RBI apiece in the the midweek victory.
PUTTING UP CROOKED NUMBERS
The Wolfpack offense has scored runs in bunches this season, posting 60 multi-run innings through just 25 games (2.40 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.
STRIKE FIRST, STRIKE HARD, NO MERCY
NC State holds a 13-1 record when scoring first this season. The Pack has scored in the first inning 10 times and has scored in either the first or second inning 14 times in 2023.
COZART ON A ROLL
Sophomore catcher Jacob Cozart has been on fire in ACC play, batting a team-high .556 while pacing all Wolfpack hitters in hits (15), doubles (five), RBI (nine), total bases (26) and on-base percentage (.639). Cozart leads all ACC batters with his .556 batting average and .639 on-base percentage. He also is tied for first with five doubles, second alone with a 963 slugging percentage and tied for sixth in league play with nine RBI. Cozart has hit safely in 10 straight contests and reached base in 16 straight games. He has recorded eight multi-hit games during his current 10-game hitting streak.
SCOUTING LOUISVILLE
Louisville (20-4, 3-3 ACC) has dominated in nonconference play in 2023, sporting a 17-1 record against nonconference opponents this season. The Cardinals captured the 2023 Shriners Children's College Classic title with three straight wins in Houston, defeating then-No. 12 Texas A&M 14-5, then-No. 10 TCU 3-2 and Michigan 10-0 in seven innings to complete the sweep in Texas. In ACC action, Louisville earned a series win to open conference play on March 17-19, winning game three 9-3 over Georgia Tech to seal the series victory. Louisville dropped its first series of the season this past weekend at Notre Dame, avoiding the sweep after posting a 2-1 win in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader. All three games in the series against the Fighting Irish were decided by just a single run. The Cardinals ranked first in the Atlantic Division with 89 total points in the 2023 ACC Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll. Louisville also tied Wake Forest with six first-place votes for the overall ACC regular-season champion.
Junior Jack Payton leads Louisville with a .416 batting average, seven doubles, 23 RBI, 64 total bases and a .719 slugging percentage. The Cardinals rank second in the ACC with 46 stolen bases, highlighted by Christian Knapczyk's team-high 14 swipes. Louisville baserunners, however, have been caught stealing 18 times on 64 attempts this season. On the mound, starter Carson Liggett holds a 5-0 record in six starts, posting a 1.76 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP in 30.2 innings pitched.
STARTER STREAKS
NC State has had three players compete in all 25 games so far this season — Kalae Harrison, Payton Green and LuJames Groover III. Green holds the longest current active streak of consecutive games played for the Pack with 82, starting all 57 of his games as a freshman in 2022 before making the first 25 starts so far this season. Groover III has made 36 straight starts dating back to 2022 and has started 80 of his 82 games at NC State.
COMEBACK PACK
The Wolfpack has rallied to win five times after going behind first, once with five runs in the sixth inning, twice with multi-run team at-bats in the seventh inning and twice behind two-RBI walk-off hits in the bottom of the ninth 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 March 18.
PACK PROS
Four former members of the #Pack9 competed in the MLB in 2022 — Trea Turner (Los Angeles Dodgers), Carlos Rodon (San Francisco Giants), Andrew Knizner (St. Louis Cardinals) and Joe Dunand (Miami Marlins). Two competed in the 2022 MLB Postseason with Knizner's Cardinals and Turner's Dodgers each reaching the playoffs out of the National League. In 2023, Turner (Phillies) and Rodon (Yankees) will open the season with new teams while Knizner will begin another season with the Cardinals.
#Pack9 | @NCStateBaseball
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