#Pack9 Opens Homestand Against UNCW on Tuesday

RALEIGH – The NC State baseball team opens a stretch of 12 of its next 13 games at home on Tuesday night against UNCW. Tuesday night's matchup at Doak Field at Dail Park is set for 6 p.m. and will be broadcasted live on ACC Network Extra.

A free audio stream will be available on the Varsity Network App for Tuesday's game with Tony Haynes on the call. The midweek matchup will also be available on the radio on WKNC 88.1.

NC State (20-11, 5-9 ACC) holds a 76-20 all-time record against UNCW (19-11, 10-4 CAA).

PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
Tuesday – RHP Baker Nelson (NCSU) vs. RHP Ryan Calvert (UNCW)

THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST UNCW
NC State holds a 76-20 all-time advantage in the series against UNC Wilmington. Other notes on this week's midweek matchup against the Seahawks:

• On March 21, NC State recorded an 11-8 victory in 10 innings in its first matchup against UNCW in 2023. The Pack scored three runs in the top of the 10th before Justin Lawson struck out three Seahawks in the bottom half of the inning to seal the midweek victory. The game time (4:10) remains the longest for NC State so far this season.
• The Pack and Seahawks first met back in 1971 when NC State posted a 3-1 victory under head coach Sam Esposito.
• The two teams met twice in 2022. NC State earned a 7-6 victory over UNCW on April 12 as the Pack scored five unanswered runs, including three in the bottom of the ninth, to secure the midweek triumph. Josh Hood lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score LuJames Groover III for the winning run in the comeback win.
• UNCW avenged its defeat to the Wolfpack later in the season on May 10, defeating NC State 13-11 in Wilmington.
• UNCW's win over NC State on May 10 snapped the Pack's nine-game winning streak over the Seahawks in the series.

LAST TIME ON THE DIAMOND
NC State dropped both games of Sunday's doubleheader at No. 2 Wake Forest. The Wolfpack held a narrow lead or was tied in the seventh inning in both contests before Wake Forest scored three runs right after the seventh-inning stretch to jump into the lead for good. Chase Nixon belted a go-ahead three-run homer in the fifth inning of game one, giving the Pack a 4-3 lead. The Demon Deacons, however, rallied a few innings later to take a 6-4 advantage. NC State brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the ninth, but it was unable to get any closer in the 6-4 defeat. In game two, the Pack roared back from a 3-0 deficit with a three-spot in the top of the fifth to tie the score at 3-3. Wake Forest scored all three of its decisive runs with two outs in the seventh, scoring two on a dropped infield pop-up that would have ended the inning. LuJames Groover III raised his average 22 points with a 5-for-8 day at the plate against the nation's top pitching staff.

SCOUTING UNCW
UNCW (19-11, 10-4 CAA) played just two games this past week, splitting a Sunday doubleheader at Elon with a 7-6 comeback victory in game two. UNCW won its first four CAA series before splitting a pair of games against Elon this past weekend, defeating Monmouth, Towson, Stony Brook and North Carolina A&T in series in league action. Offensively, the Seahawks rank 25th nationally with a .311 batting average and 40th nationally with a slugging percentage of .505. UNCW's most impressive wins of the season have come against then No. 11 & No. 8 East Carolina, sweeping the midweek series against the Pirates this season. The Diamond Hawks were picked to finish second in the CAA during the preseason, trailing only College of Charleston in the CAA Preseason Poll.

STRONG MARK IN THE RPI
NC State ranks No. 9 in Monday's RPI poll. Since the first RPI poll released on March 6, the Wolfpack has been as high as No. 1 and has not fallen lower than No. 15 in the RPI rankings. The Pack's strength of schedule ranks second in the country, playing 16 of its 31 games this season against teams currently ranked in the RPI Top 25. NC State is also a perfect 14-0 against opponents with a current RPI ranking below No. 50 (51-100+). The Wolfpack looks to keep its unbeaten streak going against teams No. 50 or lower against UNCW (No. 76) and Florida State (No. 60) this week at The Doak.

COZART NAMED TO GOLDEN SPIKES MIDSEASON WATCH LIST
Sophomore catcher Jacob Cozart was named to USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List on Wednesday. He is one of just 45 student-athletes featured on the list and is one of 24 players to play their way onto the watch list since the announcement of the Preseason Watch List on Feb. 10. In conference play, Cozart leads all NC State batters in batting average (.383), doubles (six), slugging percentage (.702), RBI (11) and total bases (33). He is also just the eighth NC State player since 2012 to be named to the Midseason Watch List.

PUTTING UP CROOKED NUMBERS
The Wolfpack offense has scored runs in bunches this season, posting 68 multi-run innings through just 31 games (2.19 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 15-1 record when scoring first this season. The Pack has scored in the first inning 12 times and has scored in either the first or second inning 17 times in 2023.

PROMOTION: FEED THE PACK
Feed the Pack will be hosting a food drive at Tuesday's game to help fight food insecurity on campus for NC State students. Fans can bring nonperishable food items to the main gate to help a student in need through the fourth inning of Tuesday's game against UNCW.

#Pack9 | @NCStateBaseball

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Players Mentioned

Jacob Cozart

LuJames Groover III

Josh Hood

Justin Lawson

Baker Nelson

Chase Nixon