Tuesday, May 23
Durham, N.C.
7 p.m.
NC State
vs
Duke
Wolfpack Opens ACC Championship Play Tuesday in Durham
5/22/2023 8:00:00 PM | Baseball
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NC State’s Pool D Game Times: 7 p.m. vs. Duke (Tuesday) | 7 p.m. vs. Miami (Thursday)
RALEIGH – The NC State baseball team (34-18, 13-16 ACC) begins postseason play Tuesday night in Durham at the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship.
The Wolfpack will open the pool play portion of the tournament on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. against fifth-seeded Duke in Durham. Held at Durham Bulls Athletic Park from May 23-28, ninth-seeded NC State will face fourth-seeded Miami (37-18, 18-12 ACC) and fifth-seeded Duke (35-19, 16-13 ACC) in Pool D.
After opening this week's tournament on Tuesday against Duke, the Pack will face Miami on Thursday night at 7 p.m. to close out pool play. Duke and Miami will square off on Friday at 3 p.m. and the team with the best record will advance to the weekend.
If the teams are tied after the completion of pool play, the team with the highest seed in the pool will advance to the semifinals on Saturday. The winner of Pool D will play the winner of Pool A on Saturday at 1 p.m. The championship game will be held on Sunday at noon on ESPN2.
ACC Network will carry the first 14 games of the tournament (Tuesday-Saturday) through the semifinals. The ACC Championship Game will be televised on ESPN2.
PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
Tuesday – RHP Matt Willadsen (NCSU) vs. RHP Aidan Weaver (Duke)
NC STATE IN THE ACC TOURNAMENT
The 2023 season marks the 13th consecutive year the Wolfpack has earned a spot in the conference tournament. Since 1980, it has only missed the tournament only once.
The Wolfpack has advanced to the ACC Baseball Championship Game the past two seasons, advancing out of pool play before notching victories in the semifinals to advance to the title game. NC State has fallen in back-to-back championship games in 2021 (1-0, Duke) and 2022 (9-5, UNC).
NC State has won five ACC Championships in program history with its last coming in 1992. All four ACC Tournament titles for the Wolfpack have come in wins over Clemson (1973-75, 1992).
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST DUKE
Ninth-seeded NC State enters Tuesday's game against fifth-seeded Duke with a 163-128-1 record against the Blue Devils. More notes from the series against Duke are listed below:
• NC State is 10-3 against Duke in the ACC Baseball Championship.
• The Wolfpack is 3-0 against the Blue Devils in ACC Tournament openers, outscoring Duke 28-7 in those three games. NC State has gone on to win the ACC Tournament all three times it's opened the tournament with a win over Duke (1973-75).
• NC State is 2-0 against Duke in the ACC Tournament in Durham (one win at Durham Athletic Park and one win at DBAP). The Wolfpack defeated Duke 10-5 on April 20, 1984, and 10-4 on May 15, 1998, in Bull City.
• The Pack did not play Duke during the spring, but NC State and the Blue Devils did meet for a pair of fall scrimmages at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. NC State won the first seven-inning scrimmage 5-0 before tying game two 3-3.
• Duke defeated NC State 1-0 in the most recent ACC Tournament matchup between the two teams, winning the 2021 title game in Charlotte.
• NC State won two games out of three at Duke's Jack Coombs Field in 2022 to earn the ACC series victory.
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST MIAMI
Ninth-seeded NC State enters Thursday's game against fourth-seeded Miami with a 22-39 record against the Hurricanes. More notes from the series against Miami are listed below:
• NC State is 6-1 against Miami in the ACC Baseball Championship.
• The Wolfpack is 2-1 against the Hurricanes in ACC Tournament games played at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. NC State posted wins in 2013 and 2015, while the Canes recorded a victory in the most recent Durham matchup in 2016.
• NC State clinched its pool this past season with a 9-6 victory over No. 5 nationally-ranked Miami in Charlotte.
• Four of the seven matchups between NC State and Miami in the ACC Championship have been decided by a single run. The Wolfpack is 3-1 in those matchups.
• Miami clinched the regular season series over the Wolfpack, snapping the Pack's 13-game winning streak to open the season. The Pack rallied in game three to avoid the road sweep, dominating the Canes 14-4 on March 12 to help head coach Elliott Avent capture career win No. 1,200.
COZART, GROOVER III EARN ALL-ACC HONORS
Jacob Cozart earned Second Team All-ACC honors after ranking second among all NC State hitters in slugging percentage (.589), doubles (13), triples (two), total bases (103), tied for second in hits (56) and third with a .320 batting average. The High Point native led all Wolfpack hitters with 25 RBI, 21 runs scored, 62 total bases and 16 extra-base hits in ACC play.
LuJames Groover III earned Third Team All-ACC honors after leading all NC State hitters with 68 hits, 108 total bases, 42 runs scored and five sacrifice flies. The third baseman also ranked second among Wolfpack batters with a .327 batting average and 34 walks and tied for second on the team with 10 home runs and 45 RBI.
FAB FRESHMEN: THREE NAMED TO ACC ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Dominic Fritton, Cannon Peebles and Eli Serrano III all were tabbed ACC All-Freshman Team honorees, tying a program high of three Wolfpack student-athletes named to the All-Freshman Team previously set in 2017.
PACK9 SWEEPS FINAL ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Starting pitcher Logan Whitaker and catcher/designated hitter Cannon Peebles swept the final ACC Player of the Week honors, as announced on Monday morning.
Whitaker, the ACC Pitcher of the Week, shined in the Pack's Thursday night win, pitching seven shutout innings while allowing just one hit with six strikeouts. Whitaker tossed a season-high 113 pitches in the stellar performance, facing the minimum three times and allowing only a bloop single with one out in the fifth inning.
Peebles, the ACC Co-Player of the Week, went 6-for-8 with two homers, eight RBI, two doubles, six runs scored and five walks. He was only put out twice the entire weekend, reaching base safely 11 times in 13 plate appearances.
FINISH STRONG
Since 2010, NC State is 9-4 in its final three-game ACC series of the regular season. The Pack has recorded four series sweeps during that stretch and is 5-2 in its final ACC regular season series since 2016.
LAST TIME ON THE DIAMOND
NC State closed out its 2023 regular season schedule with a three-game sweep of Pitt, extending its winning streak over the Panthers to 17 straight games. The Pack outscored the Panthers 32-12 over the weekend, winning each game by at least five runs apiece. The Wolfpack capped off the 2023 regular season with four home runs on Senior Day in an 8-2 victory.
STRONG MARK IN THE RPI
NC State ranks No. 26 in Monday's RPI poll. The Pack is 25-1 in games against teams ranked above No. 50 in the most recent RPI poll. NC State ranks 21st nationally in overall strength of schedule and has nine wins over teams currently inside the top 50 of the RPI. The Pack ranks seventh among ACC teams in Monday's RPI rankings and is one of eight ACC programs inside of the top 30 of the RPI rankings.
#Pack9 | @NCStateBaseball
The Wolfpack will open the pool play portion of the tournament on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. against fifth-seeded Duke in Durham. Held at Durham Bulls Athletic Park from May 23-28, ninth-seeded NC State will face fourth-seeded Miami (37-18, 18-12 ACC) and fifth-seeded Duke (35-19, 16-13 ACC) in Pool D.
After opening this week's tournament on Tuesday against Duke, the Pack will face Miami on Thursday night at 7 p.m. to close out pool play. Duke and Miami will square off on Friday at 3 p.m. and the team with the best record will advance to the weekend.
If the teams are tied after the completion of pool play, the team with the highest seed in the pool will advance to the semifinals on Saturday. The winner of Pool D will play the winner of Pool A on Saturday at 1 p.m. The championship game will be held on Sunday at noon on ESPN2.
ACC Network will carry the first 14 games of the tournament (Tuesday-Saturday) through the semifinals. The ACC Championship Game will be televised on ESPN2.
PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
Tuesday – RHP Matt Willadsen (NCSU) vs. RHP Aidan Weaver (Duke)
NC STATE IN THE ACC TOURNAMENT
The 2023 season marks the 13th consecutive year the Wolfpack has earned a spot in the conference tournament. Since 1980, it has only missed the tournament only once.
The Wolfpack has advanced to the ACC Baseball Championship Game the past two seasons, advancing out of pool play before notching victories in the semifinals to advance to the title game. NC State has fallen in back-to-back championship games in 2021 (1-0, Duke) and 2022 (9-5, UNC).
NC State has won five ACC Championships in program history with its last coming in 1992. All four ACC Tournament titles for the Wolfpack have come in wins over Clemson (1973-75, 1992).
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST DUKE
Ninth-seeded NC State enters Tuesday's game against fifth-seeded Duke with a 163-128-1 record against the Blue Devils. More notes from the series against Duke are listed below:
• NC State is 10-3 against Duke in the ACC Baseball Championship.
• The Wolfpack is 3-0 against the Blue Devils in ACC Tournament openers, outscoring Duke 28-7 in those three games. NC State has gone on to win the ACC Tournament all three times it's opened the tournament with a win over Duke (1973-75).
• NC State is 2-0 against Duke in the ACC Tournament in Durham (one win at Durham Athletic Park and one win at DBAP). The Wolfpack defeated Duke 10-5 on April 20, 1984, and 10-4 on May 15, 1998, in Bull City.
• The Pack did not play Duke during the spring, but NC State and the Blue Devils did meet for a pair of fall scrimmages at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. NC State won the first seven-inning scrimmage 5-0 before tying game two 3-3.
• Duke defeated NC State 1-0 in the most recent ACC Tournament matchup between the two teams, winning the 2021 title game in Charlotte.
• NC State won two games out of three at Duke's Jack Coombs Field in 2022 to earn the ACC series victory.
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST MIAMI
Ninth-seeded NC State enters Thursday's game against fourth-seeded Miami with a 22-39 record against the Hurricanes. More notes from the series against Miami are listed below:
• NC State is 6-1 against Miami in the ACC Baseball Championship.
• The Wolfpack is 2-1 against the Hurricanes in ACC Tournament games played at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. NC State posted wins in 2013 and 2015, while the Canes recorded a victory in the most recent Durham matchup in 2016.
• NC State clinched its pool this past season with a 9-6 victory over No. 5 nationally-ranked Miami in Charlotte.
• Four of the seven matchups between NC State and Miami in the ACC Championship have been decided by a single run. The Wolfpack is 3-1 in those matchups.
• Miami clinched the regular season series over the Wolfpack, snapping the Pack's 13-game winning streak to open the season. The Pack rallied in game three to avoid the road sweep, dominating the Canes 14-4 on March 12 to help head coach Elliott Avent capture career win No. 1,200.
COZART, GROOVER III EARN ALL-ACC HONORS
Jacob Cozart earned Second Team All-ACC honors after ranking second among all NC State hitters in slugging percentage (.589), doubles (13), triples (two), total bases (103), tied for second in hits (56) and third with a .320 batting average. The High Point native led all Wolfpack hitters with 25 RBI, 21 runs scored, 62 total bases and 16 extra-base hits in ACC play.
LuJames Groover III earned Third Team All-ACC honors after leading all NC State hitters with 68 hits, 108 total bases, 42 runs scored and five sacrifice flies. The third baseman also ranked second among Wolfpack batters with a .327 batting average and 34 walks and tied for second on the team with 10 home runs and 45 RBI.
FAB FRESHMEN: THREE NAMED TO ACC ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Dominic Fritton, Cannon Peebles and Eli Serrano III all were tabbed ACC All-Freshman Team honorees, tying a program high of three Wolfpack student-athletes named to the All-Freshman Team previously set in 2017.
PACK9 SWEEPS FINAL ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Starting pitcher Logan Whitaker and catcher/designated hitter Cannon Peebles swept the final ACC Player of the Week honors, as announced on Monday morning.
Whitaker, the ACC Pitcher of the Week, shined in the Pack's Thursday night win, pitching seven shutout innings while allowing just one hit with six strikeouts. Whitaker tossed a season-high 113 pitches in the stellar performance, facing the minimum three times and allowing only a bloop single with one out in the fifth inning.
Peebles, the ACC Co-Player of the Week, went 6-for-8 with two homers, eight RBI, two doubles, six runs scored and five walks. He was only put out twice the entire weekend, reaching base safely 11 times in 13 plate appearances.
FINISH STRONG
Since 2010, NC State is 9-4 in its final three-game ACC series of the regular season. The Pack has recorded four series sweeps during that stretch and is 5-2 in its final ACC regular season series since 2016.
LAST TIME ON THE DIAMOND
NC State closed out its 2023 regular season schedule with a three-game sweep of Pitt, extending its winning streak over the Panthers to 17 straight games. The Pack outscored the Panthers 32-12 over the weekend, winning each game by at least five runs apiece. The Wolfpack capped off the 2023 regular season with four home runs on Senior Day in an 8-2 victory.
STRONG MARK IN THE RPI
NC State ranks No. 26 in Monday's RPI poll. The Pack is 25-1 in games against teams ranked above No. 50 in the most recent RPI poll. NC State ranks 21st nationally in overall strength of schedule and has nine wins over teams currently inside the top 50 of the RPI. The Pack ranks seventh among ACC teams in Monday's RPI rankings and is one of eight ACC programs inside of the top 30 of the RPI rankings.
#Pack9 | @NCStateBaseball
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