Thursday, May 4
South Bend, Ind.
7 p.m.
NC State
at
Notre Dame
Photo by: Mollie Mitchell
#Pack9 Travels to South Bend for ACC Series at Notre Dame
5/3/2023 4:43:00 PM | Baseball
7 p.m. (Thursday); 5 p.m. (Friday); 2 p.m. (Saturday)
RALEIGH – The NC State baseball team carries a four-game winning streak into this weekend's road ACC series at Notre Dame. This weekend's series in South Bend, Indiana, will run Thursday through Saturday with first pitch times scheduled for 7 p.m., 5 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
Thursday night's game will be televised on ACC Network. Friday and Saturday's games 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 WKNC 88.1.
NC State (29-14, 8-12 ACC) holds a 13-12 advantage in the all-time series against Notre Dame (25-17, 13-11 ACC).
PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
Thursday – RHP Logan Whitaker (NCSU) vs. LHP Aidan Tyrell (Notre Dame)
Friday – RHP Matt Willadsen (NCSU) vs. RHP Blake Hely (Notre Dame)
Saturday – TBD (NCSU) vs. TBD (Notre Dame)
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST NOTRE DAME
NC State enters this weekend's series against Notre Dame with a 13-12 record against the Fighting Irish. More notes from the series against Notre Dame are listed below:
• NC State's last series win against Notre Dame came from April 13-14, 2018, in Raleigh, sweeping a doubleheader on April 14 to record the series victory. The Pack outscored Notre Dame 25-7 in the doubleheader sweep.
• Notre Dame won both games against NC State this past season, winning 8-4 in 12 innings in game one before posting an 11-4 win in game two.
• NC State's most recent win in the series came in game two of a three-game series in South Bend in 2021. Sam Highfill and Evan Justice shut down the Fighting Irish in the 5-2 victory, allowing a combined five hits. Jose Torres led the Pack with two RBI.
• NC State will look to record its first-ever series victory at Notre Dame this weekend. The Pack has taken one game out of three in each of its prior four three-game series in South Bend.
LAST TIME ON THE DIAMOND
NC State smacked four home runs to record a 6-5 comeback victory over NC A&T on Tuesday. LuJames Groover III delivered the solo walk-off homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to break a 5-5 tie. On the mound, Dominic Fritton earned the win after escaping a bases-loaded with nobody out situation in the top of the ninth. Fritton struck out all three batters he faced to keep the game tied heading to the final frame. Trevor Candelaria hit two of the Pack's four homers on the afternoon, recording his second multi-home run game this season.
STRONG MARK IN THE RPI
NC State ranks No. 24 in Wednesday's RPI poll. The Pack is 22-1 in games against teams ranked above No. 50 in the most recent RPI poll. NC State ranks 25th nationally in overall strength of schedule. Thursday's series opener at Notre Dame (No. 43) will mark the Pack's sixth game against a team currently between No. 26-50 in Wednesday's RPI poll. The Pack is 3-2 against that quadrant this season.
GINO'S IN A GROOVE
Junior LuJames Groover III had a breakout season for the Pack in 2022, making 55 starts and 57 total appearances in his first season in Raleigh. Groover III led NC State with a .364 batting average, 86 hits, 16 doubles and a .440 on-base percentage this past season. The junior tallied at least one hit in 48 of the Pack's 57 games this past season, reaching base safely in 50 contests. Since April 9, Groover III has caught fire, raising his average over 50 points to .341. The third baseman has hit safely in 15 of his past 16 games and has reached base in 29 straight contests. Groover III's hot streak resulted in the junior winning ACC Player of the Week honors and Perfect Game National Player of the Week honors on April 17.
WALK-OFF WARRIORS
Coming up clutch. Tuesday's walk-off home run from LuJames Groover III marked NC State's fifth walk-off win of the season, two of which have come via the long ball. The Pack has recorded walk-off wins at The Doak over NJIT, Virginia, Louisville, Florida State and NC A&T.
After Payton Green delivered the Pack's first walk-off victory of the year with a two-run home run to opposite field in a 6-5 win over NJIT on March 5, Cannon Peebles delivered another two-RBI game-winning hit in March 18's 5-4 comeback win over No. 14 Virginia at The Doak. The Pack erased a two-run deficit with three runs in the bottom of the ninth when Peebles singled up the middle to score Kalae Harrison from third and Michael Gupton from second base. NC State recorded its third walk-off win of the season on March 31 at Doak Field, erasing a two-run deficit to defeat No. 11 Louisville 6-5. LuJames Groover III delivered a two-RBI single with the bases loaded to post the walk-off victory. Groover III then was directly involved in the Pack's fourth walk-off win of the year, scoring the game-winning run when pinch hitter Dominic Pilolli delivered an RBI single off the wall in center field to lift NC State to a 5-4 win over Florida State.
COMEBACK PACK
The Wolfpack has rallied to win nine times after going behind first, including back-to-back comeback wins to open its series sweep of Florida State. The Pack has recorded 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. NC State completed its ninth comeback of the year Tuesday against NC A&T, erasing a three-run deficit to win 6-5.
SCOUTING NOTRE DAME
Notre Dame (25-17, 13-11 ACC) enters the weekend winning three of its past four ACC series. The Fighting Irish is 5-1 in its past six league games played at Frank Eck Stadium, completing a three-game sweep of Virginia from April 21-23 before taking two games out of three against Florida State this past weekend. Despite ranking last in the league in batting average (.247) and doubles (60), Notre Dame ranks first in the league with 23 sacrifice bunts. On the mound, the Fighting Irish pitching staff ranks fifth in the ACC in WHIP (1.33) and sixth in the league in walks per nine innings (3.79). In ACC play, Vinny Martinez leads Notre Dame in on-base percentage (.451), slugging percentage (.759) and RBI (22). Aidan Tyrell (5-1) has five pitching victories over eight appearances (two starts) in league play.
POWER SURGE
NC State ranks tied for 34th nationally with 72 home runs on the season. The Wolfpack has slugged multiple homers in 21 of its 43 games this season, hitting three or more home runs in 12 of its 43 games in 2023.
#Pack9 | @NCStateBaseball
Thursday night's game will be televised on ACC Network. Friday and Saturday's games 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 WKNC 88.1.
NC State (29-14, 8-12 ACC) holds a 13-12 advantage in the all-time series against Notre Dame (25-17, 13-11 ACC).
PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
Thursday – RHP Logan Whitaker (NCSU) vs. LHP Aidan Tyrell (Notre Dame)
Friday – RHP Matt Willadsen (NCSU) vs. RHP Blake Hely (Notre Dame)
Saturday – TBD (NCSU) vs. TBD (Notre Dame)
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST NOTRE DAME
NC State enters this weekend's series against Notre Dame with a 13-12 record against the Fighting Irish. More notes from the series against Notre Dame are listed below:
• NC State's last series win against Notre Dame came from April 13-14, 2018, in Raleigh, sweeping a doubleheader on April 14 to record the series victory. The Pack outscored Notre Dame 25-7 in the doubleheader sweep.
• Notre Dame won both games against NC State this past season, winning 8-4 in 12 innings in game one before posting an 11-4 win in game two.
• NC State's most recent win in the series came in game two of a three-game series in South Bend in 2021. Sam Highfill and Evan Justice shut down the Fighting Irish in the 5-2 victory, allowing a combined five hits. Jose Torres led the Pack with two RBI.
• NC State will look to record its first-ever series victory at Notre Dame this weekend. The Pack has taken one game out of three in each of its prior four three-game series in South Bend.
LAST TIME ON THE DIAMOND
NC State smacked four home runs to record a 6-5 comeback victory over NC A&T on Tuesday. LuJames Groover III delivered the solo walk-off homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to break a 5-5 tie. On the mound, Dominic Fritton earned the win after escaping a bases-loaded with nobody out situation in the top of the ninth. Fritton struck out all three batters he faced to keep the game tied heading to the final frame. Trevor Candelaria hit two of the Pack's four homers on the afternoon, recording his second multi-home run game this season.
STRONG MARK IN THE RPI
NC State ranks No. 24 in Wednesday's RPI poll. The Pack is 22-1 in games against teams ranked above No. 50 in the most recent RPI poll. NC State ranks 25th nationally in overall strength of schedule. Thursday's series opener at Notre Dame (No. 43) will mark the Pack's sixth game against a team currently between No. 26-50 in Wednesday's RPI poll. The Pack is 3-2 against that quadrant this season.
GINO'S IN A GROOVE
Junior LuJames Groover III had a breakout season for the Pack in 2022, making 55 starts and 57 total appearances in his first season in Raleigh. Groover III led NC State with a .364 batting average, 86 hits, 16 doubles and a .440 on-base percentage this past season. The junior tallied at least one hit in 48 of the Pack's 57 games this past season, reaching base safely in 50 contests. Since April 9, Groover III has caught fire, raising his average over 50 points to .341. The third baseman has hit safely in 15 of his past 16 games and has reached base in 29 straight contests. Groover III's hot streak resulted in the junior winning ACC Player of the Week honors and Perfect Game National Player of the Week honors on April 17.
WALK-OFF WARRIORS
Coming up clutch. Tuesday's walk-off home run from LuJames Groover III marked NC State's fifth walk-off win of the season, two of which have come via the long ball. The Pack has recorded walk-off wins at The Doak over NJIT, Virginia, Louisville, Florida State and NC A&T.
After Payton Green delivered the Pack's first walk-off victory of the year with a two-run home run to opposite field in a 6-5 win over NJIT on March 5, Cannon Peebles delivered another two-RBI game-winning hit in March 18's 5-4 comeback win over No. 14 Virginia at The Doak. The Pack erased a two-run deficit with three runs in the bottom of the ninth when Peebles singled up the middle to score Kalae Harrison from third and Michael Gupton from second base. NC State recorded its third walk-off win of the season on March 31 at Doak Field, erasing a two-run deficit to defeat No. 11 Louisville 6-5. LuJames Groover III delivered a two-RBI single with the bases loaded to post the walk-off victory. Groover III then was directly involved in the Pack's fourth walk-off win of the year, scoring the game-winning run when pinch hitter Dominic Pilolli delivered an RBI single off the wall in center field to lift NC State to a 5-4 win over Florida State.
COMEBACK PACK
The Wolfpack has rallied to win nine times after going behind first, including back-to-back comeback wins to open its series sweep of Florida State. The Pack has recorded 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. NC State completed its ninth comeback of the year Tuesday against NC A&T, erasing a three-run deficit to win 6-5.
SCOUTING NOTRE DAME
Notre Dame (25-17, 13-11 ACC) enters the weekend winning three of its past four ACC series. The Fighting Irish is 5-1 in its past six league games played at Frank Eck Stadium, completing a three-game sweep of Virginia from April 21-23 before taking two games out of three against Florida State this past weekend. Despite ranking last in the league in batting average (.247) and doubles (60), Notre Dame ranks first in the league with 23 sacrifice bunts. On the mound, the Fighting Irish pitching staff ranks fifth in the ACC in WHIP (1.33) and sixth in the league in walks per nine innings (3.79). In ACC play, Vinny Martinez leads Notre Dame in on-base percentage (.451), slugging percentage (.759) and RBI (22). Aidan Tyrell (5-1) has five pitching victories over eight appearances (two starts) in league play.
POWER SURGE
NC State ranks tied for 34th nationally with 72 home runs on the season. The Wolfpack has slugged multiple homers in 21 of its 43 games this season, hitting three or more home runs in 12 of its 43 games in 2023.
#Pack9 | @NCStateBaseball
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