North Carolina State University Athletics
Tuesday, March 26
Greensboro, N.C.
6 p.m.
NC State
at
UNCG
#22 Wolfpack Travels to UNCG for Midweek Matchup
3/25/2024 1:39:00 PM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. – The No. 22 NC State baseball team travels to Greensboro for its first midweek road game of the season. Tuesday night's contest at UNCG is set for 6 p.m.
Tuesday's game will stream live on ESPN+. A free audio stream will be available for Tuesday's contest on the Varsity Network App and will be available on the radio on WKNC 88.1.
PROJECTED STARTING PITCHING MATCHUP
Tuesday – LHP Ryan Marohn (NCSU) vs. RHP Caleb Cozart (UNCG)
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST UNCG
NC State holds a 33-10 advantage in the series against UNCG. More notes from the series against the Spartans are listed below:
• NC State and UNCG first met on March 25, 1991, when the Wolfpack notched a 13-5 victory over the Spartans in Raleigh. The Spartans returned the favor in the series' second matchup, posting a 5-2 win a year later on March 3, 1992.
• Prior to the Wolfpack's setback to UNCG on March 12, NC State won five straight over the Spartans dating back to a 3-0 shutout victory on March 30, 2021. The Pack outscored UNCG 57-22 during its previous five-game winning streak in the series.
• NC State swept the season series over UNCG in 2023. The Pack capped off its 13-game winning streak to open the 2023 season with a 15-13 victory on a windy day in Greensboro on March 7. NC State then completed the season sweep with a 6-2 win at home at Doak Field.
• UNCG won the first of two matchups between the two programs this season on March 12 in Raleigh. Caleb Cozart, Tuesday night's starting pitcher for UNCG and Jacob Cozart's older brother, hit two homers in the Spartans' midweek win earlier in the 2024 campaign.
SCOUTING UNCG
UNCG (13-10) opened this past week 0-2 before reeling off back-to-back victories to secure a series win over Mercer at UNCG Baseball Stadium. The back-to-back victories helped the Spartans open SoCon play 2-1. Caleb Cozart leads UNCG with 11 homers, 32 RBI and 57 total bases this season, while GC Jarman ranks first on the UNCG roster with a .357 batting average. Cozart, UNCG's projected starting pitcher on Tuesday, has tossed three scoreless innings in each of his past two outings. The Spartans were predicted sixth in the 2024 SoCon Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll.
WHAT A COMEBACK
NC State completed one of its most memorable comebacks in recent memory in Saturday's 9-8 series-clinching win over No. 9 Duke. Faced with an 8-2 deficit in the eighth inning, Garrett Pennington trimmed the score to 8-3 with a solo home run in the eighth. The Wolfpack then scored six runs in the bottom of the ninth to flip an 8-3 deficit into a 9-8 win. Eli Serrano III hit a two-out, two-run walk-off homer on a 3-2 count, crushing an inside pitch down the right-field line for the win. Serrano III was mobbed at home plate as the Pack completed its third straight comeback victory over a ranked opponent. It was NC State's first time overcoming a multi-run deficit in the ninth inning to win since a 6-5 win over No. 11 Louisville on March 31, 2023.
BOUNCED BACK
For the first time since April 2-9 this past season, NC State dropped four straight games following the series sweep at Georgia Tech. When the Pack last lost four straight in 2023, NC State responded with five straight victories, highlighted by a series sweep at home over Florida State. The Wolfpack also logged midweek victories over Davidson and UNCW during that five-game winning streak. NC State snapped its four-game losing streak in a big way last week, reeling off three straight comeback, one-run victories over top-15 opponents to earn a midweek win over No. 13 Coastal Carolina and a series win over No. 9 Duke. The last time NC State recorded three straight one-run victories was April 12-15, 2022, when the Pack earned a 7-6 midweek win over UNCW before notching back-to-back one-run wins to open a series sweep of Boston College.
PACK BACK IN TOP 25
NC State's 3-1 week against ranked opponents also helped NC State jump back into this week's D1Baseball rankings. The Wolfpack (No. 22) is one of eight ACC teams in this week's top 25.
PENNY IN THE CLUTCH
Graduate transfer Garrett Pennington has already provided the Wolfpack with a few clutch moments in his first 22 games in an NC State uniform. Pennington's walk-off single helped the Wolfpack open ACC play with a 5-4 victory in 11 innings over Boston College on March 8. Eleven days later, Pennington came up clutch once again with a go-ahead RBI double in the bottom of the eighth as the Pack notched a 9-8 comeback victory over Coastal Carolina. In Saturday's six-run comeback in the bottom of the ninth over No. 9 Duke, Pennington launched a three-run homer to make it a one-run game.
COMEBACK PACK
NC State rallied to win 11 times (30.6% or 11/36 of its wins in 2023) this past season after going behind first. The Wolfpack is 6-5 so far this season when falling behind first, highlighted by three straight comeback victories this past week.
Tuesday's game will stream live on ESPN+. A free audio stream will be available for Tuesday's contest on the Varsity Network App and will be available on the radio on WKNC 88.1.
PROJECTED STARTING PITCHING MATCHUP
Tuesday – LHP Ryan Marohn (NCSU) vs. RHP Caleb Cozart (UNCG)
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST UNCG
NC State holds a 33-10 advantage in the series against UNCG. More notes from the series against the Spartans are listed below:
• NC State and UNCG first met on March 25, 1991, when the Wolfpack notched a 13-5 victory over the Spartans in Raleigh. The Spartans returned the favor in the series' second matchup, posting a 5-2 win a year later on March 3, 1992.
• Prior to the Wolfpack's setback to UNCG on March 12, NC State won five straight over the Spartans dating back to a 3-0 shutout victory on March 30, 2021. The Pack outscored UNCG 57-22 during its previous five-game winning streak in the series.
• NC State swept the season series over UNCG in 2023. The Pack capped off its 13-game winning streak to open the 2023 season with a 15-13 victory on a windy day in Greensboro on March 7. NC State then completed the season sweep with a 6-2 win at home at Doak Field.
• UNCG won the first of two matchups between the two programs this season on March 12 in Raleigh. Caleb Cozart, Tuesday night's starting pitcher for UNCG and Jacob Cozart's older brother, hit two homers in the Spartans' midweek win earlier in the 2024 campaign.
SCOUTING UNCG
UNCG (13-10) opened this past week 0-2 before reeling off back-to-back victories to secure a series win over Mercer at UNCG Baseball Stadium. The back-to-back victories helped the Spartans open SoCon play 2-1. Caleb Cozart leads UNCG with 11 homers, 32 RBI and 57 total bases this season, while GC Jarman ranks first on the UNCG roster with a .357 batting average. Cozart, UNCG's projected starting pitcher on Tuesday, has tossed three scoreless innings in each of his past two outings. The Spartans were predicted sixth in the 2024 SoCon Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll.
WHAT A COMEBACK
NC State completed one of its most memorable comebacks in recent memory in Saturday's 9-8 series-clinching win over No. 9 Duke. Faced with an 8-2 deficit in the eighth inning, Garrett Pennington trimmed the score to 8-3 with a solo home run in the eighth. The Wolfpack then scored six runs in the bottom of the ninth to flip an 8-3 deficit into a 9-8 win. Eli Serrano III hit a two-out, two-run walk-off homer on a 3-2 count, crushing an inside pitch down the right-field line for the win. Serrano III was mobbed at home plate as the Pack completed its third straight comeback victory over a ranked opponent. It was NC State's first time overcoming a multi-run deficit in the ninth inning to win since a 6-5 win over No. 11 Louisville on March 31, 2023.
BOUNCED BACK
For the first time since April 2-9 this past season, NC State dropped four straight games following the series sweep at Georgia Tech. When the Pack last lost four straight in 2023, NC State responded with five straight victories, highlighted by a series sweep at home over Florida State. The Wolfpack also logged midweek victories over Davidson and UNCW during that five-game winning streak. NC State snapped its four-game losing streak in a big way last week, reeling off three straight comeback, one-run victories over top-15 opponents to earn a midweek win over No. 13 Coastal Carolina and a series win over No. 9 Duke. The last time NC State recorded three straight one-run victories was April 12-15, 2022, when the Pack earned a 7-6 midweek win over UNCW before notching back-to-back one-run wins to open a series sweep of Boston College.
PACK BACK IN TOP 25
NC State's 3-1 week against ranked opponents also helped NC State jump back into this week's D1Baseball rankings. The Wolfpack (No. 22) is one of eight ACC teams in this week's top 25.
PENNY IN THE CLUTCH
Graduate transfer Garrett Pennington has already provided the Wolfpack with a few clutch moments in his first 22 games in an NC State uniform. Pennington's walk-off single helped the Wolfpack open ACC play with a 5-4 victory in 11 innings over Boston College on March 8. Eleven days later, Pennington came up clutch once again with a go-ahead RBI double in the bottom of the eighth as the Pack notched a 9-8 comeback victory over Coastal Carolina. In Saturday's six-run comeback in the bottom of the ninth over No. 9 Duke, Pennington launched a three-run homer to make it a one-run game.
COMEBACK PACK
NC State rallied to win 11 times (30.6% or 11/36 of its wins in 2023) this past season after going behind first. The Wolfpack is 6-5 so far this season when falling behind first, highlighted by three straight comeback victories this past week.
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