Tuesday, April 2
Raleigh, N.C.
6 p.m.
NC State
vs
East Carolina
#19 Wolfpack Hosts #12 East Carolina in Top-20 Showdown
4/1/2024 4:35:00 PM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. – The No. 19 NC State baseball team opens April with an in-state rivalry matchup against No. 12 East Carolina. Tuesday night's game at Doak Field is set for 6 p.m.
Tuesday's game will stream live on ACC Network Extra. 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. LHP Aaron Groller (East Carolina)
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST EAST CAROLINA
NC State holds a 71-42 advantage in the series against East Carolina. More notes from the series against the Pirates are listed below:
• NC State has won eight straight home games against East Carolina. The Wolfpack's last loss to the Pirates at Doak Field at Dail Park came on April 1, 2009.
• The Wolfpack and Pirates split this past season's series a game apiece. In NC State's win on April 25, Carson Kelly recorded the final four outs to nail down the save, while P.J. Labriola provided a crucial inning out of the bullpen to earn the pitching victory. NC State built a 5-0 lead in the rivalry victory before East Carolina rallied back to make it a one-run game in the seventh inning.
• Since 2000, NC State is 14-3 against East Carolina in games played in Raleigh.
• East Carolina will be ranked No. 12 for the third straight matchup in the series between the two schools. The Pirates were ranked 12th for both games this past season and check in at No. 12 in this week's D1Baseball Top 25.
SCOUTING NO. 12 EAST CAROLINA
East Carolina (20-6, 4-2 AAC) posted a 4-0 mark this past week to climb to No. 12 in this week's D1Baseball Top 25. The Pirates are 2-1 against ranked opponents this season after winning their series against in-state rival North Carolina earlier this season. ECU's pitching staff has posted an impressive 3.49 ERA with a 283-80 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Three ECU pitchers already have forty more strikeouts than walks allowed entering the month of April, highlighted by Trey Yesavage's team-high 63 punchouts. Offensively, East Carolina has a trio of batters batting over .350 with Carter Cunningham leading the team with six homers, 30 RBI, 67 total bases and 32 runs scored.
THE COMEBACK KIDS
NC State has had a flair for the dramatic so far this season, recording five walk-off victories already in 2024. Five of NC State's 16 home wins have come via the walk-off. A list of NC State's five walk-off wins are below:
• March 1 (W, 6-5 vs. Towson): Drew Lanphere delivers a walk-off RBI single to score Noah Soles in the bottom of the ninth.
• March 8 (W, 5-4 vs. Boston College): Garrett Pennington drops in a walk-off single with two outs in the 11th inning for the Wolfpack's first ACC win of the year. Again, Noah Soles scores the game-winning run.
• March 23 (W, 9-8 vs. No. 9 Duke): Eli Serrano III's two-out, two-run homer completes a dramatic ninth-inning comeback as NC State erases a five-run deficit to clinch the series over the Blue Devils.
• March 29 (W, 7-6 vs. Notre Dame): Luke Nixon's career night ends with a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth, clinching a series victory for NC State.
• March 30 (W, 7-6 vs. Notre Dame): Garrett Pennington crushes NC State's second walk-off homer in as many weeks with a two-out, three-run blast to complete the sweep over the Fighting Irish.
WINNING THE CLOSE ONES
NC State is 7-1 this season in one-run games, which ranks tied for first with North Carolina for the most one-run victories in the ACC in 2024. NC State also ranks first in the league with a 5-1 record in one-run ACC contests. NC State's .875 win percentage in one-run games and .833 win percentage in one-run ACC contests both rank first among all 14 ACC schools entering the week.
BEATING THE BEST
NC State ranks tied for second in the nation with nine Quadrant I victories so far this season, according to warrennolan.com. The Wolfpack is 9-1 in Quad I games so far this season and only trails conference mate Clemson (15-3) in Quad I victories in 2024. Quadrant I victories are wins over teams inside the Top 50 of the current Warren Nolan Baseball RPI.
PENNY IN THE CLUTCH
Graduate transfer Garrett Pennington has already provided the Wolfpack with a few clutch moments in his first season 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. And once again on Saturday, Pennington came up clutch with his second walk-off hit of the season, launching a two-out, three-run homer to flip a 6-4 deficit into a 7-6 win for NC State.
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 has snapped that four-game losing streak in a big way, winning six of its past seven games with a 3-1 record over ranked opponents during that span. The Wolfpack has also been clutch during its current hot streak, posting a 5-0 record in one-run games since the Georgia Tech series.
A-MAK ATTACK
Graduate transfer third baseman Alec Makarewicz has been on a tear in his first season at NC State, leading the Pack with 40 RBI. Makarewicz already has three performances with five RBI or more this season. Only 25 games into the season, he is one of just five Pack9 players with three games with five RBI or more since 2000.
• Justin Riley (2002) — 4
• Alec Makarewicz (2024) — 3
• Tommy White (2022) — 3
• Brett Kinneman (2018) — 3
• Tim Coffield (2002) — 3
Tuesday's game will stream live on ACC Network Extra. 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. LHP Aaron Groller (East Carolina)
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST EAST CAROLINA
NC State holds a 71-42 advantage in the series against East Carolina. More notes from the series against the Pirates are listed below:
• NC State has won eight straight home games against East Carolina. The Wolfpack's last loss to the Pirates at Doak Field at Dail Park came on April 1, 2009.
• The Wolfpack and Pirates split this past season's series a game apiece. In NC State's win on April 25, Carson Kelly recorded the final four outs to nail down the save, while P.J. Labriola provided a crucial inning out of the bullpen to earn the pitching victory. NC State built a 5-0 lead in the rivalry victory before East Carolina rallied back to make it a one-run game in the seventh inning.
• Since 2000, NC State is 14-3 against East Carolina in games played in Raleigh.
• East Carolina will be ranked No. 12 for the third straight matchup in the series between the two schools. The Pirates were ranked 12th for both games this past season and check in at No. 12 in this week's D1Baseball Top 25.
SCOUTING NO. 12 EAST CAROLINA
East Carolina (20-6, 4-2 AAC) posted a 4-0 mark this past week to climb to No. 12 in this week's D1Baseball Top 25. The Pirates are 2-1 against ranked opponents this season after winning their series against in-state rival North Carolina earlier this season. ECU's pitching staff has posted an impressive 3.49 ERA with a 283-80 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Three ECU pitchers already have forty more strikeouts than walks allowed entering the month of April, highlighted by Trey Yesavage's team-high 63 punchouts. Offensively, East Carolina has a trio of batters batting over .350 with Carter Cunningham leading the team with six homers, 30 RBI, 67 total bases and 32 runs scored.
THE COMEBACK KIDS
NC State has had a flair for the dramatic so far this season, recording five walk-off victories already in 2024. Five of NC State's 16 home wins have come via the walk-off. A list of NC State's five walk-off wins are below:
• March 1 (W, 6-5 vs. Towson): Drew Lanphere delivers a walk-off RBI single to score Noah Soles in the bottom of the ninth.
• March 8 (W, 5-4 vs. Boston College): Garrett Pennington drops in a walk-off single with two outs in the 11th inning for the Wolfpack's first ACC win of the year. Again, Noah Soles scores the game-winning run.
• March 23 (W, 9-8 vs. No. 9 Duke): Eli Serrano III's two-out, two-run homer completes a dramatic ninth-inning comeback as NC State erases a five-run deficit to clinch the series over the Blue Devils.
• March 29 (W, 7-6 vs. Notre Dame): Luke Nixon's career night ends with a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth, clinching a series victory for NC State.
• March 30 (W, 7-6 vs. Notre Dame): Garrett Pennington crushes NC State's second walk-off homer in as many weeks with a two-out, three-run blast to complete the sweep over the Fighting Irish.
WINNING THE CLOSE ONES
NC State is 7-1 this season in one-run games, which ranks tied for first with North Carolina for the most one-run victories in the ACC in 2024. NC State also ranks first in the league with a 5-1 record in one-run ACC contests. NC State's .875 win percentage in one-run games and .833 win percentage in one-run ACC contests both rank first among all 14 ACC schools entering the week.
BEATING THE BEST
NC State ranks tied for second in the nation with nine Quadrant I victories so far this season, according to warrennolan.com. The Wolfpack is 9-1 in Quad I games so far this season and only trails conference mate Clemson (15-3) in Quad I victories in 2024. Quadrant I victories are wins over teams inside the Top 50 of the current Warren Nolan Baseball RPI.
PENNY IN THE CLUTCH
Graduate transfer Garrett Pennington has already provided the Wolfpack with a few clutch moments in his first season 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. And once again on Saturday, Pennington came up clutch with his second walk-off hit of the season, launching a two-out, three-run homer to flip a 6-4 deficit into a 7-6 win for NC State.
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 has snapped that four-game losing streak in a big way, winning six of its past seven games with a 3-1 record over ranked opponents during that span. The Wolfpack has also been clutch during its current hot streak, posting a 5-0 record in one-run games since the Georgia Tech series.
A-MAK ATTACK
Graduate transfer third baseman Alec Makarewicz has been on a tear in his first season at NC State, leading the Pack with 40 RBI. Makarewicz already has three performances with five RBI or more this season. Only 25 games into the season, he is one of just five Pack9 players with three games with five RBI or more since 2000.
• Justin Riley (2002) — 4
• Alec Makarewicz (2024) — 3
• Tommy White (2022) — 3
• Brett Kinneman (2018) — 3
• Tim Coffield (2002) — 3
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