Wolfpack and Panthers Face off in Pittsburgh

RALEIGH, NC—NC State baseball is hitting the road for the second weekend of ACC play. The Wolfpack will head to Pittsburgh, Pa., to take on the Pitt Panthers for a three-game series beginning on Friday, Feb. 21, at 3 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on ACCNX and can be heard on WKNC 88.1 FM.

NC State will travel to Pittsburgh for the first time since 2021. The Wolfpack is riding a 17-game winning streak over the Panthers since 2015. In 1941, the two programs met under head coach Doc Newton, with the Panthers winning their only game in the series 3-1. In 2019, NC State won 21-3, giving the Wolfpack its largest margin of victory in the series.

NC State is coming off their fourth-midweek victory of the season after cruising to a 13-0 over Davidson in the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers College Series game. The win gave the Wolfpack its ninth run-rule victory and the fourth shutout of the year. Last season, NC State had won only a total of three midweek games.

Freshman Anderson Nance made his first collegiate start after appearing six times out of the bullpen prior. The Eden, NC native tossed a career-high eight strikeouts in 3.2 innings pitched for his second win of the season.

PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS:
Friday: LHP Dominic Fritton (NCSU) vs. LHP Patrick Gardner (PITT)
Saturday: RHP Heath Andrews (NCSU) vs. LHP Ryan Reed (PITT)
Sunday: LHP Ryan Marohn (NCSU) vs. RHP RHP Drew Lafferty (PITT)

When they get the starting nod, the combination of Fritton, Andrews, and Marohn has led the Wolfpack to an 11-4 record. Andrews leads the team in opposing batting average, holding hitters to a .198 average. All three Wolfpack starters rank in the top five in the conference in innings pitched heading into the weekend.

Pitching, as a whole, has been a strength for the Wolfpack this season. Their 18 strikeouts thrown against Canisius is the second most by an ACC team this season, only trailing Wake Forest, who had 20 in a game.

So far, NC State has had 204 strikeouts as a team, with just 64 walks. Ryan Marohn and Dominic Fritton rank among the top 10 in the ACC in strikeouts, with Marohn totaling 42 and Fritton 39. NC State and Florida State are the only two schools with multiple pitchers ranking in the top 10 in the conference.

The bullpen is also rounding into form. Wolfpack has gone 14-1 when leading after the sixth; after seven, they are 6-1, and after the eighth inning, they also hold a 6-1 record.

The Wolfpack opened its 2025 campaign with an Opening weekend sweep of Fordham. Winning 11-1, 12-2, and 19-6, each of the Wolfpack's victories was decided by run rule. Since then, they have added six more run-rule victories for nine on the year, with Canisius, Campbell, Wright State, NC A&T, Virginia Tech, and Davidson also sharing the same fate.

NC State held a 22-5 record when scoring first last season. The Pack totaled 51 runs in the first inning and outscored its opponents 464-383 in 2024. Thus far, the Wolfpack are 10-3 when scoring first and have outscored their opponents 185-93 in 21 games.

The Wolfpack has totaled 20 runs in the first inning this season and is 7-3 when doing so. NC State does its damage in the middle innings, recording the most runs scored coming in the 5th inning with 35 thus far.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Heath Andrews

Dominic Fritton

Ryan Marohn

Anderson Nance