In-State Matchup Sees No. 10 NC State Travel to Wilmington to Take on UNCW

Tuesday, March 17

Wilmington, NC

6 p.m.

NC State

UNCW

In-State Matchup Sees No. 10 NC State Travel to Wilmington to Take on UNCW

3/16/2026 4:59:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes

RALEIGH, N.C. – After a trip to Puerto Rico and an 18-game homestand, the Wolfpack gets ready for its first real away game of the season as No. 10 NC State heads east on I-40 for an in-state matchup against UNCW at Brooks Field in Wilmington on Tuesday, March 17th, at 6 p.m.

The game will be broadcast on FloSports and can be heard on 88.1 WKNC and the Varsity Network app.

This will be game 21 for the Wolfpack and the first night game of the season. NC State is coming off its first ACC series win of the season after taking 2-of-3 from Boston College.

The series against the Eagles saw all three weekend starters—Ryan Marohn, Jacob Dudan, and Heath Andrews—go seven innings, marking the first time since 2021 that a weekend rotation has all gone at least seven innings. Just under six percent of starts in Division I this year have been seven or more innings.

NC State will look to end the Seahawks' seven-game winning streak entering Tuesday.

Probable Starting Pitchers
LHP Luke Hemric (NCSU) vs. LHP Alex Sobol (UNCW).

Hemric will make his third start of the season. The freshman has a 1.74 ERA with a 1-0 record. In 10.1 innings pitched, he is holding opponents to a .065 batting average with nine strikeouts and seven walks.

Fellow freshman Rett Johnson had a strong series against Boston College, finishing the weekend 7-for-9 with two walks, a stolen base, and three runs scored. Johnson, a 5-foot-9, 170-pound left-handed bat, is slashing .429/.514/.554 to start his college career, with more than twice as many walks (11) as strikeouts (5).

Last season, the two programs split their meetings, with each winning at the other's ballpark, and the Wolfpack winning 14-4 in Wilmington. It's been close in the last 10 meetings, as NC State is 6-4, with the Wolfpack 22-12 away from Doak Field against the Seahawks. NC State leads the series 78-23.

NC State was 9-4 against in-state opponents in 2025. Since taking over the NC State baseball program in 1997, head coach Elliott Avent has led the Pack to a 370-121 (.659) against in-state foes.

This season the Wolfpack will play 10 in-state opponents. They are 1-1 after beating Queens and falling to Elon.

NC State pitching has been among the best in the country, leading the ACC with a 2.84 ERA (fifth nationally) and three shutouts.

With 50 stolen bases on the year, the Wolfpack has stolen the most bases as a team since 2021. The most stolen bases by a Pack team came in 2013 when they swiped 110 bases.

Chris McHugh leads the Wolfpack with 11 multi-hit games, eight multi-RBI games, and a 16-game hitting streak, and is the second most with six multi-run games so far this season. Sherman Johnson enters Tuesday with a 14-game on-base streak, holding a .396 batting average with 16 RBIs and eight walks to just five strikeouts.