North Carolina State University Athletics
Tuesday, April 28
Raleigh, NC
6 p.m.
NC State
vs
East Carolina
NC State Hosts ECU for an In-State Rematch
4/27/2026 5:06:00 PM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State baseball returns home to the Doak after a seven-game road trip as it prepares for its second meeting of the season with East Carolina on Tuesday, April 28th, at 6 p.m. on ACCNX.
Both programs will participate in the annual ALS Awareness night, with the Wolfpack wearing its special ALS jerseys that honor Wolfpack great Chris Combs, with the number 26 on all jerseys.
NC State and East Carolina met two weeks ago in Greenville, with the Wolfpack coming away with a 10-3 victory. NC State will be going for its first season sweep of the Pirates since 2022.
In the first contest, the Pack was led by five freshmen pitchers in the win, as Wolfpack pitching held the Pirates to just three runs on five hits and 10 strikeouts.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Tuesday: RHP Julien Peissel vs. LHP Nick Moran
Redshirt junior Julien Peissel will make just his second start in a Wolfpack uniform and his fifth appearance this season. Peissel last appeared against Wake Forest, where he pitched an inning and struck out the side.
Head coach Elliott Avent is just two wins away from 1,100 career wins at NC State. He would become the fourth ACC coach to reach the mark at a single school, joining Mike Martin (Florida State), Danny Hall (Georgia Tech), and Bill Wilhelm (Clemson). He would be the only active D1 baseball coach to reach the mark and the 20th D1 coach to ever win 1,100 games at the same school.
Heading into Tuesday's matchup, freshman Rett Johnson has a 17-game hitting streak. Johnson leads the ACC and is fifth in the nation in batting average (.433). He is looking to become the first Pack batting champion since Johnny Butler in 2021. If the season ended today, Johnson would hold the program's highest single-season batting average, passing Chris Cammack, who hit .429 in 1969.
The Pack has not had a hitter hit over .400 since 2005, when Aaron Bates did so. Johnson is the toughest batter to strike out in the ACC, averaging 12.8 at-bats between strikeouts.
Centerfielder Ty Head has done it all this season for the Wolfpack. He leads the team in home runs with 12, tripling his total from his freshman season. Head is also disciplined at the plate with 40 walks this season; he is closing in on surpassing his total from last season (48), placing him sixth in program history.
Devonte Brown is in fifth with 50 in 2022, and Jacob Cozart drew 52 base on balls in 2024 for the second most in history. Pratt Maynard holds the record with 64 in 2010.
Head is also a threat on the basepaths, leading the Pack with 24 and ranking third in the ACC. Head is looking to run down Trea Turner, who has a spot in the top 10 in three different years. Turner had 26 in 2014, 30 in 2013, which is the second most for a season, and 57 in 2012, which is the most by a Pack player.
Ryder Garino, in his first season with the Wolfpack, has been an important piece of the bullpen. Garino is coming off his third win of the season, in which he went three innings, retiring all nine Hokie batters he faced, including a career-best seven strikeouts.
Garino leads all qualified Pack pitchers with a 2.96 ERA in 13 appearances. He has 43 strikeouts and just 11 walks, with opposing batters hitting just .160 against him.
NC State has seen a direct correlation between hitting home runs and getting wins. The Pack is 24-5 when hitting at least one home run, while 3-11 when they hit none.
When the Wolfpack scores in the first inning, which they have done 28 times this season, they are 10-2. The Wolfpack holds a record of 14-3 when it is the first team to score, while only 13-13 when having to come back after allowing its opponents to score first.
Both programs will participate in the annual ALS Awareness night, with the Wolfpack wearing its special ALS jerseys that honor Wolfpack great Chris Combs, with the number 26 on all jerseys.
NC State and East Carolina met two weeks ago in Greenville, with the Wolfpack coming away with a 10-3 victory. NC State will be going for its first season sweep of the Pirates since 2022.
In the first contest, the Pack was led by five freshmen pitchers in the win, as Wolfpack pitching held the Pirates to just three runs on five hits and 10 strikeouts.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Tuesday: RHP Julien Peissel vs. LHP Nick Moran
Redshirt junior Julien Peissel will make just his second start in a Wolfpack uniform and his fifth appearance this season. Peissel last appeared against Wake Forest, where he pitched an inning and struck out the side.
Head coach Elliott Avent is just two wins away from 1,100 career wins at NC State. He would become the fourth ACC coach to reach the mark at a single school, joining Mike Martin (Florida State), Danny Hall (Georgia Tech), and Bill Wilhelm (Clemson). He would be the only active D1 baseball coach to reach the mark and the 20th D1 coach to ever win 1,100 games at the same school.
Heading into Tuesday's matchup, freshman Rett Johnson has a 17-game hitting streak. Johnson leads the ACC and is fifth in the nation in batting average (.433). He is looking to become the first Pack batting champion since Johnny Butler in 2021. If the season ended today, Johnson would hold the program's highest single-season batting average, passing Chris Cammack, who hit .429 in 1969.
The Pack has not had a hitter hit over .400 since 2005, when Aaron Bates did so. Johnson is the toughest batter to strike out in the ACC, averaging 12.8 at-bats between strikeouts.
Centerfielder Ty Head has done it all this season for the Wolfpack. He leads the team in home runs with 12, tripling his total from his freshman season. Head is also disciplined at the plate with 40 walks this season; he is closing in on surpassing his total from last season (48), placing him sixth in program history.
Devonte Brown is in fifth with 50 in 2022, and Jacob Cozart drew 52 base on balls in 2024 for the second most in history. Pratt Maynard holds the record with 64 in 2010.
Head is also a threat on the basepaths, leading the Pack with 24 and ranking third in the ACC. Head is looking to run down Trea Turner, who has a spot in the top 10 in three different years. Turner had 26 in 2014, 30 in 2013, which is the second most for a season, and 57 in 2012, which is the most by a Pack player.
Ryder Garino, in his first season with the Wolfpack, has been an important piece of the bullpen. Garino is coming off his third win of the season, in which he went three innings, retiring all nine Hokie batters he faced, including a career-best seven strikeouts.
Garino leads all qualified Pack pitchers with a 2.96 ERA in 13 appearances. He has 43 strikeouts and just 11 walks, with opposing batters hitting just .160 against him.
NC State has seen a direct correlation between hitting home runs and getting wins. The Pack is 24-5 when hitting at least one home run, while 3-11 when they hit none.
When the Wolfpack scores in the first inning, which they have done 28 times this season, they are 10-2. The Wolfpack holds a record of 14-3 when it is the first team to score, while only 13-13 when having to come back after allowing its opponents to score first.
Players Mentioned
RHP
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