Pack and Panthers to battle Saturday
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Tenth-seeded NC State baseball (35-20) is set for its third-straight ACC Championship semifinal appearance Saturday night when it faces 11th-seeded Pittsburgh (29-26) at Truist Field in Charlotte, N.C.
First pitch is slated for 5 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on the ACC Network with Mike Monaco and Gaby Sanchez on the call. Additionally, there will be a radio broadcast on WKNC 88.1 and the Varsity Network App with Andrew Sanders on the call.
STARTING PITCHERS
TBA (NCSU) vs. TBA (PITT)
LAST TIME OUT
The Wolfpack went 2-0 in the pool play portion of the championship with an 11-8 win over Wake Forest on Tuesday and 9-6 victory over Miami on Wednesday.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will be just the second time NC State and Pitt have faced each other in the ACC Championship, and the first time was on May 27, 2021, when the Wolfpack earned a 3-2 win to advance to the semifinals.
In the all-time series, NC State owns a 13-1 advantage and has won each of the last 13 meetings dating back to 2015.
NC STATE AT THE ACC CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2022 season marks the 12th consecutive year the Wolfpack has earned a spot in the conference tournament, and since 1980 it has only missed the tournament once. This is additionally the third-straight season NC State has earned a semifinal berth.
Last year at the ACC Championship the team reached the finals for the first time since 2015 but came up short, 1-0, to defending champion Duke.
NC State has won five ACC Championships in program history, with its last coming in 1992.
HOME RUN KING
In Wednesday’s win over Miami, Tommy White belted three home runs to give him 26 in his rookie year with the Pack. That number set the program’s single season record (last held by Tracy Woodson in 1984 and Turtle Zaun in 1988) and ties the NCAA freshman record for home runs (held by Georgia Southern’s Todd Greene in 1990).
It was his sixth multi-homer game of the year as the 2022 ACC Freshman of the Year leads all freshmen in the NCAA and is tied for second among Division I baseball players behind Texas’s Ivan Melendez (28).
MATTY ICE
Matt Willadsen showed his versatility on Wednesday against Miami, making his first relief appearance of the season and tossing six complete innings to improve to 5-4. He surrendered just two earned runs on four hits and fanned eight batters.
In his last five outings, Willadsen has compiled a 2.00 earned-run average in 36 innings pitched with four wins, including a complete game on May 8, and 43 strikeouts.
ON DECK
With a win Saturday, NC State would play for a chance at the tournament title Sunday at 12 p.m.
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