3 things we learned from NC State baseball’s series win over Princeton

NC State coach Elliott Avent wants to win every game his team lines up to play. The competitor in him comes out each time his squad hits the dirt, especially in the non-conference. So after winning two of three in the Wolfpack’s series victory over Princeton, Avent was quick to point to growing from not being able to sweep the Ivy League foe. “If we can learn from this, we’re going to face some good pitchers with our conference and non-conference schedule,” Avent said. “We’re going to face guys like this, and you’ve got to find ways to execute and put men on base. More positives than negatives [to take away from the weekend].” After all, NC State beat Princeton 6-4 and 16-1 in its first two meetings, the second of which was Avent's 1,300th career win, but the Pack dropped the series finale in Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader in 1-0 fashion. The Wolfpack totaled nine and 16 hits in the first two games, respectively, but only mustered three in the final game as it stranded the would-be tying run at second to end the game.  While the Wolfpack took care of business in winning the series, a goal for the team each weekend, it felt like it left the sweep opportunity for the taking. The team’s pitching staff performed well all weekend, while its offense was high-powered until it stalled out to end the three-game set.  Despite that, NC State was able to learn more about itself. Here are three things we learned from the Wolfpack’s first true weekend series of the season.