
<p>NC State baseball is off to a strong start to the 2023 campaign. After a season-opening sweep of Wagner, the Wolfpack dismantled Coastal Carolina on the road Wednesday, cruising to a 16-4 victory in Myrtle Beach, S.C.</p>



<p>The next eight games are all at NC State baseball’s Doak Field in Raleigh, starting with a three-game set with Belmont from the Missouri Valley Conference.</p>



<p>Here is a preview of this weekend’s action against Belmont.</p>



<h2 id="h-nc-state-baseball-in-the-polls">NC State Baseball In The Polls</h2>



<p><a href="https://d1baseball.com/top-stories/d1baseball-top-25-rankings-stanford-tcu-move-during-chalky-week/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">D1Baseball.com</a>: 21st (no change)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=21673&src=hmrep">Perfect Game</a>: 21st (no change)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaa-baseball/polls/coaches-poll/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">USA Today Sports baseball coaches</a>: 22nd (not updated)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.sportswriters.net/ncbwa/news/2023/02/20/lsu-3-0-tops-ncbwa-division-i-poll">NCBWA</a>: 22nd (up from 24th)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.baseballamerica.com/rankings/college-baseball-top-25/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Baseball America</a>: 25th (no change)</p>



<p><a href="http://baseballnews.com/collegiate-baseball-div-1-poll-2-20-23/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Collegiate Baseball</a>: 30th (no change)</p>



<h2 id="h-midweek-recap">Midweek Recap</h2>



<p>NC State started fast with at two-run homer from sophomore first baseman <strong>Will Marcy </strong>in the top of the first and after a 5-run fourth inning never looked back.</p>



<p>The day belonged to senior centerfielder <strong>Parker Nolan</strong>. Batting seventh in the lineup, the Davidson transfer went 4 of 5 at the plate with a double and two no-doubt home runs to give him 6 runs batted in for the day. He also scored 4 runs.</p>



<p>Clemson left-handed transfer <strong>P.J. Labriola </strong>got the start and went 3.2 innings, allowing 3 earned runs on 5 hits while striking out five. Hero of the 2021 College World Series team <strong>Sam Highfill </strong>made his season debut with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief, striking out a pair while allowing 1 hit, and he picked up the win.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<span class="X78ogvQxUmqDZRS"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Since 2015, only 17 batters have cleared the batter's eye in center field. Make it 18 ☄️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pack9?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Pack9</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/parkernolan8?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@parkernolan8</a> <a href="https://t.co/tixYZuOQz6">pic.twitter.com/tixYZuOQz6</a></p>— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) <a href="https://twitter.com/NCStateBaseball/status/1628541081183739905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></span>
</div></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<span class="MjaJGct9RXpgSeVTDB0zbYEP3O"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Gonna need a new baseball 🤯<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pack9?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Pack9</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/parkernolan8?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@parkernolan8</a> <a href="https://t.co/ljkvvJ9Gf8">pic.twitter.com/ljkvvJ9Gf8</a></p>— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) <a href="https://twitter.com/NCStateBaseball/status/1628532849224589318?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></span>
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<h2 id="h-weekend-rotation">Weekend Rotation</h2>



<p>NC State baseball coach Elliott Avent is going with the same rotation he used <a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/nc-state-wolfpack/news/nc-state-baseball-weekend-recap-wagner/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">in the opening series vs. Wagner</a>.</p>



<p>Redshirt junior righty <strong>Logan Whitaker </strong>went 7.0 scoreless innings in the opener, giving up 5 hits and not walking a batter while striking out 3.</p>



<p>Junior righthander <strong>Matt Willadsen</strong> had 6 strikeouts over 6.0 innings, allowing 2 earned runs on 5 hits and not walking a batter.</p>



<p>Sunday starter is freshman lefty <strong>Dominic Fritton</strong>. He made a successful career debut, going 4.1 innings of 1-hit ball vs. Wagner, although he walked three and hit a batter.</p>



<h2 id="h-scouting-belmont">Scouting Belmont</h2>



<p>A season ago, Belmont won its first ever Ohio Valley Conference regular season title and even swept a series at Purdue. That was the Bruins’ final season in that league. This spring marks the debut of Belmont in the Missouri Valley, which is a notch above the OVC.</p>



<p>The preseason MVC poll picked Belmont to finish sixth in the 10-team league.</p>



<p>The Bruins approach the 3-game NC State series with a 2-3 record and will be on the road for the first time this season. Belmont split a pair of doubleheaders over opening weekend with UT Martin and lost a midweek game against Western Kentucky.</p>



<p>Junior shortstop <strong>Sam Kirkpatrick </strong>is off to a red-hot start with 10 hits in 18 at bats. He already has three 3-hit games and has belted a homer and a double. Junior third baseman <strong>Mason Landers </strong>was named the MVC Player of the Week after hitting 3 home runs against UT Martin.</p>



<p>Junior lefty <strong>Andy Bean </strong>will start Friday against NC State. He was the OVC Pitcher of the Year last season after going 9-1 on the mound and allowing 73 hits in 85.1 innings. In his season debut, Bean surrendered 4 hits over 5 innings, including a solo homer for his lone earned run allowed, while walking a pair and striking out seven.</p>



<p>Both of Saturday and Sunday’s starters for Belmont will be lefties, too. <strong>Jalen Borders</strong>, a 6-foot-7 junior, will go against Willadsen in the second game of the series. He went 5-2 with a 3.04 earned run average in 2022 and was second-team all-conference. Borders struck out 9 in his debut but was also hit hard, giving up 5 hits (including a pair of doubles) and 5 earned runs, over 3.2 innings.</p>



<p>Junior <strong>Dominic Baratta </strong>has graduated from reliever to starter and was sterling in his season debut, allowing just 1 hit over 5.0 scoreless innings with 7 strikeouts, although he did walk four.</p>


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