NC State baseball weekend recap: Pack suffers costly sweep

A week ago, NC State baseball was basking in a sweep of Florida State that seemed to solidify the Pack’s standing in the ACC. After being swept at home by Clemson this past weekend, NC State is suddenly on the bubble of making the conference tournament.

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Clemson jumped NC State’s usually reliable starting pitching every game, taking 4-run leads in all 3 contests by the time the Wolfpack came to bat in the bottom of the third.

There was no recovering in game one, when Clemson rolled to a 10-2 victory. Saturday’s second game of the series was the heartbreaker for NC State. After falling behind 4-0, the Pack rallied with 3 runs in the fourth and sixth innings to take a 6-4 advantage.

Leading 6-5 in the top of the eighth, NC State junior lefty Rio Britton entered with 2 outs and a runner on second. Britton walked his batter on 4 pitchers, and was relieved by redshirt junior Sam Highfill. Highfill issued a walk on a full count, and then got ahead of Clemson first baseman Caden Grice with a 1-2 count before giving up a grand slam bomb.

On Sunday, NC State fell behind 6-0. The Pack battled back to cut the lead down to 3 runs on three different occasions but never closer in an 8-5 loss.

At The Plate For NC State Baseball

NC State junior third baseman LuJames Groover III continues to rake, going 5 for 12 at the plate with a walk and scoring a run while driving in one.

Freshman catcher/designated hitter Cannon Peebles responded to his start Sunday by hitting 2 homers and driving in 3 runs.

Sophomore catcher Jacob Cozart had a homer and triple and drove in 4 runs on Saturday. Fifth-year senior Trevor Candelaria hit in all 3 games, going 5 for 13 at the plate, and scoring twice.

On The Mound

NC State baseball typically has enjoyed good starting pitching this year, but the trio all struggled over the weekend.

Only Friday starter Logan Whitaker made it through five innings, allowing 10 hits over 5.1 innings and giving up 7 earned runs. Lefty Dominic Fritton allowed 4 earned runs in 4.2 innings, allowing 4 hits, 3 walks and a hit batter.

Sunday ace Matt Willadsen struggled the most, giving up 10 hits and 6 earned runs over 2.2 innings.

ACC Standings And Weekend Results

Atlantic Division

Team	Overall Record	Conference Record
Wake Forest	34-6	16-4
Boston College	27-12	12-9
Notre Dame	23-15	11-10
Clemson	25-16	9-9
Louisville	26-13	8-10
NC State	25-14	8-12
Florida State	14-25	5-16

Coastal Division

Team	Overall Record	Conference Record
Duke	27-12	12-8
Virginia	32-9	12-9
Miami	25-15	12-9
Virginia Tech	23-14	10-10
North Carolina	25-15	9-10
Pittsburgh	17-21	8-11
Georgia Tech	22-18	8-13

Weekend Series Results:

Clemson 3, NC State 0

Boston College 3, North Carolina 0

Duke 3, Louisville 0

Notre Dame 3, Virginia 0

Wake Forest 2, Pittsburgh 1

Virginia Tech 2, Florida State 1

Miami 2, Georgia Tech 1

NC State Baseball In The Polls

USA Today Sports baseball coaches: Receiving votes (previously receiving votes)

NCBWA: Unranked (previously receiving votes)

Collegiate Baseball: Unranked (previously unranked)

Perfect Game: Unranked (previously unranked)

D1Baseball.com: Unranked (previously unranked)

Baseball America: Unranked (previously unranked)

Midweek Action Ahead For NC State Baseball

NC State baseball does not have a lot of opportunities to add to its resume, thus Tuesday night’s home game against No. 12 (in D1Baseball.com poll) East Carolina looms large.

The Pirates defeated NC State 13-9 in Greenville, N.C., on April 4. ECU hit six homers in that game.

East Carolina comes to Raleigh with a 29-11 record overall, although the Pirates fell to 7-5 in the American Athletic Conference after getting swept at Wichita State over the weekend. ECU scored 3 runs total in the three games and was shutout twice.

Highfill will start on the mound for the Pack, and first pitch is at 6 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPNU.