NC State baseball preview: ACC semifinals vs. Pittsburgh

NC State baseball is in the ACC Tournament semifinals for the third straight time. In 2019, the Wolfpack was bounced by Georgia Tech. Two years later, after the 2020 tournament was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic, NC State enacted revenge on the Yellow Jackets on the Pack’s way to the title game, where Duke prevailed 1-0.

This time, NC State is looking to finish the task.

The Wolfpack is 35-20 overall and won Pool C despite being the lowest-rated seed at No. 10. The Pack rallied from an early 4-0 deficit to No. 6 seed Wake Forest to prevail 11-8 on Tuesday afternoon, and then topped the pool favorite Miami, 9-6, on Wednesday evening.

The opponent in the semifinals Saturday is another underdog pool winner, and No. 11 overall seed Pittsburgh has other similarities to NC State.

NC State was swept at home by Wake Forest to end the regular season before beating the Deacons days later at the ACC Tournament in Charlotte’s Truist Field. Pitt similarly lost all three at home to Georgia Tech in its regular season finale and was trailing 6-2 Tuesday to the Yellow Jackets going into the top of the sixth.

That’s what the Panthers scored six runs and would eventually prevail 12-6. A day later, Pittsburgh scored a walk-off 6-5 win over No. 2 overall seed Louisville to win Pool B and advance to the semifinals.

First pitch for NC State baseball against Pitt is scheduled for 5 p.m., and the game will be televised on ACC Network.

Here is a rundown of the Panthers.

NC State baseball opponent: Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh comes into the game with a 29-26 overall record and went 13-16 in the ACC during the regular season. Despite being competitive in the conference, Pitt realistically needs to win the ACC Tournament to earn a bid into the NCAA Tournament.

To do so, Pitt will need to beat an old nemesis. NC State baseball is 13-1 all-time against the Panthers and have not lost to Pittsburgh since 2015. NC State eliminated Pitt from pool play a year ago with a 3-2 win in a game where the winner was semifinal-bound.

Pitt did not get a NCAA invite in 2021 in one of the more debated selections by the tournament committee. This season, the Panthers looked destined for postseason play after taking the first two games at home against Duke on May 7-8. At that point, Pittsburgh was 26-18 overall and 12-10 in the conference.

Then came a crushing nine-game stretch during which Pitt went 1-8 to fall off the bubble.

Pitching struggles has been an issue. The Panthers’ team earned run average (ERA) of 6.23 is 12th in the ACC. Pitt has allowed the third most homers of any team in the conference. In the ACC Tournament, Pittsburgh has given up four long balls.

The Panthers have also allowed the third highest batting average against at .285 and thrown the most wild pitches (65) in the ACC.  They don’t miss many bats, either, with the second fewest strikeouts in the conference.

The lineup for Pittsburgh is a patient group, walking the third most in the ACC and thus having the seventh best on-base percentage at .393 (one spot ahead of NC State who is .390).

The overall batting average for the team is .274, 11th in the conference, and the Panthers is also 11th in slugging percentage at .466.

Pittsburgh players to watch

Pittsburgh senior right handed pitcher Matt Gilbertson has been the Panthers’ most reliable pitcher, going 9-3 in 15 starts with a 3.74 ERA in 96.1 innings. A command thrower, Gilbertson has allowed 102 hits but only 11 walks while striking out 88.

However, Gilbertson threw 71 pitches over 5.0 innings against Georgia Tech just five days after throwing 98 pitches against the same team. He has been hit hard in his last three starts, raising his ERA from 2.61 to its current status.

Thus, odds may suggest Gilbertson would, at best, be available in a limited role Saturday. Tall, 6-foot-8 junior righty Bill Corcoran threw 86 pitches over 4.2 innings in his start Wednesday and is probably unavailable.

Sophomore righthander Logan Evans, a transfer from Penn State, started most weekends this season and has not pitched yet in the ACC Tournament. He will be an option to start vs. NC State, but there may be a short leash if he does. Evans has allowed at least four earned runs in all but one of his last seven starts. Only twice in that span did Evans make it past the fifth inning.

Overall, Evans has a 6.93 ERA over 63.2 innings while giving up 83 hits, including 12 home runs. He’s walked 15 and fanned 49.

Freshman righty Jonathan Bautista may be another option. He was effective in shutting down Georgia Tech over 4.0 innings Tuesday, allowing two hits and a walk in a scoreless action while striking out a pair. A week prior to that, Bautista threw 4.0 innings without allowing an earned run against Penn State, giving up three hits without a walk and striking out six.

Bautista threw 47 pitches Tuesday and should be available for multiple innings if Pitt chooses to take a bullpen approach.

At the plate, junior catcher Tatem Levins is Pittsburgh’s most dangerous hitter. Levins is batting .324 with 16 homers on the season. In Charlotte, Levins is 5 for 9 at the plate with a home run.

Senior leftfielder Ron Washington Jr. is a former All-ACC performer who is hitting .276 this year with 14 homers. He had a home run and four runs batted in during the victory over Georgia Tech in Charlotte. Senior first baseman Bryce Hulett is swinging a hot bat this week, going 5 for 10 with a homer and three RBI. Hulett is hitting .285 with nine long balls overall for the year.

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