NC State baseball weekend preview: Back half ACC slate begins

Make no mistake about it, the ACC schedule for NC State baseball was front loaded. The first five series of ACC play featured four against the top four ranked teams in the ACC in the latest D1Baseball.com top 25, all rated in the top 11. Two of those were on the road, as was a three-game set at Miami, who was No. 20 until dropping out after being swept last weekend.

The second half of the ACC slate includes a series vs. the other conference team ranked — No. 13 North Carolina — but the other four series are vs. squads .500 or below in league play, including a pair at home the next weekends against the two teams currently on the outside looking in for the ACC Tournament.

That starts Friday, weather permitting, with Florida State coming to Raleigh for a three-game set. Game one is 6 p.m., while Saturday is a 7 p.m. first pitch and Sunday is 2 p.m. Saturday’s contest can be seen on ACC Network. The other two will be online via ACC Network extra.

Here is a preview of the NC State baseball series vs. Florida State.

NC State Baseball Weekend Rotation

NC State baseball coach Elliott Avent has switched up his rotation for the first time this year.

Typical game three starter freshman lefty Dominic Fritton will go Friday. He has tossed 37.1 innings over 8 games, including 7 starts, allowing 25 hits and just 7 earned runs for a 1.69 ERA. He’s walked 11 and fanned 40.

Redshirt junior righty Logan Whitaker has thrown 41.1 innings in eight series-opening starts, surrendering 38 hits and 18 earned runs with just 9 walks and fanning 38. He has a 3.92 earned run average (ERA).

Junior righthander Matt Willadsen has also had 8 starts. Willadsen has given up just 31 hits and 16 walks over a team-high 47.0 innings while allowing 9 earned runs (1.72 ERA) and striking out a staff-best 46.

Although Avent has not announced his rotation plans for the rest of the weekend for NC State, those would be the two leading options, if healthy.

Scouting Florida State

Year one under former Notre Dame head coach Link Jarrett, father of former NC State baseball starting second baseman J.T. Jarrett, has experienced growing pains. After starting the season 6-1, including a series win at No. 8 TCU, the Seminoles have gone 7-18 overall since, including a league-worst 4-11 ACC mark.

After taking 2 of 3 at home vs. Pittsburgh to start conference play, FSU has gone 2-8 while dropping four straight ACC series since, including being swept by both Virginia and Miami on the road.

At the plate, FSU ranks 12th in the ACC in both batting average and slugging percentage and 13th in on-base percentage and runs scored per game. Meanwhile, the FSU pitchers are 11th in ERA and opposing batting average surrendered. NC State may be wise to be patient. FSU has thrown more wild pitches than any conference counterpart and issued the second most walks in the ACC.

ACC Standings And Weekend Schedule

Atlantic Division

Team	Overall Record	Conference Record
Wake Forest	29-4	12-2
Louisville	25-7	7-5
Boston College	23-9	8-7
Notre Dame	17-13	7-8
NC State	21-11	5-9
Clemson	20-14	4-8
Florida State	13-19	4-11

Coastal Division

Team	Overall Record	Conference Record
Virginia	29-4	11-4
North Carolina	23-10	8-5
Miami	20-12	8-7
Duke	21-11	7-7
Georgia Tech	20-13	7-8
Pittsburgh	14-16	5-8
Virginia Tech	18-12	5-9

Weekend Series Schedule:

Florida State at NC State

Miami at North Carolina

Duke at Boston College

Pittsburgh at Virginia

Wake Forest at Louisville

Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech

Notre Dame at Clemson

NC State Baseball In The Polls

USA Today Sports baseball coaches: Unranked (previously 25th)

Collegiate Baseball: Unranked (previously unranked)

Perfect Game: Unranked (previously unranked)

D1Baseball.com: Unranked (previously unranked)

Baseball America: Unranked (previously unranked)

NCBWA: Unranked (previously 30th)

Midweek Recap

In one of the better midweek performances of the season for NC State baseball, the Wolfpack used an 8-run fourth inning to roll to a 12-3 win over a good UNC Wilmington team that is competing for a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).

The Pack nearly was able to win by run-rule, but a two-out RBI in the top of the seventh for UNCW extended the game to the full nine innings.

NC State broke out the bats with five doubles and two homers. Sophomore designated hitter Will Marcy came into the game as a pinch hitter and had both a double and a homer.

Meanwhile, four Pack pitchers combined to strike out 10 UNC Wilmington batters while walking just one.