NC State baseball stays inside national rankings after up and down week
After an up and down week, NC State baseball stayed in the national rankings as it continues a gauntlet of a schedule to close the regular season.
The Wolfpack dropped three spots to No. 23 in D1Baseball’s rankings, while it held steady in Baseball America’s weekly rankings at No. 13 for the second straight week.
NC State lost a tight game to UNCW in extra innings Tuesday at Doak Field before it split a pair of games over the weekend at then-No. 7 Florida State. The Pack took the opening game 8-7 on Friday night before it lost Sunday’s series finale 8-1.
Though it was a roller coaster of a week for the red and white, there were a few bright spots. The Pack received a stellar outing in relief from freshman Cooper Consiglio, who tossed 4.1 innings of one-run baseball in Friday night’s game. He allowed just two hits with a walk and five strikeouts.
In addition to Consiglio’s breakout pitching, sophomore closer Derrick Smith tossed 1.2 innings of no-hit ball to clinch the series opener. He struck out three batters with just one walk.
While NC State’s bullpen had some success Friday night, the team also received a pair of players back from injury at Florida State. Graduate right fielder Noah Soles returned in Friday’s game after missing more than a month. He was joined by graduate pitcher Logan Whitaker, who also missed more than a month as he dealt with an illness, who pitched one inning of relief in Sunday’s game.
Now, as the Wolfpack moves past the Florida State series, it will host Norfolk State on Tuesday in Raleigh before visiting No. 10 Virginia this weekend in a crucial ACC series. The Pack is looking to improve its No. 19 RPI ranking as it attempts to surge through the NCAA to host a regional as a top-16 national seed.
Complete D1Baseball Top 25:
| Ranking | Team | Record | Previous |
| 1 | Tennessee | 39-9 | 3 |
| 2 | Clemson | 36-10 | 4 |
| 3 | Texas A&M | 40-8 | 1 |
| 4 | Kentucky | 35-10 | 8 |
| 5 | Arkansas | 40-9 | 2 |
| 6 | East Carolina | 37-9 | 5 |
| 7 | Oregon State | 35-12 | 6 |
| 8 | Florida State | 35-10 | 7 |
| 9 | Duke | 32-14 | 10 |
| 10 | Virginia | 35-12 | 11 |
| 11 | North Carolina | 35-11 | 12 |
| 12 | Wake Forest | 32-16 | 13 |
| 13 | South Carolina | 32-15 | 15 |
| 14 | Mississippi State | 32-16 | 16 |
| 15 | Georgia | 35-12 | 19 |
| 16 | UC Irvine | 34-10 | 9 |
| 17 | Arizona | 29-17 | 21 |
| 18 | Oklahoma | 29-17 | 22 |
| 19 | Oklahoma State | 32-16 | 14 |
| 20 | Indiana State | 34-10 | 24 |
| 21 | Troy | 34-15 | NR |
| 22 | Louisana | 34-14 | 18 |
| 23 | NC State | 26-18 | 20 |
| 24 | Oregon | 32-15 | NR |
| 25 | UC Santa Barbara | 31-12 | NR |
