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NC State expects catcher Alex Sosa back from injury this weekend vs. Virginia

image_6483441 (3)by:Noah Fleischman•04/01/25•

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Alex Sosa
Freshman catcher Alex Sosa celebrates an RBI at first base. (Photo credit: Mollie Mitchell/NC State Athletics).

NC State catcher Alex Sosa has missed the last due games due to injury, but the Wolfpack expects him to return to the lineup this weekend against Virginia, skipper Elliott Avent said Tuesday. 

Sosa, the Pack’s go-to catcher, took a foul ball off his shin in NC State’s 14-6 win at Duke on Saturday afternoon in Durham. While he stayed in the game, going 2-for-4 with a home run and a walk, Sosa developed a baker’s cyst on his leg. 

The cyst, which is fluid-filled swelling that develops under the skin, led Sosa to see Dr. Joseph Barker, a team physician for the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. It didn’t take long for the diagnosis. 

“As soon as he saw it and saw the X-Ray, he knew exactly [what it was] because hockey players get it all the time,” Avent said. “He was awesome with how he explained it to Alex and how he told him to get it better.”

Sosa missed the series finale at Duke on Sunday, a 16-6 run-rule loss, while he was held out of  NC State’s 9-6 win over UNC Greensboro on Tuesday night. Although the catcher could have played in the win over the Spartans, Avent was told to hold him out as a precaution. 

While Sosa has missed the last two games, NC State has inserted redshirt sophomore Drew Lanphere behind the plate, where he has been solid. He logged 19 putouts in the two starts, though he had a wild pick off attempt for an error against UNCG. 

Sosa, the Pack’s sophomore catcher, is in line to return to the field on Friday night against a surging Virginia team, which swept this past weekend’s series from No. 20 Stanford, as long as his recovery timeline stays on its current course. 

Sosa, who has started 26 games between catcher and designated hitter, is hitting .278 with five doubles, five home runs and 21 RBI. His bat back in the lineup is coming at a key time as the Wolfpack looks to earn its third ACC series win to boost its RPI, which is currently No. 52 after the midweek win over UNCG. 

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