NC State understands what’s left after midweek struggles continue

NC State baseball is in a unique position. It owns three ranked series wins in ACC play to this point, but the Wolfpack has not won a midweek contest in over a month. That combination has the red and white fighting to keep itself in the hosting conversation for an NCAA regional. 

The Pack (25-17, 12-9 ACC) has series victories over No. 4 Clemson, No. 10 Duke and No. 12 North Carolina this season. But at the same time, NC State has suffered midweek losses to No. 5 East Carolina (twice), UNCW (twice) and Campbell mixed between those weekend wins. Its last midweek win came in a 9-8 result over Coastal Carolina on March 19.

For NC State coach Elliott Avent, scheduling midweek games against North Carolina teams is the smart thing to do to keep his squad fresh, but the quality of competition does not give the Wolfpack any breaks outside of league play on the weekdays. 

“I think our midweek games are too tough,” Avent said after UNCW completed the series sweep with a 5-4 extra-innings win Tuesday evening at Doak Field. “When you’ve got East Carolina twice, Wilmington twice, Campbell, UNC-Greensboro — you try to stay within the state and keep the travel distance down. All the teams in this state are really, really good.”

Though NC State has dropped five straight midweek games — not usually what a ranked ACC team wants to see — the quality of foes it has seen is not weak. The Pack boasts the No. 10 overall strength of schedule, according to WarrenNolan.com.

The ball has not bounced NC State’s way consistently in the midweek, and junior catcher Jacob Cozart said “it’s baseball.”

“There’s not a single rollover team that we play,” said Cozart, who has clubbed eight homers in the last eight games. “[UNCW] is a really good team, so is ECU. It’s just baseball. It’s falling their way and it’s not falling our way.”

NC State, which seemed to reset itself with a three-game series sweep against Ball State this past weekend, has a tough stretch ahead to close the regular season. The Pack will travel to No. 7 Florida State this weekend before it goes to No. 11 Virginia and hosts No. 13 Wake Forest in the final three ACC series. 

There is a midweek contest against Norfolk State (RPI No. 301) after the series against the Seminoles, which is the final opportunity for the team to catch its breath before the last six game sprint. 

For NC State to get in the mix to host a regional, multiple series wins are likely needed over the last three weekends — all against top-15 RPI teams. The Pack currently sits 29th in the RPI and needs to be inside the selection committee’s top 16 to host the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament in June.

While a midweek loss could spell trouble going into Tallahassee, Fla., the Wolfpack has been able to shake a one-game defeat to take a top-15 series already this season. 

When NC State lost to UNCW on the road on April 9, the Pack turned around and took two of three at Clemson just three days later. The same thing happened the following week with a loss to Campbell followed by two of three from North Carolina in Raleigh. 

Now, the Wolfpack is looking to keep that same mindset that it has used in its previous two opportunities against top-ranked ACC squads. 

“Just do what we’ve been doing all year,” Cozart said. “It’s just keeping it with what we do, keep playing our game. Just staying with our approach and what we’re trying to do day-to-day.”

NC State has been able to be successful in league play to this point, and Cozart thought the team’s short-term memory has been helpful in winning the top-ranked ACC foes.

“We don’t dwell,” Cozart said. “We’d like to win these games, but at the same time, we know how important the weekends are against a gauntlet of a schedule coming up. We’re good at facing adversity and knowing how to bounce back.”

Avent, NC State’s 28th-year coach, did not have to send a message in the locker room after its most recent loss to UNCW. He is confident that the team knows what is left to play for this year as the Pack looks to make a late-season surge into the top 16. 

“They know what they’ve got to do,” Avent said. “If we play well, we’ll host a regional. And we’ve still got some work to do for the postseason, but we know what we have to do.”