A week after being swept by the No. 2 Florida State Seminoles, N.C. State will look to get its ACC title bid back on track this weekend against the Maryland Terrapins (13-6, 2-4 ACC) at Shipley Field in College Park, Md.
The Wolfpack (14-5, 3-3) swept its opening ACC series against Notre Dame, but State’s trip to Tallahassee, Fla. last weekend saw its six-game winning streak come to an abrupt end.
The Wolfpack has been terrific at home this season, with a record of 12-1. However, it has struggled mightily on the road, going 2-4 when playing outside of Raleigh. N.C. State will get a chance to improve its mediocre road record this weekend against the Terps.
Maryland has also been dominant at home, with its only two losses coming to powerhouse Florida State. But like the Wolfpack, the Terps have been suspect on the road. Maryland has drawn a difficult slate of teams to begin their season, with their first three opponents of the ACC season (No. 1 Florida State, No. 13 North Carolina and No. 11 N.C. State) all ranked inside the Top 25.
N.C. State head coach Elliott Avent will be hoping for a much-improved performance from the Pack’s recent disappointment in Tallahassee. Of State’s 14 wins this season, eight have been by five runs or more, but Avent said in several postgame interviews this season that his team’s overall mentality needs to improve.
“If you play this game hard, it’s amazing what can happen, but we can’t figure that out,” Avent said after a 17-4 win over North Carolina A&T on March 5. “We’re too caught up in stats and numbers and ourselves right now. When we do figure out how to play hard, we have a chance to be a good baseball team. But right now, we’re not.”
State’s junior pitcher Carlos Rodon (2-3, 2.45 ERA) has fallen victim to poor run support in his starts this season. The Wolfpack offense is averaging just 2.4 runs per game in Rodon’s starts, rendering the ace of N.C. State’s staff essentially helpless. Rodon will draw Terps senior starter Jake Stinnett (2-3, 2.91 ERA) Friday in a matchup of veteran ACC starters.
State’s Saturday starter, sophomore pitcher Logan Jernigan (3-1, 1.55 ERA), has pitched terrifically so far in 2014. With Jernigan pitching well, the Wolfpack has a dangerous one-two punch in Jernigan and Rodon. However, the sophomore right-hander will draw perhaps his toughest matchup of the year against Maryland’s freshman right-hander Mike Shawaryn (4-0, 1.26 ERA) Saturday night.
Shawaryn has been the surprise story of the year for the Terps, boasting the fifth-best ERA in the ACC (Jernigan is seventh). On Sunday, the Wolfpack’s sophomore southpaw Brad Stone (3-0, 3.09 ERA) will likely get the starting nod against the Terps’ sophomore right-hander Kevin Mooney (0-1, 2.45 ERA).
Though the Pack’s pitching struggles this past weekend can be chalked up to Florida State’s talented lineup, N.C. State’s offense has been inconsistent on the whole this season, but a bright spot has emerged in the form of freshman third baseman Andrew Knizner. The freshman star has burst onto the scene in Raleigh, leading the ACC in batting average (.448) and slugging percentage (.621).
Junior catcher Brett Austin has lived up to expectations this year. The preseason third-team All-American is second in the ACC in batting average (.391). But to make another run to Omaha, the Pack will have to get more production from its upperclassmen, including junior second baseman Logan Ratledge (.206 batting average) and junior left fielder Bubby Riley (.231 batting average).
The Pack’s first game of its three-game series against Maryland will begin Friday night at 6 p.m., with games on Saturday and Sunday afternoon to follow.
