NC State baseball had its fair share of exciting moments in the 2023 season. After missing out on the NCAA tournament in 2022 following a trip to the College World Series the year prior, the Pack9 righted the ship in 2023. From intense shootouts to astonishing walk-offs and dominant performances, here are the highlights of this past season.
Feb. 22 @ Coastal Carolina
After cruising through its opening weekend, NC State baseball faced an early test when it traveled to Conway, South Carolina to take on the dangerous Chanticleers. Though they have posed a threat to the Pack in the past, this time the red-and-white cruised to a huge 16-4 victory.
The performance was headlined by a masterful showing at the plate from graduate outfielders Parker Nolan and Trevor Candelaria. In a contest that saw Nolan tally a season-high six runs batted in, he hit a pair of towering homers to ice the game. For Candelaria’s part, he collected three RBIs of his own as the pair of former Davidson Wildcats helped account for nine of the Pack’s 16 runs. The two proved to be a vital piece of the Pack’s offensive approach throughout the entirety of the season.
March 12 @ Miami
After surging out to a 13-0 start to the season and a No. 19 ranking, NC State struggled to get much going when it faced the Miami Hurricanes in its first ACC series of the season. The Wolfpack dropped the first two games of the series but fought back in a 14-4 thrashing of the Hurricanes in the third and final game. The win was number 1,200 for longtime head coach Elliott Avent.
The Pack’s efficiency at the dish was significant. Once again, NC State’s graduate outfielders put a hurting on their opponent; Candelaria collected three RBIs on two hits, and Nolan had a perfect day at the plate with four hits along with four RBIs.
The Wolfpack also benefited from the efforts of sophomore catcher Jacob Cozart, who collected two RBIs of his own, including a powerful home run blast. Cozart served as the Pack’s primary catcher this season and took home second team All-ACC honors.
March 31- April 2 vs. Louisville
In what would prove to be one of the most challenging opening months of the season for any team, NC State took on the visiting Louisville Cardinals, who marked the fourth consecutive ranked foe for the Pack. Even though it had yet to enjoy a series win, a walk-off base hit from junior third baseman LuJames Groover III helped give the Pack the momentum to do so. This would be only one of many special moments for Groover, who earned third team All-ACC honors on the season.
Throughout the majority of the game, the Cardinals held the lead and were up 5-2 in the bottom of the eighth. The Pack would not go down without a fight as it scored one run from a homer in the eighth inning and a batter who was walked home in the ninth.
Down by two runs, the Pack secured the knockout punch when Groover singled into the gap and brought home two more runners to secure the 6-5 win. This hit proved to be a crucial moment in the young season. The team used the momentum from that win to clinch its first series win of the season the following day with a convincing 10-0 victory. This marked the Wolfpack’s first series win over the Cardinals since 2018.
April 25 vs East Carolina
As the Pack entered the back end of the regular season, it was looking for answers following a sweep at the hands of Clemson. The red-and-white had little time to right its ship as it faced off against the in-state rival No. 12 East Carolina Pirates — who had bested NC State earlier in the season — soon after.
On the mound for the Pack was veteran right-handed pitcher Sam Highfill. After missing the majority of the 2022 campaign due to injury, he began this season primarily as a reliever to work back into the rhythm. In this matchup, he was given the keys as he made his season debut as the starting man. He certainly did his part, pitching four innings of play without allowing a run and punching three strikeouts.
The bullpen rallied behind him and despite some early struggles, helped slam the door on a feisty Pirates squad. This was largely due to the contributions of junior lefty P.J. Labriola and sophomore righty Carson Kelly. The Pack have now emerged victorious against the Pirates in five of their last seven matchups.
May 4-6 @ Notre Dame
In the final weeks of the Pack’s conference schedule, it did not have an easy path — it had to be on the road for two of its final three series. It began this stretch in South Bend, Indiana when the team took on Notre Dame. After dropping the first game of the series, NC State found a way to rebound and take the series with a pair of very convincing wins.
In the second game of the series, Groover once again made his presence known as he helped bring in three of the Pack’s five runs. This included a home run in the first inning that truly set the tone for the game.
On the mound was junior righty Matt Willadsen, who enjoyed a very successful season. He was masterful in this contest as he pitched 6.2 innings and collected a season-high nine strikeouts while only allowing a single run.
In the rubber match of the series, junior infielder Kalae Harrison and sophomore infielder Payton Green each powered a homerun. The pitching staff was once again lights out as Highfill and freshman lefty Dominic Fritton combined to allow only one Irish run while striking out six batters.
May 18-20 vs Pittsburgh
Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Pack had yet to secure a spot in the ACC Tournament. The Pack needed to take care of business against Pittsburgh to clinch a potential NCAA regional berth. In arguably the biggest series of the season, NC State stood up to the challenge and swept the Panthers.
Perhaps the largest contributor came from freshman catcher Cannon Peebles, who was named to the ACC All-Freshman team at the season’s end. In the three game set, he combined for six hits and eight RBIs. Six of these came from a pair of three-run homerun blasts in back-to-back games for Peebles.
The Wolfpack’s rotation was also quite efficient as redshirt righty Logan Whitaker and Highfill each lasted at least six innings, and only allowed one combined run while collecting a total of 11 strikeouts.
