NC State’s Hot Bats Lead Them to ACC Championship

CHARLOTTE, N.C.- North Carolina State University defeated Georgia Tech in the ACC baseball tournament semifinals with an 8-1 victory and chance at the ACC Championship.

 

It is safe to say that the Pack is on a bit of a hot streak. When these two teams faced off last in February, the outcome was very different.

 

The series between the two ended with The Pack getting swept.
Coincidently, this is the first time State has beaten the Yellow Jackets all year.

 

Yet, it is clear that neither team made any effort to repeat that scenario. Besides, this is Championship baseball, records do not matter. At least for teams other than NC State University.

 

Since April 23, The Wolf pack has played 17 games and lost only three of them. Most impressive is that they have outscored teams 104-38 in their wins.

 

Offensively, they have clicked on almost every cylinder. Making it nearly impossible for teams to keep up with them.

 

On the defensive side, State has not been establishing itself as well. In their last game, which was a loss, the Pack gave up five runs before they had gotten their first out.

 

Even after falling eight runs, they were still able to pull three when they came to bat at the bottom of the ninth. They have flashes of being a great defensive team, but not consistently enough.

 

In today’s game, Georgia Tech was only able to pull together four hits and one run. Yet in the three games, they have lost since April 23 the Pack was outscored 37-28.

 

This is not an enormous deficit by any means. Yet, considering that State scored 11, 11, and six respectively in those losses is eye-catching.

 

 A high-powered offense that puts up those numbers should have won those games. But their defense gave up a staggering 15, 14, and 9.

 

There is little doubt that NC State University is a championship team. They have depth, strength, swagger, and they are on a hot streak.

 

The question that arises is; will their defense hold up if this game turns into a shootout.

 

NC State (30-16, ACC 20-14) will battle with Duke University for the ACC Championship Sunday at noon.