NC State Baseball Emerges as Newly Ranked Team
After TCU’s tragic three-loss week, it was expected that they’d drop from their spot in the top 25 rankings. In their place at the bottom of the pack emerges a formerly unranked team from North Carolina. With the addition of North Carolina State in the top 25 rankings this week, the ACC is looking more dominant than ever. NC State is now the sixth team in the ACC to be ranked.
The Wolfpack currently sit at 27-12 and is 12-6 in conference play so far this year. This past week, they swept Cal in their weekend series. On Thursday, April 17th, the Wolfpack showed no mercy as they shut out the Golden Bears 9-0 to kick off the series. Despite a close 7-6 score on Friday, April 18th, the Bears were never able to find their footing and fell a third time on April 19th.
While Cal is an unranked opponent, road wins do carry a lot of weight. The Wolfpack also did not have the danger of playing a midweek game last week. Midweek games are crucial when they happen, but NC State’s schedule allowed them a break from midweek play. After the former 25th-seed TCU lost all but one of last week’s games, the 25th-ranked spot was up for grabs. Going 3-0 for the week certainly has helped the Wolfpack in this race. Looking back on their schedule, though, another win stands out as well.
While they were unranked, NC State took down 19th-ranked Louisville twice in a series. Also, in the Sunday rubber match to take the series, the Wolfpack managed to defeat the Cardinals in less than nine innings with an 11-1 victory. This kind of drive and talent from this team isn’t anything new. The Wolfpack made an appearance in Omaha at the College World Series last year. Despite being unable to outplay their side of the bracket, NC State is not a team that should be ignored. Their ACC opponent, Georgia Tech, sits just one spot above them in the rankings, and after a week of play against this year’s scrappy East Carolina team and top-five ranked Clemson, the Wolfpack has the opportunity to cause some chaos in next Monday’s rankings.
