Sports
TECHNICIAN
PAGE 12 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2019
Pack baseball NC State faces starts back extremely tough against Bucknell nonconference slate Ethan Barry Staff Writer
SARAH COCHRAN/TECHNICIAN
Junior infielder Evan Edwards puts out Army catcher Trey Martin on Sunday, June 3, 2018 at Doak Field. Edwards hit two home runs versus Army as the Wolfpack beat the Black Knights 11-1.
Camden Speight
Assistant Sports Editor
The NC State baseball team will get things going against the Bucknell Bison on Friday to kick off the Pack’s first weekend series of the 2019 season. They last met in March of 2016 when NC State won 5-2. The preseason-ranked No. 21 Pack was 42-18 overall and 19-11 in the ACC last season and looks to build similar success this year despite losing a number of key pieces in the outfield. However, the infield remains strongly intact and will be the strength of the team on both sides of the ball. Bucknell was 17-27-1 and 13-11-1 in the Patriot League in the 2018 season. The Bison lost their top two players by batting average from last season so there are some large shoes to fill at the top of the lineup. NC State will face four players who were picked for Preseason All-Patriot League Team led by Jeff Gottesman. Gottesman went 5-4 last season with a 2.85 ERA and will likely get a start this weekend. If Gottesman gets the start on
Friday afternoon, he would face Pack junior starter Jason Parker. NC State pitchers will have to be careful while pitching to a couple of position players who also made the preseason conference team. First baseman Tyler Wincig hit .277 last season and tallied 15 RBIs. Outfielder JohnPaul Bell hit .250 and led the team with five home runs, while catcher Evan Klugerman hit .235 and led the team with 26 RBIs. NC State knows the production it will get from junior shortstop Will Wilson, sophomore catcher Patrick Bailey and senior first baseman Evan Edwards, but it will be important for this team to get the rest of the lineup producing offensively. Sophomore outfielder Terrell Tatum and redshirt junior third baseman Dillon Cooper are two guys that the Pack need to step up after losing all three outfielders to the MLB last year. Cooper started at third base for the first half of the season but his defensive play slipped and caused a switch at that position. NC State will look to get off the ground against the Bison on Friday at 3 p.m. at Doak Field at Dail Park. Saturday’s first pitch is at 2 p.m. and Sunday’s is at 1 p.m.
One of the most important parts of building a quality resume for the NCAA Tournament, regardless of the sport, is the nonconference schedule. The difference between a strong nonconference slate and bad nonconference slate can be as big as missing the tournament versus making the tournament. Last year, the NC State baseball team was in danger of not hosting a regional because the nonconference schedule was so bad. It was the biggest knock against a team that had one of the best regular seasons in NC State history. Fortunately, or unfortunately based on how it played out, the Pack was able to snag the last national seed and host a regional, despite its nonconference schedule. This year, the Wolfpack won’t be in trouble because of the strength of schedule. Let’s take a look at that schedule. The biggest nonconference series of the season will be one of the toughest tests all year when Minnesota comes to town from March 1-3. The Gophers went 44-15 last season, won the Big Ten and won their regional before losing to eventual national champion Oregon State in Super Regionals. Minnesota lost their best hitter, Terrin Vavra, but returns the majority of its pitching staff. This series figures to be one of the premier nonconference matchups in the country. From there, the nonconference schedule shifts to midweek matchups when conference series take over the weekends. The Pack has road games against in-state teams Elon, Campbell, UNC-Wilmington and Charlotte, who each finished in the top 110 of the RPI. Of those teams, the Seahawks will likely take a step back from finishing one game away from Super Regionals, but otherwise each will be a potential NCAA Tournament team. NC State has a home and road series with Coastal Carolina, who is one of the best mid-major teams in the country year in and year out. This year, D1 Baseball ranked them No. 21 in their preseason poll. The most underrated nonconference games is when Tennessee Tech comes to
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Sophomore infielder Will Wilson runs to third base against Georgia Tech on Friday, March 23 at Doak Field. Although losing 13-4 to the Yellow Jackets in the first game of that day’s doubleheader, the Wolfpack came back to win the second matchup 5-2.
Raleigh on April 23, a year after finishing 15th in RPI, winning the regional against No. 4 overall seed Ole Miss and coming within one game of advancing to Omaha and the College World Series. This Golden Eagles team won’t be that good, but they’ll still be a good challenge for the Wolfpack. A not her big nonconference ga me comes in Charlotte on April 2 against South Carolina, another team who advanced to Super Regionals last year and was one game away from Omaha. The
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