RALEIGH, N.C. -- NC State plays postseason baseball at Doak Field tonight.
Let that sink in.
The Wolfpack opens its stint in the first Raleigh Regional since 2018 by taking on No. 4 seed Bryant in the second game of the day. Tonight's winner advances to face the winner of South Carolina-James Madison who hit the field at 2 p.m. First things first, the Pack9 must take care of business against the Bulldogs before looking ahead to tomorrow. Sam Highfill takes the mound tonight tasked with quieting the Bulldog bats; he and the Pack face Austin Wainer on the other end for Bryant.
Before Wolfpack postseason baseball takes the field at the Doak, here's a look at the full game information along with the game notes from NC State Athletics.
No. 4 Bryant vs No. 1 NC State Game Information
First pitch: Friday, May 31, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET
Location: Doak Field, Raleigh, N.C.
TV: ESPN+
Live Stream:
Radio:
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Pack Notes
NC State, the No. 10 national seed in this year's NCAA Tournament, will host an NCAA Regional for the seventh time in program history, all of which have come during the Elliott Avent era. All seven of NC State's times hosting a Regional have come since 2003. NC State enters this weekend with an 18-5 record in home Regional matchups (Wilson and Raleigh). A brief note on each of those Regional host weekends is listed below:
• 2003 (Wilson, N.C.): NC State polished off a 3-0 record to advance to the Super Regionals against Miami.
• 2008: NC State posted a 3-0 record, highlighted by back-to-back wins over South Carolina, to advance to the Super Regionals against Georgia.
• 2012: NC State clawed back from a game two defeat to advance to the Super Regionals against Florida. The Wolfpack went 4-1 at The Doak and defeated Vanderbilt twice in the Regional finals to advance to the next round.
• 2013: The Wolfpack allowed just three runs in a perfect 3-0 weekend in Raleigh to then host its first Super Regional at The Doak. NC State then notched back-to-back one-run victories over Rice to advance to the College World Series for the first time since 1968.
• 2016: NC State failed to advance out of its own Regional for the first time in program history, falling to eventual national champion Coastal Carolina in a winner-take-all matchup.
• 2018: NC State dropped its opening-round matchup to Army before Auburn punched a ticket to the Super Regionals in the Regional final.
NC STATE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
NC State holds a 63-68 all-time record in 33 prior NCAA postseason appearances. The Wolfpack has advanced to the Super Regionals five times and the College World Series three times.
NC State went 1-2 this past season at the NCAA Columbia Regional, opening its NCAA postseason appearance with a 5-1 victory over No. 12 Campbell. Host South Carolina then defeated the Wolfpack 6-3 before the Fighting Camels notched an 11-1 victory to advance to the Regional final.
In 2021, the Wolfpack advanced to the College World Series, posting a 7-2 record in its run to Omaha. NC State swept the NCAA Ruston Regional before storming back from a game one defeat in the Super Regionals against Arkansas to punch its ticket to Omaha.
A FAMILIAR PLACE
NC State punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the 34th time on Monday afternoon. A few notes concerning the Wolfpack's selection to the NCAA Tournament:
• 12th NCAA Regional appearance in the past 14 years the NCAA Tournament has been held
• 18th NCAA Regional appearance in the past 21 tournaments dating back to 2003
• 21 NCAA Regional appearances for head coach Elliott Avent at NC State
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST BRYANT
NC State will face off against Bryant for the first time on Friday night at Doak Field. The Bulldogs are 1-6 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST SOUTH CAROLINA
NC State holds a 35-23 overall record against South Carolina in the all-time series. More notes from the series against the Gameco*cks are listed below:
• NC State is 2-0 against South Carolina in postseason matchups played in Raleigh. The Wolfpack won back-to-back one-run games over the Gameco*cks to post a 3-0 record in the 2008 NCAA Raleigh Regional, advancing to a Super Regional matchup against Georgia. The Pack posted a 5-4 win on May 31 before sealing a Regional victory with a 2-1 triumph on June 1.
• NC State is 2-4 against the Gameco*cks in the NCAA Tournament.
• NC State and South Carolina are grouped in the same NCAA Regional for the second straight season. The Wolfpack went 1-2 in the NCAA Columbia Regional this past season, opening the tournament with a 5-1 win over No. 12 Campbell before falling 6-3 to the Gameco*cks in a Saturday night showdown.
• NC State has only faced South Carolina four times in the 21st century. The Pack is 2-2 since 2000 against the Gameco*cks.
• Head coach Elliott Avent is 2-0 all-time against former NC State and South Carolina head coach Ray Tanner. Tanner is now the athletic director at South Carolina.
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST JAMES MADISON
NC State is 7-2 all-time against James Madison. More notes from the series against the Dukes are listed below:
• NC State has won the past seven games in the series against James Madison. The Wolfpack has outscored JMU 57-18 over its seven-game winning streak against the Dukes.
• NC State is 1-0 against James Madison in the NCAA Tournament, winning its 2008 Raleigh Regional opener 6-2 over JMU at Doak Field.
• The Wolfpack polished off a three-game sweep over JMU to open the abbreviated 2020 season. NC State shut out James Madison 4-0 in the series opener before posting a 9-6 win and an 11-2 win, respectively, to complete the sweep.
• Eight of the nine matchups against JMU have come during the Elliott Avent era. Avent is 7-1 against the Dukes in his Wolfpack coaching career.
• James Madison won the first two games in the series with a 3-2 win on March 11, 1977, and a 5-2 win on Feb. 16, 2002.
EVERYTHING SCHOOL
NC State's athletics department has been rolling this spring. A few notes documenting NC State's success in 2024:
• NC State is one of just eight schools to make the postseason in baseball, football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The Wolfpack is joined by Arizona, Duke, North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Alabama.
• NC State is one of just two schools to host both an NCAA Baseball Regional and the NCAA Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds. Oregon State joins the Wolfpack in the elite group.
TOUGH SLATE
NC State exceled during its gauntlet of a finish to ACC play with all of its final five ACC series coming against top 15 teams in the D1Baseball Top 25 at the time of the games being played. The Wolfpack went 10-4 in its final five ACC series, winning four of those series and splitting a two-game set at No. 7 Florida State. The Wolfpack posted series wins at No. 2 Clemson and No. 10 Virginia and recorded series wins at home against No. 8 Wake Forest and No. 11 North Carolina
NC State's strength of schedule finished at No. 3 nationally, according to warrennolan.com. The Pack's strength of schedule ranked first among all ACC teams. NC State's 12 wins over Quadrant I opponents ranked second in the league just behind Duke (13), the winners of the ACC Tournament title. NC State also finished with a perfect 9-0 record against Quadrant IV opponents.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Garrett Pennington's 23 doubles rank tied for first among all ACC players entering the NCAA Tournament. The first baseman's 0.43 doubles per game also rank first among all ACC players and 15th nationally. Pennington smacked a career-high three doubles in NC State's 19-9 win over Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament.
