Wolfpack Baseball, having already clinched the road series at Wake with a lopsided 19-1 win Friday night and a 3-2 nailbiter Saturday, came into Monday’s nationally televised game in Winston-Salem looking to keep moving forward.
Logan Ratledge had a nice little offensive night as he got the Pack on the board quickly with a leadoff solo shot to left. Then, when he came to bat again in the top of the 3rd, he launched a 2 run blast to give the Pack a 3-0 advantage. He would end the night going 2 for 4 with 2 HR, 3 RBI and 3 runs scored.
Wake would fight back to tie things up before the rain and lightning temporarily put a halt to things with 2 down in the Pack’s half of the 5th. But after the rains had ended and play resumed, the Pack jumped on Wake again quickly, putting together a nice 2 out rally before going down in the 5th. They would add another run in the 6th for a 6-3 lead.
But with their backs to the wall to qualify for the ACCT, Wake would not roll over and die. To their credit, they continued to scratch and claw in the later innings, seemingly taking advantage of every Wolfpack miscue (and there were plenty).
When Wolfpack reliever Tommy DeJuneas plunked Wake’s Gavin Sheets, his 2nd hit batsman of the frame, to load the bases with none away in the Wake half of the 8th and the Pack clinging to a narrow 1 run lead, things weren’t looking terribly rosy. But DeJuneas would bear down and retire the next three batters in succession, striking out two of them, to get out of the jam.
Then in the 9th, with the Pack still clinging to the narrow 6-5 lead, Andrew Knizner would put the cherry on top of the sundae with a majestic 3 run blast to left center, giving the Pack some breathing room.
And it was breathing room the Pack would need as DeJuneas would come out for the 9th still a bit shaky, and Wake would again load the bases. DeJuneas would yield to Travis Orwig with the sacks full, and Wake would manage to push a run across, but Orwig managed to retire the only two batters he faced, giving State the 9-6 victory and the road sweep of the Deacs.
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With the win, the Pack’s win streak has now reached 9 straight games and runs their overall record to 30-18, 14-12 ACC. State has won 3 consecutive series, sweeping the past two. The win also clinches a spot for the Pack9 in the ACC Baseball Tournament, as the Pack can now finish no worse than 10th overall in the ACC Baseball Tournament seeding process, even with a worst-case-scenario sweep at the hands of Louisville.
At the moment however, State sits alone in the #5 hole, just a half game behind #4 Notre Dame and a full game ahead of both #6 Clemson and #7 Carolina (Clemson owns that tiebreaker).
As of now, as we head toward the finish line, the seedings are as follows…
- Louisville 23-4
- Miami 19-8
- FSU 17-10
- Notre Dame 15-12
- NC State 14-12
- Clemson 13-13
- Carolina 13-13
- Georgia Tech 13-14
- Virginia Tech 12-14
- Virginia 12-15
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Wake 11-16
ACC Standings
Atlantic
| Schools | Conf W-L-T | Conf PCT | W-L-T | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville | 23-4-0 | .852 | 40-12-0 | .769 | |
| Florida State | 17-10-0 | .630 | 37-16-0 | .698 | |
| Notre Dame | 15-12-0 | .556 | 33-18-0 | .647 | |
| NC State | 14-12-0 | .538 | 30-18-0 | .625 | |
| Clemson | 13-13-0 | .500 | 27-25-0 | .519 | |
| Wake Forest | 11-16-0 | .407 | 26-24-0 | .520 | |
| Boston College | 9-17-0 | .346 | 26-24-0 | .520 |
Coastal
| Schools | Conf W-L-T | Conf PCT | W-L-T | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | 19-8-0 | .704 | 38-13-0 | .745 | |
| North Carolina | 13-13-0 | .500 | 31-19-0 | .620 | |
| Georgia Tech | 13-14-0 | .481 | 32-18-0 | .640 | |
| Virginia Tech | 12-14-0 | .462 | 26-24-0 | .520 | |
| Virginia | 12-15-0 | .444 | 29-19-0 | .604 | |
| Duke | 8-18-0 | .308 | 28-21-0 | .571 | |
| Pitt | 7-20-0 | .259 | 17-31-0 | .354 |
As far as the NCAA Tournament is concerned, the road sweep of Wake should do a lot to help the Pack’s case with the selection committee. Their RPI, which was in the low to mid 50s coming into the weekend, should come in right around #40 after tonight’s win. And with all of the rainouts the Pack has endured this season, not to mention their less than stellar road record on the season, their 30 wins now contain more than just a few quality ones.
(UPDATE: Pack9’s RPI after tonights win is #41)
Which is not to say that the Pack is off the bubble. But they are certainly leaning way further in the right direction at this point than they were 9 games ago. 2 out of 3 this coming weekend vs Louisville might even earn a #2 seed, unfathomable just a couple of weeks ago.
The road record itself, now 7-12, is not so much of an issue with NCAAT selection, but since the Pack will be playing away from Raleigh in both the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, getting that monkey off their back is a good thing psychologically if nothing else.
So, with Louisville coming to town this weekend (Thursday thru Saturday) the Pack9 will hopefully be loose and looking at it as the opportunity that it is. A highly ranked team on its home turf. Lots to gain, very little to lose at this point.
Go Pack!!!
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