While the Hokies toughed through their ACC-opening series loss to Georgia Tech last weekend, NC State was still in the midst of non-conference trials.
But Virginia Tech (12-5) now serves as the Wolfpack’s (12-5) first ACC foe. It heads to Raleigh for a three-game clash starting Friday at 6 p.m. ET on ACC Network Extra. It’s the team’s first single-team road series of the spring.
The last time these teams met, NC State ended the Hokies’ 2024 season with a brutal 19-9 loss in the ACC Tournament.
The Wolfpack can relate to early homestands — its only game as true visitors thus far took place an hour down I-40 at UNC Greensboro — but that’s not to say its non-conference slate was easy.
According to the Massey Ratings, and treating each game as an individual data point, NC State’s average opponent this season ranks 170th in the country while the Hokies’ is 149th. It’s a noticeable gap, but consider that Tech has three ACC games vs. No. 27 Georgia Tech that influence things. So why does the Wolfpack’s (No. 54 on the Massey) strength of schedule come so close?It’s played top-tier opponents in short spurts — without much success. No. 56 Liberty, No. 17 Alabama (D1Baseball), No. 24 Coastal Carolina (D1Baseball) and No. 65 Richmond have all made one-time appearances on the Wolfpack’s docket, but it lost to each by a combined score of 28-12.
An outlying 8-3 loss to No. 124 Ohio State capped a 0-3 second weekend of the year, but it’s stabilized lately — the result of hitting a significantly easier portion of its schedule.
Since Feb. 28, NC State has played and beaten No. 281 Canisius, No. 138 UNC Greensboro, No. 117 Campbell, No. 148 Wright State and No. 273 North Carolina A&T. Six of those nine wins have come in run-rule or shoutout fashion, putting the Wolfpack on a heady — but possibly flukey — winning streak coming into its series with Tech.
VCU transfer Chris McHugh (.400/.472/.633) and Georgia Tech transfer Ryan Jaros (.379/.550/.483) are considerable plate threats, but NC State’s offense has middled the conference this year. It’s 10th in batting (.297) and seventh in OPS (.922) while the Hokies are fifth (.313) and fourth (.970).
The Wolfpack’s mound success has been far more pronounced. It has the ACC’s third best ERA (3.39) and second-lowest earned run total (52). It isn’t a particularly strike-heavy pitching attack, but it does well to deny runs and walks (49, second lowest in the ACC).
However, Tech leads the conference in walks with 83. Second-place? Wake Forest with 74 — in one more game than the Hokies. Injuries to key arms — Madden Clement, Cameron LeJeune, Josh Berzonski and Logan Eisenreich — have exacerbated the issue.
Hokies head coach John Szefc acknowledged how thin his pitching staff was after Sunday’s loss to Georgia Tech, and the consequences were glaring. Hokies relievers issued two walks in the ninth inning on both Friday and Sunday and eventually blew those games. Without better control, the Hokies could dredge to a similar fate this weekend.
But there’s hope yet. LeJeune (no earned runs in four innings) and Berzonski (1.59 ERA in 5 ⅔ innings), transfers from McNeese State and Penn State Harrisburg, respectively, appear to be back in full swing.
Clement (strained flexor tendon) is expected to return later this month, while Eisenreich, dealing with a similar injury, has no definite timeline.
NC State ace Dominic Fritton (1.25 ERA), who’s set to pitch opposite Brett Renfrow (1.40 ERA) on Friday, is coming off back-to-back six-plus inning starts against Wright State and Canisius, where he tallied 22 combined strikeouts and allowed just two earned runs. Before that, the lefty took a loss to Ohio State after issuing six walks over four innings — though only one of the five runs the Buckeyes plated on his watch was earned.
Saturday will likely see Tech’s Jake Marciano (2.45 ERA) and the Wolfpack’s Heath Andrews (2.45) go head-to-head.
Andrews, a Fincastle, Va., native, has been steady this season, allowing six earned runs with 18 strikeouts over 22 innings. On Feb. 22 against Alabama — the only team he’s thrown to with a comparable offense to Tech’s — he recorded six strikeouts and earned two runs despite surrendering four walks and as many hits. The righty is coming off an eight-hit, five-frame outing against Wright State last Saturday.
Sunday may be tricky — a common theme for Tech this season. If Eisenreich is healthy, he’ll likely start. In the just-as-likely case that his injury is lingering, Grant Manning (11.57 ERA) or LeJeune are probable options.
Besides a test-run first inning against ECU, LeJuene has yet to make a start. Manning has three starts (29.00 ERA) but has fared far better in relief (5.50 ERA). Three of Tech’s five losses have featured Manning as its first pitcher.
NC State’s Sunday starting job is far less competitive. Sophomore Ryan Marohn (1.73 ERA) will get first pitch following a 14-strikeout complete game against Wright State last Sunday. A Chantilly, Va., native, Marohn is third in the ACC in strikeouts (38) and first in innings pitched (26). The lefty could be a challenge for a Hokies lineup that had trouble working Georgia Tech’s pitch counts last weekend.
Marohn also played a key role in ending the Hokies’ 2024 campaign — he struck out four and surrendered just one earned run in his first-ever ACC Tournament start.
Game 1 of the series will come at 6 p.m. ET on Friday, followed by a 3 p.m. ET first pitch on Saturday. Heavy rain is forecast to hit Raleigh on Sunday, but the weekend’s final game is set for 1 p.m., barring any weather-related changes. ACC Network Extra will broadcast the series.