Category Archives: N.C. State

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State’s Mathews enters tourney as ACC’s hottest hitter

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NC State’s Ryan Mathews enters the tournament as the ACC’s hottest hitter, currently on the longest active hitting streak in the conference at 21 games. Mathews has six home runs in his last seven games, and took both National and ACC Player of the Week honors on Monday.

Third-seeded NC State opens its ACC Tournament against Miami, Wednesday at 3 p.m. at NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro, N.C.

The Wolfpack (38-15, 19-11 ACC) returns to action on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Wake Forest, before finishing its pool play schedule with North Carolina at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Pack must finish with the best record (or win a tiebreaker) in its pool to advance to the ACC Championship game Sunday at noon.

Trea Turner could own the ACC single-season record for stolen bases by the end of the weekend. The freshman sits 54-for-58 on the year, leading the nation by 14 and the ACC by 32, nine shy of the conference record set by Brian Roberts in 1998.

In addition to his speed on the base paths, Turner poses a threat at the plate. The Lake Worth, Fla. native has a .340 batting average, good for top-10 in the ACC, but does significant damage early in the game. Turner bats .372 and has 18 runs in the first inning, having led off every game this season for the Pack. He has scored in 18 of State’s last 19 games, eight of the last 12 first innings.

The Wolfpack represents the only team in the conference with four players batting over .340 (top 10 in the ACC). Aside from Turner, Chris Diaz leads the team with a .369 average, Mathews is hitting .343, and Canela sits ninth in the ACC at .340. No other conference squad has more than two batters in the top 10.

Turner, Mathews, and Diaz each made All-ACC first team on Monday alongside Carlos Rodon, who claimed both the ACC Freshman and Pitcher of the Year awards. Rodon marks the first freshman in conference history to earn either Player or Pitcher of the Year honors.

Radio coverage for all of NC State’s tournament games will be provided by 88.1 WKNC

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Despite losing stars, ACC basketball still has dangerous teams

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Probably the first ACC basketball prediction article has appeared on CBS Sports online and the college basketball writer has North Carolina State as the team to beat followed by the depleted North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils. Rounding out the top five are Miami and Florida State.

Just like in the old days, “Next season, Tobacco Road will control the top of the ACC, with the middle and bottom of the ACC needing to work their way up,” CBS Sports’ Jeff Borzello said.

However, Borzello said that the ACC as a whole is headed for a rebuilding season. “The top of the league has multiple questions, and it remains to be seen if any are legitimate Final Four threats at this poin,” he said. “Moreover, the entire All-ACC first team is gone, as are two more players from the second team. There are several candidates for breakout seasons, though, and eight top-100 recruits are entering the fold. Youth will be a theme of the ACC this season.”

On the Wolfpack, he wrote, “Pack have two all-league players, four returning starters and a national top-five recruiting class. On paper, might be best in the league.”

On the Tar Heels, he wrote, “Heels are talented, but have questions. Is Marcus Paige ready at PG? Are P.J. Hairston, James McAdoo and Reggie Bullock ready to break out? ”

And on the Blue Devils, he wrote, “Rasheed Sulaimon could be a top-10 frosh, but the Blue Devils have questions on the perimeter. Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly have to step up.”

The predicted all-conference team is Lorenzo Brown (North Carolina State), Michael Snaer (Florida State), C.J. Leslie (North Carolina State), James Michael McAdoo (North Carolina) and Mason Plumlee (Duke).

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State’s Choi tied for first in golf championship, keeping Pack alive

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Sophomore Albin Choi’s 5-under 66 on Friday kept NC State’s chances of advancing to the NCAA Championship alive as the club sits seventh in the field after two rounds of the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional at U-M Golf Course.

The low five teams advance to the championship. The Wolfpack fired a 2-under 282 during Friday’s second round, and owns a 36-hole score of 4-over 572. State will begin Saturday four shots out of fifth place, currently occupied by fellow ACC member Virginia.

Choi had one of the most amazing rounds of golf in his brief, but successful collegiate career. Hovering at even par with four holes left, the Freshman All-America eagled back-to-back par-4’s, and then birdied the next par-3 to record a 2 on three-straight holes.

He drove the green on the 309-yard par-4 sixth and made a 10-footer for the first eagle, and then holed out from 40 yards from the fairway on No. 7. Choi is the only player in the field to eagle the 378-yard par-4 so far in the regional.

Choi is tied atop the leader board at 7-under 135 with TCU’s Julien Brun. A group of four golfers are one-shot behind at -6. Two of them, Virginia’s Ben Kohles and Oregon’s Daniel Miernicki, posted 65’s today, the only rounds better than Choi on Friday.

Seniors Chad Day and Graham Baillargeon, and junior Mitchell Sutton all posted rounds of 1-over 72 on Friday.

Sutton is tied for 30th at 3-over 145. He had three birdies today on his card.

Day had a very steady morning with one birdie and two bogeys, and is tied for 46th through 36 holes at 7-over 149. He has recorded 25 pars so far in 36 holes, which is among the top figures in the field.

Baillargeon had four birdies and five bogeys through his trek around the course today and is tied for 55th at 9-over 151.

Senior Mark McMillen had a tough day with an 81, despite posting three birdies on Friday. He is tied for 59th at 10-over 152.

Southern California stormed up the standings with a 12-under 272 and leads at 7-under 561. Pac-12 mate Oregon, Kent State and TCU are all one-shot back at 6-under 562.

Virginia is fifth at even-par 568, Notre Dame is sixth at 1-over 569, and NC State is seventh.

The low five teams at the regional and the low individual not on a qualifying team will advance to the NCAA Championship, to be held May 29-June 3 at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

NC State begins Saturday’s final round at 7:30 a.m., off hole No. 10 for the third-straight day. The Wolfpack will play with Oklahoma State for the second day in a row, and Kennesaw State.

Team Results
1. Southern California 289-272=561 (-7)
T2. Oregon 288-274=562 (-6)
T2. Kent State 286-276=562 (-6)
T2. TCU 278-284=562 (-6)
5. Virginia 287-281=568 (E)
6. Notre Dame 291-278=569 (+1)
7. NC State 290-282=572 (+4)
8. Oklahoma State 290-283=573 (+5)
9. Kennesaw State 287-290=577 (+9)
10. Purdue 291-293=584 (+16)
11. Baylor 296-297=593 (+25)
12. Ohio State 305-297=602 (+34)
13. Navy 322-306=628 (+60)

NC State Individual Results
T1. Albin Choi 69-66=135 (-7)
T30. Mitchell Sutton 73-72=145 (+3)
T46. Chad Day 77-72=149 (+7)
T55. Graham Baillargeon 79-72=151 (+9)
T59. Mark McMillen 71-81=152 (+10)

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NCSU women’s golf advances to first-ever NCAA championship

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NC State women’s golf advanced to its first-ever NCAA Championship by finishing seventh of 24 teams at the NCAA Central Regional on an 12-over par 300 final round, Saturday at Ohio State’s par 72, 6,264 yard Scarlet Course.

The 2012 Wolfpack solidified its case as the best team in the program’s history by securing its first championship berth ever on its highest finish ever at an NCAA Regional, bettering the previous record of 10th set in 2008.

Augusta James also made history by finishing tied for 10th, improving on Colby Cobb’s school-record 13th place finish in the 2002 NCAA East Regional. James scaled the individual leaderboard with a 1-under 71 over the final round, for a 6-over 222 total.

Brittany Marchand also landed in the top-20 with her best round of the tournament, a 2-over 74 to end up in 18th at 10-over with a 226.

Amanda Baker fired a 4-over 76 to finish 43rd, equaling her first round to finish with a 15-over 231. Vivian Tsui rounded out the Pack’s team scorecard with a 7-over 79, good for a 16-over 232 to finish 45th. Ana Menendez wrapped up her regional with an 8-over 80 to finish 88th.

State finished third in its group with Ohio State and Tennessee, but climbed in front of Oregon and held off a charge by Arkansas to qualify for the championship. Southern Cal won the regional by 25 strokes with a 10-over 874 total, bolstered by a final round 286. Southern Cal’s Lisa McCloskey shared medalist honors with Florida State’s Maria Salinas at 3-under 213.

The Wolfpack represents one of 24 teams nationwide to move on to the NCAA Championship, held May 22-25 at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn. Live scoring for the NCAA Championship will be available on Golfstat.com.

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Turner steals 50th base as Pack wins 12th in a row

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For the second time Saturday, Ryan Mathews provided No. 13 NC State’s game-winning hit, blasting a two-run shot with two outs in the seventh to push the Wolfpack ahead en route to a 6-2 win over Virginia Tech at English Field.

The Wolfpack (36-12, 18-8 ACC) took a 1-0 lead in the top half of the third before Virginia Tech (32-18, 10-16 ACC) answered with a pair in the bottom half to take a 2-1 lead. State tied the game in the fifth, then Mathews’s two-run blast made it 4-2 in the seventh. Another pair of runs came in during an error-riddled ninth to make the final margin 6-2.

The victory extends the Pack’s current winning streak to 12 games, the longest run since State won 16 in a row in 2003. State’s 18 conference wins ties the most in a single season, matching 2008.

Trea Turner stole a pair of bases in the to improve to 50-for-52 on the year and become only the third player in ACC history to steal 50 bases in a single season, joining Georgia Tech’s Ty Griffin (50 in 1986) and UNC’s Brian Roberts (63 in 1997). Turner finished the game 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, marking the 15th-consecutive game the freshman has scored at least one run.

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Eight area players sign as NFL undrafted free agents

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Thirty-six players from ACC schools have signed undrafted free agent deals with NFL teams. Safety Matt Daniels, the only player from Duke to sign, went to the Rams while five UNC players signed, along with two N.C. State players. One of the biggest surprises is that Carolina’s receiver Dwight Jones wasn’t drafted but he’ll be reunited with QB T.J. Yates in Houston.

BOSTON COLLEGE
CB Donnie Fletcher – New York Jets

CLEMSON
DE Kourtnel Brown – San Francisco 49ers
FB Chad Diehl – Baltimore Ravens
OL Antoine McClain – Baltimore Ravens
DT Rennie Moore – Houston Texans

DUKE
S Matt Daniels – St. Louis Rams

FSU
WR Bert Reed – Cleveland Browns
S Terrence Parks – Kansas City Chiefs
P Shawn Powell – Buffalo Bills

MARYLAND
CB Cameron Chism – Indianapolis Colts
RB Davin Meggett – Houston Texans

MIAMI
WR LaRon Byrd – Arizona Cardinals
TE Chase Ford – Philadelphia Eagles
DL Marcus Forston – New England Patriots
LB Jordan Futch – Tampa Bay Bucaneers
G Harland Gunn – Dallas Cowboys
C Tyler Horn – Atlanta Falcons
S JoJo Nicolas – New York Giants
DL Adewale Ojomo – New York Giants
DT Micanor Regis – Atlanta Falcons

UNC
CB Charles Brown – Baltimore Ravens
C Cam Holland – Kansas City Chiefs
WR Dwight Jones – Houston Texans
S Matt Merletti – Indianapolis Colts
DT Tydreke Powell – Minnesota Vikings

NC STATE
TE George Bryan – Dallas Cowboys
FB Taylor Gentry – Kansas City Chiefs

VIRGINIA
CB Chase Minnifield – Washington Redskins
OG Austin Pasztor – Minnesota Vikings
S Rodney McLeod – St. Louis Rams
DT Matt Conrath – St. Louis Rams

VIRGINIA TECH
WR Jarrett Boykin – Jacksonville Jaguars
OT Jaymes Brooks – Green Bay Packers
S Eddie Whitley – Dallas Cowboys

WAKE FOREST
TE Cameron Ford – Green Bay Packers
S Chyl Quarles – Baltimore Ravens

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ACC has 15 of first 100 selections in 2012 NFL Draft

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The Atlantic Coast Conference had 15 of the first 100 players chosen and 31 overall selections in the three days of 2012 NFL Draft, which concluded Saturday at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly (Carolina Panthers), North Carolina defensive end Quinton Coples (New York Jets) and Virginia Tech running back David Wilson (New York Giants) were all chosen in the first round of the Draft.

In all, the ACC had 15 of the first 100 players taken, and tied with the PAC-12 Conference for the second-highest total among all conferences in the top 100, behind only the Southeastern Conference (17).

The SEC led all conferences in overall selections with 42 players chosen in the draft, followed by the Big Ten with 41 and the ACC with 31.

The PAC-12 was fourth with 29 players taken, followed by the Big 12 Conference (24) and the Big East and Mountain West Conferences each with 12.

Conference affiliation was determined in which conference the schools played during the 2011 college football season.

The 31 draftees marked the 8th consecutive year the ACC has had 30 or more (actually 31 or more) players chosen in the NFL Draft, a current streak only matched or exceeded by the SEC.

Miami led all ACC schools with six players selected, followed by NC State with five, and Clemson, Florida State and Wake Forest with four each. Virginia Tech had three players taken, followed by North Carolina with two and Boston College, Georgia Tech and Virginia with one apiece.

In addition to the 31 current players selected in the draft, Wisconsin QB Russell Wilson, the 2009 ACC Rookie of the Year, who played his first three seasons at NC State before graduating, was selected in the third round and 75th overall by the Seattle Seahawks.

Georgia Tech’s Stephen Hill was selected on the second round of the draft as the 43rd overall pick by the New York Jets, continuing a streak of ACC wide receivers who have been selected in the first or second round of the NFL Draft every year since 2005, a total of eight consecutive drafts.

Kuechly, the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year and perhaps the most honored defensive player in league history, was the first ACC player chosen; selected 9th overall by the Carolina Panthers. Kuechly was honored in 2011 as the National Defensive Player of the Year, winning the FWAA’s Nagurski Award, the prestigious Lombardi Award and the Ronnie Lott IMPACT Award. He was also named the nation’s top linebacker as winner of the Butkus Award.

Kuechly, from Cincinnati, Ohio, led the nation in tackles as a sophomore and junior and finished 2nd nationally in tackles per game as a true freshman. He ended his career as the ACC’s all-time leading tackler and set league and NCAA records for most tackles per game in a career and season.

He became the fifth Boston College player chosen in the first round of the NFL Draft in the last five years, joining former Eagles Anthony Castonzo (2011), B.J. Raji (2010), Matt Ryan (2008) and Gosder Cherilus (2008). He is also the 19th Boston College player selected in the first round by the NFL Draft

North Carolina defensive end Quinton Coples was the second ACC player taken, being chosen 16th overall by the New York Jets. The ACC was one of only three leagues the SEC with 8 and the PAC-12 (4), to have more than one player chosen among the first 16 selections.

This year marked the second straight draft a defensive end from UNC has been selected on the first round of the Draft. North Carolina’s Robert Quinn was taken 14th overall in the 2011 Draft by the St. Louis Rams. Coples also becomes the 20th UNC player to be chosen in the first round of the NFL Draft, including four selections in the last five Drafts as Coples joined Quinn (2011), WR Hakeem Nicks (2009) and DT Kentwan Balmer (2008) as opening-round selections.

A two-time first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference performer, Coples played both end and tackle at UNC. A native of Kinston, N.C., Coples finished his four-year career with 40.5 tackles for losses and 24 sacks.

Virginia Tech’s David Wilson, who led the conference in rushing with 1,709 yards and was named the ACC Offensive and Overall Player of the Year, was the final ACC player selected on Day One of the NFL Draft. Wilson was also the last player chosen on the first day of the Draft, being tabbed 32nd overall by the New York Giants/

Wilson, a native of Danville, Va., compiled the third-highest single-season rushing total rushing total in league history with 1,709 rushing yards. He was also a dangerous kickoff returner, having returned two for touchdowns as a sophomore. He finished the 2011 season ranked eighth nationally in all-purpose yardage and rushing yards per game.

He became Virginia Tech’s eighth first-round selection in the NFL Draft and its second running back chosen in the first two rounds of the Draft in two years. Ryan Williams of Tech was tabbed 38th overall in the second round of the 2011 Draft. He is also the second running back from Tech to be drafted on the first round, joining Kevin Jones, who was tabbed as the 30th overall pick of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions.

Both Kuechly and Wilson were early entries into this year’s NFL Draft, each opting for the NFL with a year of eligibility remaining. In all, the ACC had 10 early entries selected in this year’s draft.

Kuechly was the first linebacker selected in the Draft, while Coples was the first defensive end chosen. Wilson was the second running back selected behind Boise State’s Doug Martin, who was tabbed just one pick earlier (31) by the Tampa Bay Bucs.

A total of 19 NFL teams selected ACC players, Three drafted a trio of ACC athletes each: the New York Giants (David Wilson, Virginia Tech; Jayron Hosley, Virginia Tech; and Markus Kuhn, NC State); the New York Jets (Quinton Coples, North Carolina; Stephen Hill, Georgia Tech; Josh Bush,Wake Forest); and the Buffalo Bills (T.J. Graham, NC State; Nigel Bradham and Zebrie Sanders, Florida State).

Six other teams selected two ACC players each: the Dallas Cowboys (Kyle Wilber, Wake Forest; Danny Coale, Virginia Tech); Green Bay Packers (Terrell Manning, NC State; Andrew Datko, Florida State), Jacksonville Jaguars (Andre Branch, Clemson; Mike Harris, Florida State); Miami Dolphins (Olivier Vernon and Lamar Miller, Miami); the San Francisco 49’ers (Joe Looney, Wake Forest; Cam Johnson, Virginia) and Tennessee Titans (Zach Brown, North Carolina; Coty Sensabaugh, Clemson).

Ten NFL teams selected one ACC player: the Baltimore Ravens (Tommy Streeter, Miami); Carolina Panthers (Kuechly, Boston College); Cincinnati Bengals (Brandon Thompson, Clemson); Cleveland Browns (Travis Benjamin, Miami); Indianapolis Colts (Dwayne Allen, Clemson); Minnesota Vikings (Audie Cole); Philadelphia Eagles(Brandon Washington, Miami); Pittsburgh Steelers (Sean Spence, Miami); St. Louis Rams (Chris Givens, Wake Forest); and Seattle Seahawks (J.R. Sweezy, NC State).

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Q&A – State’s O’Brien says he’s satisfied with his team, and their health

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During the ACC Spring Football Coaches Teleconference Q&A, N.C. State football coach Tom O’Brien said he’s satisfied with his team which finished spring drills without any new injuries.

“We only had two guys not participate, scholarship guys. That is the least amount of injured that we’ve had coming out of spring,” he said. “We’re looking forward to getting ourselves ready to play a great game against Tennessee.”

Q. Coach, could you go a little more
into the program and what your players benefit
from that experience and where you first saw
that and thought that could be of help?

COACH O’BRIEN: Well, the program is
something that we did two years ago. It was first
brought to my attention. It was started up in the
New England area, so I had some idea. Learned
about Eric, a fellow Naval Academy graduate and
what he was trying to do with it. It’s all about
leadership training and team building.
I think it worked very well for us two years
ago, so we brought him back and did it Monday
night. We were on the field at 8:00 o’clock Monday
night. Got off the field a little after 11:30, and were
in the pool 4:30 the next morning.
He brings basically himself, who is special
operations, two other fellow Marine officers, a
captain and a major that were special operations, a
former NFL player, and they run the team through
various drills and various team building exercises.
I think it’s a great experience for the team. I think
they really enjoy it, especially once it’s over.

Q. What did you come out of spring
ball kind of feeling more encouraged about that
maybe you were looking to learn about your
team in the spring? On the flip side, what do
you go into August thinking I didn’t see enough
of what I wanted to see positively in this regard
in the spring, and thinking I hope I can see that
in August?

COACH O’BRIEN: Well, I think this is the
biggest thing we have to solve in August is the
linebacker position. We lost four kids. We planned
on losing two. Weren’t sure about Mann when he
went, and then certainly D.J. Green was a big
surprise to us. So not a lot of experience coming
back there at all. Have to play a lot of young kids.
Hopefully coach Tenuta can get these guys
headed in the right direction.
The other position on offense is the wide
receiver where we lost three kids last year that
played a lot of football for us.
Those are two key areas that we have so
solve. I think we’re making progress in some other
spots. We spent a lot of time on the offensive and
defensive line shuffling guys around. We have
experience coming back at those positions, but
aren’t anywhere near set on who is going to play
what position except with Wentz playing center.
So those are areas that we have some
guys but we kept moving around and kind of happy
with where we can be, then the experience with
secondary showed up at spring practice with those
four kids back there, that three of them are going to
be three-year starters, and the other ones, a
two-year starter, going into three years, and their
experience played out well in spring.

Q. For those of us who are old enough
to remember his father is an all ACC defensive
lineman, is R.J. ready to take that step on the
offensive line?

COACH O’BRIEN: We think so. I think he
has NFL potential. We’ve kind of moved him
around. He’s played about every different spot on
the line. He was a right guard, a right tackle and a
left tackle. We’re trying to get settled into a
position for him. But he has the skillset to play at
the next level. I think that he’s going to need a
good year this year to do it.
I’m glad he’s on our team. He’s got the
same fiery personality and leadership traits as his
father. He’s one guy that when we did the program
and the leadership drills the other night, he stood
out to this football team.

Q. The spring prospect us listed him at
313. Is that a good, comfortable weight for
him?

COACH O’BRIEN: Yeah, I believe so.
He’s moving well. He had an injury last year where
he had a floating body in the back part of his ankle
that required surgery in the off-season. We
thought he was going to miss all of spring practice,
and he missed the first five days.
So you didn’t see many ill effects coming
off the surgery with his ankle. He played through it
last year, but he certainly looked quicker on his
feet this spring than he did at the end of last year.

Q. I wanted to ask you about David
Amerson and how does he follow up a year
where I think they said it was the most
interceptions in a season by anybody in the
FBS since 1968. In my past experience, when
guys have big interception years early in their
career, they don’t get many after that because
people won’t throw at them. Is that something
you expect to see? How do you prepare to use
a weapon like that?

COACH O’BRIEN: Well, that’s left to be
seen what teams do. I think that happened a little
towards the end of the year, but certainly in the
bowl game they threw at him. He got his record
setting pick and played one of the most remarkable
interception returns for a touchdown I’ve ever
seen. Then he got the last play of the game.
I think that may be the case, and hopefully
he doesn’t get frustrated. But if that is the case,
that takes away a third of the field from a lot of
people, which then helps us with the rest of the
defense.

Q. Is there anything he could do
better? I mean, he obviously had a great year.
Could he improve?

COACH O’BRIEN: He’s really humble
about the situation. He’s studied a lot. As far as
technique and the thing that we’ve talked about all
the time, we want to be much better fundamentally
as a football team in the spring, not as concerned
with the X’s and O’s and concepts, but as
individuals our team improves.
There was a laundry list of things that
Coach Reed gave him that he wanted him to work
on: Back-pedal, breaking on the ball, those kind of
things that maybe he looks pretty good at, but he
can be a lot better at. Those are all things we
concentrated on in spring practice.

Q. After the game Saturday, you
mentioned Rodman Noel and his athleticism. I
was wondering what you saw that made you
think he would be a good linebacker? And how
much can you expect him to contribute next
year?

COACH O’BRIEN: Well, he’s in a similar
situation that D.J. Green was in last year. Both of
them had played back-up and special teams as a
freshman at the safety position. The way we
played defense for years is that field linebacker
position is a hybrid/strong safety/linebacker spot.
He has a lot of the same skill sets of guys that
we’ve had there through the years. He’s tall. He’s
got length to him. He can run. He’s smart. It
might have been a spot if E.J. was there, we would
have moved him to to start off as a back-up
anyway. But because E.J. isn’t there, he’s been
pressed into playing a little quicker.
He has the skill set that’s required to play
that position. Just a question of gaining the
experience and confidence to be successful there.

Q. At what point during the off-season
do you think that you’ll make a decision on the
status of Mustafa? What will happen with him?

COACH O’BRIEN: Mustafa’s on the team.
He just didn’t make it through spring practice. I
expect him to be with us in fall practice. If he
continues, he’s doing all that’s been asked of him
from that point on.
So as long as he continues and completes
what we’ve asked him to do, we should see him
when practice starts in August.

Q. With Mike last year, 31 touchdown
passes, 12 picks, and more than 3,000 yards
way above 60%. What are some of the subtle
things he needs to improve on in his senior
year?

COACH O’BRIEN: Well, the thing that we
like most is that he finished the year strong and
really used the time from the last game against
Maryland. I think he threw five touchdown passes
there in the fourth quarter to the bowl game. He
got better in the bowl game.
I lot of the things we stressed to him from
that point on was to get back, to set up quicker, to
deliver the ball and be more decisive in his reads.
We’ve carried that over into spring practice. The
thing that’s been good for him is we’ve talked
earlier about the experience of those kids in the
secondary.
When you have a kid like that, he’s
challenged Amerson all spring. Now Amerson got
him in the spring game, but that’s all part of the
challenge of going best against best. Both of our
safeties are three year starters. The other corner
is a three-year starter.
So he had a great opportunity this spring
to go against a good, competitive secondary,
getting that back foot down, getting the ball out and
making good decisions.

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Wolfpack sweeps Boston College with 16-9 drubbing

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No. 18 NC State overwhelmed Boston College 16-9 by tying season-highs for runs and hits in Saturday’s nightcap to sweep a doubleheader and claim the series win at Doak Field at Dail Park.

The Wolfpack (26-12, 13-8 ACC) came from behind three times on the game, including a five-run response to an 8-7 deficit in the bottom of the sixth to seal the win. Trea Turner had a career-best 5-for-5 day with three runs, two RBIs, and a walk. Turner was caught stealing for only the second time all season, after leaving first early and being caught in a rundown. The freshman drops to 41-for-43 on stolen base attempts this season.

Chris Diaz tied a season-high with four hits and four RBIs in a 4-for-6 performance with three runs and two doubles. Wolfpack hitters amassed 19 total hits, matching a previous high establish in a 16-0 rout of West Virginia on February 25.

Danny Canela and Logan Ratledge each had two RBIs and a double on the ball game. The double marks Canela’s 14th of the season, second on the team to Diaz’s 16. Ryan Mathews went 3-for-6 with a double, two runs, and an RBI.

Reliever Anthony Tzamtzis (4-3) picked up the win in four innings of work, holding the Eagles (15-25, 6-15 ACC) to three hits and two unearned runs while striking out five. Starter Logan Jernigan threw the first five innings, giving up seven runs, four earned, on six hits and three walks while fanning six.

Boston College went through six pitchers, but reliever Geoffrey Murphy ended up with the loss by pitching in the Wolfpack’s five-run sixth. Murphy went three innings, allowing four runs, all earned, on six hits. Starter Tyler Hinchliffe lasted only two innings, surrendering five runs, two earned, on six hits and two walks.

State and Boston College played to a 5-5 tie over a wild pair of innings to open the contest. Back-to-back walks to start the game helped the Eagles take a 2-0 lead in the top first. The Pack bounced back immediately with four runs in the bottom half, taking the lead on a two-out, two-RBI Ratledge double to left center to score Canela and Brett Austin.

The Eagles responded with three in the top of the second to climb ahead 5-4. Matt Pare hit a ground-rule double that bounced into the bullpen in left, scoring two batters later on an RBI single by Marc Perdios. Blake Butera lofted a 2-1 pitch over the left field wall for a two-run homer to give Boston College the lead.

State answered with a run in the bottom second. Matt Bergquist led off with a walk, then moved to second as Turner scooted a perfect bunt single under the pitcher’s glove just right of the mound. With two outs and the runners stuck at first and second, Canela crushed an RBI double that hit the left field wall on the fly. Turner held at third, and both runners were left stranded.

The Wolfpack took a 7-5 lead in the third on Turner’s two-out, two-RBI single. Austin led off the inning with a single to left center off of Murphy, then moved to second on a groundout. Jake Fincher walked before Bergquist bunted the pair into scoring position. With two away, Turner threaded a single into center around the pitcher’s extended glove to score both.

The momentum swung back in Boston College’s favor on a crazy play to score three runs in the sixth. Spenser Payne led off the inning with a groundball up the middle for a single. A wild pitch moved him to second, and a hit batsman put two on, chasing Jernigan from the game for Tzamtzis. Travis Ferrick laid down a sac bunt, but Tzamtsis’s throw to first pulled Andrew Ciencin off of first to load the bases with no outs. A critical strikeout, and a foul pop up that Ciencin snagged on a jump at the wall made it look as though the Pack would escape, but Tom Bourdon laced a single up the middle. On the play, Fincher struggled to pick the ball off the turf, allowing the third runner to score, but his relay throw caught Bourdon in a rundown between second and third for the final out of the inning.

State wasted no time rebounding, scoring five runs in the sixth to take a 12-8 lead. Turner led off with a single to center, moved to second on a balk, and advanced to third on a passed ball. Diaz hit a ground-rule double into the Wolfpack bullpen to score Turner, tying the game. Mathews ripped a grounder under the shortstop’s glove to score Diaz, and stretched it into a double. Canela grounded through the right side to score Mathews from second to make it 10-8. With one out, Ratledge fired a liner to second, and it bounced off the fielder’s leg for a two-base error, plating Canela. Fincher lined a single through the right side to score Ratledge and extend the lead to 12-8.

The Pack padded the lead with two more in the seventh. Turner bounced a lead-off single over the third baseman’s head to start. Diaz sent a chopper down the left field line that stayed fair for a double to bring Turner around to score. Diaz stole third after a walk by Canela, then scored on a balk by reliever Kyle Prohovich.

The Eagles trimmed the lead to 14-9 in the eighth. Pare drew a lead-off walk, followed one out later by a single from Perdios. Butera sent a fielder’s choice to short, but Turner’s foot came off the base at third to load the bases. Tom Bourdon sent a sac fly to center to cut the Wolfpack lead to 14-9. Tzamtzis struck out the next batter to end the inning.

Diaz made it 16-9 on a two-out, two-RBI single up the middle in the bottom eighth to score Ratledge and Turner. Ratledge singled to lead off, and Turner drew a two-out walk. Both runners moved into scoring position on a passed ball to set up Diaz.

NC State returns to action on Wednesday, April 25 to host Charlotte in an out-of-conference tilt. Radio coverage will be provided by 88.1 WKNC, fans can follow Twitter updates from @NCStateBaseball, and live stats will be available at GoPack.com.

– News release

Featured stories, N.C. State, The skinny

Popolizio named Wolfpack wrestling coach

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Pat Popolizio, the 2012 Colonial Athletic Association’s Coach of the Year, has been named head wrestling coach for the Wolfpack. In six seasons at Binghamton University, Popolizio transformed the Bearcats into a national contender after inheriting the program that went 0-12 following its reinstatement in 2005-06.

“Pat is a builder of programs and of young men,” Yow said. “He was an outstanding collegiate performer at Oklahoma State and is a proven teacher and mentor as a head coach. He will lead Wolfpack Wrestling to compete for ACC titles and, eventually, the national championship. I thank Sherard Clinkscales and our search committee for their excellent work that resulted in his hire.”

“I want to thank Dr. Yow, Sherard Clinkscales, and the entire search committee at NC State for this opportunity and for believing I am the right person for this job,” Popolizio said. “The leadership of the athletic department, its reputation, and the tremendous facilities here, are what sold me. This is a wrestling program with a strong tradition and huge potential. I’m extremely excited and very thankful for this opportunity.”

-News release