Wolfpack Baseball – Toughest Schedule in the Country?

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Credit is owed to one of our readers, Elvislives, for this entry originally placed on the Forums. This is blog-worthy as it’s a great, great introspective about what lies ahead for Coach Avent, the staff, and our baseball team. Nice work, Elvislives. SFN definitely agrees that there are few places you can get more value for your entertainment dollar than a college baseball game. Head out and support the Pack. They’re playing fantastic ball and there’s a ton to be excited about.

One of the things us fans often criticize is scheduling. It’s certainly easy for us to do so as we’re not the ones given the task of making a calendar mesh with umpteen different Universities moving in opposite directions. With that said, give credit where it is due to this staff for coming up with a schedule that will help us prepare, hopefully, for a deep run to Omaha!

With a fast start to their season, NC State Baseball (6-1) is creeping towards the Top 25 in baseball polls. It’s early and outside of last week’s thrilling victory over then-#7 ranked UC Irvine and then getting topped by #10 Coastal Carolina, the Pack has played mostly cupcakes. All that changes next weekend when their conference schedule begins.

The Wolfpack have a very tough remaining schedule this year, including 7 different opponents currently ranked in the Top 25. 6 ACC teams are currently ranked in the Top 12 (!). The good news is that wins against quality competition build character and confidence – and can ultimately lead to respect for a program at a University desperate to remain (return to being?) relevant in athletics.

If you live in or close to Raleigh, consider supporting the Wolfpack baseball team this Spring. It may be a longshot, but it appears to be the University’s best chance to field a competitive team in ACC play.

Upcoming games against ranked opponents (as of 3/1/10 USA Today/ESPN poll). Home games in Bold

at #9 Clemson (Friday March 12 – Sunday March 14)
#11 Miami (Friday March 26 – Sunday March 28)
#1 Virginia (Friday April 2 – Sunday April 4)
at #12 unx (Friday April 9 – Sunday April 11)
at #21 ECU (Wednesday April 21)
#7 Ga Tech (Friday April 30 – Sunday May 2)
at #3 FSU (Friday May 14 – Sunday May 16)

Full schedule at Gopack.com.

Baseball

18 Responses to Wolfpack Baseball – Toughest Schedule in the Country?

  1. Six Pack 03/04/2010 at 1:07 PM #

    I would include JMU in that group of early tests for the Pack, not as a Cupcake. Yeah, they may only be 1-3 right now, but they were picked to win the CAA overwhelmingly. Don’t be suprised to see them in the Tournament as a #2 seed… maybe even in the Raleigh Regional.

    Go Pack!!

  2. Mr. Wuf 03/04/2010 at 1:08 PM #

    It is amazing how strong the ACC is in baseball. It is almost unfair to teams like NC State that are trying to break into that upper tier because week in, week out, the opponents are so difficult.

  3. GAWolf 03/04/2010 at 1:18 PM #

    I haven’t looked at this years rankings, but is the SEC not arguably better? I would say year in and year out they probably are. Any idea?

  4. GAWolf 03/04/2010 at 1:33 PM #

    I’m definitely wrong about the SEC this year… minus of course LSU:

    Rank
    School (first-place votes)
    Record

    Points

    Preseason ranking
    1
    LSU
    7-0

    760

    2
    2
    Virginia
    6-1

    712

    4
    3
    Florida State
    6-0

    691

    5
    4
    Arizona State
    7-0

    651

    8
    5
    Texas
    5-2

    615

    1
    6
    Florida
    5-0

    591

    9
    7
    Georgia Tech
    7-1

    574

    10
    8
    TCU
    5-1

    502

    12
    9
    Clemson
    6-0

    443

    15
    10
    Coastal Carolina
    7-1

    420

    19
    11
    Miami (Fla.)
    5-1

    408

    13
    12
    North Carolina
    6-1

    393

    11
    13
    Louisville
    7-0

    387

    20
    14
    Cal State-Fullerton
    2-4

    299

    3
    15
    Oregon State
    5-2

    291

    14
    16
    UC-Irvine
    4-3

    283

    7
    17
    Arkansas
    5-1

    266

    16
    18
    UCLA
    6-0

    222

    NR
    19
    Mississippi
    6-1

    199

    17
    20
    Rice
    3-4

    189

    6
    21
    East Carolina
    4-3

    171

    18
    22
    Oklahoma
    6-1

    161

    22
    23
    South Carolina
    4-2

    149

    NR
    24
    Stanford
    4-3

    127

    25
    25
    Ohio State
    5-1

    117

    21

  5. Dr. BadgerPack 03/04/2010 at 3:04 PM #

    It will take about a month to see the real strength of schedule. Nearly every team has some question marks, especially in the ACC.

    And if UNC is the #12 team in the nation (when all is said and done), I’ll replace Lee Fowler as AD.

    Besides… I’d say Maryland or Wake has the toughest schedule in the country– they have to play us. 🙂

  6. section2chuck 03/04/2010 at 3:06 PM #

    The SEC? Sorry, the ACC year in and year out is the top rated Conference in the Country, usually the Pac-10 is 2nd. The ACC is better than the SEC on a regular basis.

  7. section2chuck 03/04/2010 at 3:12 PM #

    The only knock on the ACC in recent years has been they are a good conference, but they cant win the College World Series, where as the SEC has teams that have won the title. But other than that we neck and neck with them every year, one thing holding us down is teams like BC, and Va.Tech (shocker).

  8. section2chuck 03/04/2010 at 3:16 PM #

    The ACC’s last Title was Wake Forest (1955)..Miami won some, but they were not in the ACC yet.

  9. elvislives 03/04/2010 at 3:27 PM #

    To be fair, the SEC currently has 5 schools ranked and 2 others on the cusp in the “also receiving votes” category. I’m not sure of the historical championship totals between the ACC and SEC but after LSU’s domination in the 1990’s (6 National Championships since 1991) I think it’s a safe bet to say they have the advantage.

    I’d agree with Dr. BadgerPack, Wake or Maryland will likely have the tougher task since they both have to play the Pack in addition to the 6 currently-ranked ACC teams!

    Current poll is located here
    http://www.ncaa.com/sports/m-basebl/division_i3.html

    Conference Representatives in Top 25 (as of 3/1/10):
    ACC – 6
    SEC – 5
    Pac 10 – 4
    Big 12 – 2
    Big East – 2
    Conf USA – 2
    Big West – 2
    Big 10 – 1
    Big South – 1

    Thanks for publishing my forum post into a blog!

  10. SeaWolf 03/04/2010 at 3:38 PM #

    “I would include JMU in that group of early tests for the Pack… they were picked to win the CAA overwhelmingly.”

    Not to be a homer here Six Pack, but UNCW is the consensus CAA champ (as usual). We’ve got great offense, great catchers, and a slightly above average rotation. JMU will most likely finish second though. Aside from the Dukes and Seahawks, the CAA is weak this year. I’d love to see a weekend series with State and UNCW.

  11. Six Pack 03/04/2010 at 4:32 PM #

    SeaWolf,

    At the Preseaon meeting of CAA coaches, the coaches overwhelming picked JMU to win the conference. I will concede that the media picked UNC-W because I don’t know, but as an NC State fan I am not that inclined to trust the media.

  12. wolfbuff 03/04/2010 at 4:59 PM #

    To be the best, you’ve got to BEAT the best. We’ll soon find out what this team is made of. And I agree that it is darn near impossible to top the bang for your buck you get from a college baseball game. Unless prices went up, it’s only $5 for those over 17. 17 and under are free. Get out there and support the Pack in baseball!

  13. SeaWolf 03/04/2010 at 5:30 PM #

    Six Pack,

    Wow. After checking it out, you were spot on. Coaches unanimously picked the Dukes. I can’t find the media pick, but I remember seeing it somewhere. Prognosticating is one of my favorite things to do, so I’m certain I saw it (somewhere). JMU is the coaches’ pick to win it, but it won’t happen.

  14. tulsapack 03/04/2010 at 5:54 PM #

    Forced by weather, maybe, but replacing UNC-G with Xavier will also do our RPI some good. And it allows Mazzoni to pitch the Tuesday game against Central and follow up with the Sunday game against Clemson, if Avent wishes.

  15. fvpackman 03/04/2010 at 8:28 PM #

    Avent hasn’t made a pitching decison since Holiday took over the pitching staff

    fv

  16. GAWolf 03/05/2010 at 7:46 AM #

    Exactly, FV. That’s why it was quite funny to hear folks complain about Avent’s “decision” to pitch 5-6 guys a game last year. It was certainly an odd move, but hopefully some of that experiment has helped Holiday put his finger on the pulse of this pitching staff. In turn, hopefully that will equate to a better understanding on how to use these kids this year.

    Honestly, the Russell Wilson to the mound move concerned (and still somewhat concerns me). It’s just an odd experiment. It will be interesting to see how it pans out.

    As I posted elsewhere, if there’s anyone in the country who has earned not to be second-guessed on pitching moves at the college level it’s Holiday. The guy’s resume is simply unreal and from all accounts we’re damned lucky to have him here in Raleigh.

  17. tulsapack 03/05/2010 at 8:15 AM #

    My mistake folks, though I’m definitely not one of the ones who was complaining last year, just agonizing as the kids tried to settle in.

  18. section2chuck 03/05/2010 at 10:59 AM #

    I agree. If Holiday leaves us we are in trouble..since he is in charge of pitching and our recruiting. I would like to see him as our head coach.

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