North Carolina A&T (7-8) vs. #9 NC State (13-3)
Date: March 11, 2020
Time: 6 p.m.
Facility: Doak Field at Dail Park
Place: Raleigh, N.C.
EAST GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T baseball team will head down the road to Raleigh for a midweek battle with the No. 9 NC State Wolfpack. Last time these two teams met, the Aggies lost, 12-3, on March 27 at First National Bank Field.
PROBABLE STARTERS:
LF Justin Rodriguez (.325, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 4 runs
); CF Donte Wade (.135, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 8 runs
); RF Camden Williamson (.333, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 11 runs
); 3B Justin Williams (.195, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 6 runs
); SS Dustin Baber (.258, 0 HR, 11 RBI, 10 runs
); 2B Tony Mack (.321, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 5 runs
); 1B Connor Knapp (.360, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 5 runs
); C Ryne Stanley (.190, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 7 runs
); DH Alex Bibb (.292, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 5 runs
)
PROBABLE STARTERS:
TBA
vs. RHP Austin Pace
(1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 H, 7 K
)
WHO'S ON FIRE: Senior outfielder
Camden Williamson is riding a 14-game hitting streak dating back to Feb. 15 against Butler. Junior outfielder
Justin Rodriguez hit .417 over the weekend against Lehigh with five hits in 12 at-bats. He also had a team-high six total bases over that stretch.
AGGIES OVERVIEW: The Aggies dropped a three-game series against Lehigh last weekend but did end the stretch on a high-note winning the Sunday game, 1-0, behind a gem from senior right-hander
Cole Parks. A&T is led offensively by freshman infielder
Connor Knapp, who sports a team-best .360 batting average and has already earned MEAC rookie of the week this season. Fifth-year head coach
Ben Hall is 114-155 overall at the helm of the program, but 89-74 over the last three years.
WOLFPACK OVERVIEW: The Wolfpack are coming off a midweek loss at the hands of the Charlotte 49ers on Tuesday, 9-8. State has now lost three out of their last four games after dropping a weekend series at No. 23 Virginia. The Wolfpack were picked to finish third in the Atlantic Division of the 2020 ACC preseason poll. They return several key players from last season highlighted by the reigning defensive player of the year in junior Will Wilson and preseason All-American junior catcher Patrick Bailey. Bailey leads the team with six home runs, including three grand slams and bats .327. Head coach Elliott Avent is entering his 24
th season as the skipper for the Pack and has an overall record of 888-531.
News & Notes:
- Senior Camden Williamson is on a 14-game hitting streak
- A&T has four preseason All-MEAC selections in first teamers Baber, Davidson and Johnson and second teamer Stanley).
- The Aggies have won conference weekly honors the first two weeks of the season (Ethan Chavis – Pitcher of the Week, Knapp – Rookie of the Week)
- A&T has four players batting at or above .321 this season.
