Before the first pitch is thrown, here's a look at the full viewing information and game notes from NC State Athletics for the Pack's first elimination game in Omaha.
R. Cory Smith
OMAHA, NEB. -- A stretch of what could be four games in four days to advance to the College World Series Championship Series begins this afternoon for the Wolfpack. With one loss already, No. 10 NC State needs to win out and hand every team in its bracket its second loss in order to just make it to the weekend. Meanwhile, a single loss sends the Pack9 back to Raleigh.
Florida was one of the last teams to make it into the field, but has been a pest for every team along the way. With a lineup that includes Jac Caglianone -- who boasts 33 homers and regularly touches 100 mph on the mound -- along with Ashton Wilson, Tyler Shelnut and Colby Shelton, the Gators will be far from an easy out on Tuesday afternoon.
Before the first pitch is thrown, here's a look at the full viewing information and game notes from NC State Athletics for the Pack's first elimination game in Omaha.
No. 10NC State vs. Florida Game Information
First Pitch:Monday,June 17, 2024 at 2 p.m. ET
Location:Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska
TV:ESPN
Live Stream:fubo(Try for free) |WatchESPN
Radio:Wolfpack Sports Network
Social Media:Twitter//Instagram//Facebook
OMAHA BOUND...AGAIN!
For the second time in the past four years and third time since 2013, NC State is Omaha bound! The Wolfpack will make its fourth College World Series appearance this weekend when it opens against second-seeded Kentucky on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT. More notes from the Pack's previous trips to Omaha are listed below.
• 1968: In just his second season as NC State's head coach, longtime Wolfpack skipper Sam Esposito led the Pack to Omaha for the first time in program history with a victory in the District 3 Championship held in Gastonia, North Carolina. The Pack earned wins over Alabama, East Carolina and Florida State to advance to Omaha for the first time. NC State then went 2-2 in its College World Series debut, winning a pair of one-run games against Southern Illinois and Texas.
• 2013: Head coach Elliott Avent led his Wolfpack squad to the College World Series for the first of three times in his career after going 5-0 to advance to Omaha. The Pack swept the Raleigh Regional before posting back-to-back one-run victories over Rice in the Raleigh Super Regional, outlasting the Owls 5-4 in 17 innings in the clinching game. The Wolfpack then went 1-2 in its second trip to Omaha, earning an 8-1 win over rival North Carolina in the opening game before dropping contests to UCLA and UNC.
• 2021: In its most recent trip to Omaha, the Wolfpack swept the NCAA Ruston Regional before upsetting top-seeded Arkansas in the Super Regionals to head back to the College World Series. The Pack opened the CWS with back-to-back wins over Stanford (10-4) and Vanderbilt (1-0). Following the "Pack13" game and a narrow 3-1 defeat to Vanderbilt, the Wolfpack was eliminated due to COVID-19 protocols.
THE MATCHUP: SERIES AGAINST FLORIDA
NC State holds a 2-5 record against Florida in its series against the Gators. More notes from the Pack's series history against Florida are listed below:
• Six of NC State's seven matchups against Florida have come in the NCAA Tournament, playing twice in 2012, once in 1996, twice in 1991 and once in 1988. Four of those six matchups have come during the Regional rounds, but the past two games came in the 2012 Gainesville Super Regional.
• NC State won the first postseason matchup against the Gators 13-3 at Florida State's Dick Howser Stadium on May 27, 1988.
• NC State has lost five straight NCAA Tournament matchups against the Gators. The Wolfpack and Gators last met in the NCAA Tournament on June 9-10, 2012, as Florida edged the Pack in game two of the Gainesville Super Regional 6-5 in 10 innings to advance to Omaha.
NC STATE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
With a 5-1 record in its run to Omaha, NC State holds a 68-69 all-time record in 34 NCAA Tournament appearances. The Wolfpack has now advanced to the Super Regionals six times and the College World Series four times. NC State has now advanced to Omaha twice in the past four years, both of which came with road Super Regional victories.
A FAMILIAR PLACE
NC State punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the 34th time on Selection Monday. A few notes concerning the Wolfpack's selection to the NCAA Tournament:
• 12th NCAA Regional appearance in the past 14 years the NCAA Tournament has been held
• 18th NCAA Regional appearance in the past 21 tournaments dating back to 2003
• 21 NCAA Regional appearances for head coach Elliott Avent at NC State
EVERYTHING SCHOOL
NC State's athletics department has been rolling this spring. A few notes documenting NC State's success in 2024:
• NC State is the only school in the nation to have its men's and women's basketball teams make the Sweet 16, its baseball team make Super Regionals and its football team go to a bowl game.
• NC State is one of just eight schools to make the postseason in baseball, football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The Wolfpack is joined by Arizona, Duke, North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Alabama.
• NC State is one of just two schools to host both an NCAA Baseball Regional and the NCAA Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds. Oregon State joins the Wolfpack in the elite group.
TOUGH SLATE
NC State exceled during its gauntlet of a finish to ACC play with all of its final five ACC series coming against top 15 teams in the D1Baseball Top 25 at the time of the games being played. The Wolfpack went 10-4 in its final five ACC series, winning four of those series and splitting a two-game set at No. 7 Florida State. The Wolfpack posted series wins at No. 2 Clemson and No. 10 Virginia and recorded series wins at home against No. 8 Wake Forest and No. 11 North Carolina
NC State's strength of schedule finished at No. 3 nationally, according towarrennolan.com. The Pack's strength of schedule ranked first among all ACC teams. NC State's 12 wins over Quadrant I opponents ranked second in the league just behind Duke (13), the winners of the ACC Tournament title. NC State also finished with a perfect 9-0 record against Quadrant IV opponents.
D-ROCK SOLID
NC State sophom*ore closer Derrick Smith has rounded into sensational form over the past two months, allowing just two earned runs over his past 14 appearances dating back to a scoreless appearance at Louisville on April 7. Over those past 14 appearances, Smith's ERA is 0.90 over 20.1 innings pitched, striking out 33 batters while allowing only five hits and seven walks. Seven of Smith's team-high eight saves have come during this two-month stretch. He tossed a career-high three innings to nail down the save and punch the Pack's ticket to Omaha.
CARDIAC PACK
NC State has had a flair for the dramatic so far this season, recording its seventh walk-off win of the year against Wake Forest on Friday. Seven of NC State's 25 home wins have come via the walk-off. A list of NC State's seven walk-off wins are below:
• March 1 (W, 6-5 vs. Towson): Drew Lanphere delivers a walk-off RBI single to score Noah Soles in the bottom of the ninth.
• March 8 (W, 5-4 vs. Boston College): Garrett Pennington drops in a walk-off single with two outs in the 11th inning for the Wolfpack's first ACC win of the year. Again, Noah Soles scores the game-winning run.
• March 23 (W, 9-8 vs. No. 9 Duke): Eli Serrano III's two-out, two-run homer completes a dramatic ninth-inning comeback as NC State erases a five-run deficit to clinch the series over the Blue Devils.
• March 29 (W, 7-6 vs. Notre Dame): Luke Nixon's career night ends with a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth, clinching a series victory for NC State.
• March 30 (W, 7-6 vs. Notre Dame): Garrett Pennington crushes NC State's second walk-off homer in as many weeks with a two-out, three-run blast to complete the sweep over the Fighting Irish.
• April 18 (W, 9-8 vs. No. 11 North Carolina): After UNC plated three runs between the seventh and eighth innings to tie the score at 8-8, NC State entered the bottom of the ninth with a chance to record its sixth walk-off win of the season. Brandon Butterworth did exactly that, crushing a 2-1 offering over the left-field wall for NC State's third walk-off homer of the season. Butterworth was mobbed at home plate for what he later said in postgame media availability was the first walk-off hit in his life.
• May 17 (W, 2-1 vs. No. 8 Wake Forest):
NC State clinched yet another series victory over a top-10 ACC opponent in literal walk-off fashion when Noah Soles drew a game-winning, bases-loaded walk to bring home Brandon Butterworth. Soles' RBI walk helped the Pack defeat Wake Forest ace and ACC Pitcher of the Year Chase Burns, handing the Demon Deacons just their second loss in the 14 regular season games Burns has pitched.
