90 Runs Later, NC State Offense Flying High Early

RALEIGH — NC State baseball finished off a historic week with another run-rule victory, beating Sacred Heart 13-0 on Sunday for a fifth-straight win. The Wolfpack lineup absolutely throttled its opponents throughout the week, displaying a level of confidence highly encouraging in the eyes of veteran head coach Elliott Avent, who obviously has high hopes for the Pack in 2026.

After five games in between Tuesday and Sunday, NC State had accumulated 90 runs scored, while allowing just 12 in that same span. For a team that lacked real practice opportunities after a harsh winter, the Wolfpack is exhibiting an early sense of confidence at the plate and on the mound that bodes well for the future, especially as the tests get more significant in March.

Avent's thoughts on the week

A Sunday Sweep! 🧹 pic.twitter.com/kKkBAwraPr
— NC State Baseball (@NCStateBaseball) March 1, 2026

Even in such a hot stretch, Avent is always looking for ways to help his team grow. As the Wolfpack throttled all three of its opponents throughout the week, the coach was pleased with his team's ability to remain focused on the task at hand, avoiding any sort of slippage like NC State showed in the final game of the three-game set against Princeton, which it lost 1-0.

"Actually, it tests your conversation a little bit," Avent said Sunday. "We can all relax when things are going our way and actually, all you should be focused on is getting better and trying to play to different situations. Obviously, we're in a better situation than some of these teams coming down from the North ... Keeping their focus, like that error in the ninth inning, stuff like that perturbs me."

Jun 8, 2013; Raleigh, NC, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack head coach Elliott Avent talks during a interview between innings in the game against the Rice Owls in the game against the Rice Owls in the Raleigh super regional of the 2013 NCAA baseball tournament at Doak Field. North Carolina State defeated Rice 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-Imagn Images | Jeremy Brevard-Imagn Images

The improvements are there across the board for NC State early on. The Wolfpack already reached 30 stolen bases, surpassing the season-long total from the 2025 campaign. Only four attempts have ended with outs. Avent and his staff, led by Chris Hart, Clint Chrysler and Bo Robinson, are tinkering with the lineup nearly every day, taking advantage of the incredibly deep roster assembled during the offseason.

Whether it's transfers like Sherman Johnson, Wyatt Peifer and Dalton Bargo firing on all cylinders at the plate early in their Wolfpack career, or returners on the mound like Jacob Dudan, Ryan Marohn and even Cooper Consiglio, NC State's confidence is as high as it could be. The depth allows that to be the case, even in a week where Bargo missed four of five games.

The competition is about to get stiffer for NC State, however, as the Wolfpack is slated to face a Coastal Carolina squad on Tuesday that will likely be ranked in the top 20 in the nation. That game is scheduled for 3 P.M. at Doak Field.

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