Skip to main content
All Wolfpack

Key Observations and Stats From NC State's Midweek Over UNCW

The Wolfpack fixed its midweek woes in a 7-4 victory over UNC-Wilmington, sweeping the Seahawks in a pair of matchups in 2026.
Tucker Sennett|
Sherman Johnson (far left) celebrates with his team after hitting a home run in NC State's 7-4 win over UNC-Wilmington on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
Sherman Johnson (far left) celebrates with his team after hitting a home run in NC State's 7-4 win over UNC-Wilmington on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. | Courtesy of NC State Athletics

RALEIGH — NC State wanted to maintain some of the momentum from the weekend sweep of Notre Dame in its second midweek matchup against UNC-Wilmington. It was a more competitive game than the one on the road, but the Wolfpack still found a way to get it done, taking down the Seahawks 7-4 behind some stellar individual offensive performances.

Third baseman Sherman Johnson mashed two home runs for the Pack in Tuesday's victory, extending the team's win streak to four games. Beating UNCW marked a stark contrast to the two midweek losses to Campbell and Liberty over the prior two weeks, as NC State finally overcame some of its woes in those spots at Doak Field.

Wolfpack lineup and stats

  1. LF Rett Johnson: 2-3, 2 R, 2 BB
  2. 2B Luke Nixon: 0-3, 2 BB
  3. 1B Chris McHugh: 1-3, RBI, 2 HBP
  4. RF Brayden Fraasman: 2-5, 2 RBI, 2 K
  5. DH Brandon Novy: 0-1 -- PH/DH Andrew Wiggins: 0-3, BB
  6. 3B Sherman Johnson: 2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 HR (3), 2 BB -- 3B Wyatt Peifer
  7. CF Ty Head: 1-3, 2 R, RBI, HR (10), 2 BB, K
  8. C Vincent DeCarlo: 0-2, R, BB -- C Drew Lanphere: 0-1
  9. SS Mikey Ryan: 1-4, K

LHP Luke Hemric: 2 IP, H, R, ER, BB, 2 K
RHP Sam Harris: 2.2 IP, 4 H, R, ER, 2 BB, 2 K
RHP Aiden Kitchings: 1.1 IP, H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, 2 K, W (1-0)
RHP Ryder Garino: IP, H, K
RHP Anderson Nance: IP, K
LHP Cooper Consiglio: IP, K, S (3)

Observations from the win

The Wolfpack bats haven't been the most consistent early in games, which continued to be the case in the first few frames against the Seahawks on Tuesday. However, NC State maintained discipline and knew its moments would come, just as they did against the Fighting Irish all weekend long. Johnson got things going with his first home run, which knotted the game at one. After that, all bets were off.

Three of NC State's seven runs came via the longball, as Head joined Johnson with a solo shot of his own, continuing to own the right-field fence with his pull swing. While the homers were nice for morale, the Pack's continued timely hitting proved to be the difference in the win, with Fraasman and McHugh coming up clutch with runners on base. That needs to continue moving forward if the team hopes to dig itself out of the hole from the past few weeks.

As for the pitching, NC State did things by committee. Hemric worked his way out of trouble and gave the Pack two solid innings, paving the way for the rest of the bullpen crew. Kitchings earned the first win of his collegiate career in his two innings of work. While a few of the arms gave up runs, no one let the game get out of hand, showing a nice turnaround from the meltdown at the end of Sunday's game.

Nance and Consiglio weren't overworked and will be on normal rest this weekend for the Duke series. If the Wolfpack can keep this streak going against the Blue Devils, it should be back in the mix for a top 25 spot and be competitive in the top half of the ACC.

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
Tucker Sennett
TUCKER SENNETT

Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.

Share on XFollow SennettTucker