The Importance of NC State Baseball's Series Against Stanford

Elliott Avent and the Wolfpack need to find a way to get another series win, this time on the road against the Cardinal.

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

NC State baseball is back on the road for another weekend series after a one-week break from the trials of away games in ACC play. The Wolfpack can't get much further away from Raleigh than it will be for the three-game set coming up, as the program made the long trip across the country to face Stanford in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Cardinal (23-22, 10-14 ACC) is in the midst of a down year, but still poses enough of a threat to a Wolfpack squad that has had its ups and downs on the road throughout the 2026 season. Veteran head coach Elliott Avent was proud of his team's efforts last weekend against Miami, but he can only hope the same version of the Pack shows up at the Sunken Diamond starting on Friday.

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Pitching and injury situations

LHP Cooper Consiglio throws a pitch through the rain in NC State's 14-7 victory over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., on Saturday, April 25, 2026. | Courtesy of NC State Athletics

Stanford Probables:
LHP Andrew Shaw (1-0, 3.28 ERA)
RHP Toran O'Harran (2-1, 4.11 ERA)
RHP Nick Dugan (1-3, 7.47 ERA)

Wolfpack Probables:
LHP Luke Hemric (2-1, 4.57 ERA)
LHP Cooper Consiglio (3-3, 5.66 ERA)
TBD

It's unclear what approach NC State will take in another weekend series without Ryan Marohn, the team's left-handed ace. The program is thin in the staff, although Anderson Nance proved he was more than capable of shouldering a larger workload with his heroic effort against Miami. Starting shortstop Mikey Ryan was listed as questionable for the Pack, although Avent didn't seem confident during the Miami series that Ryan would be back any time soon.

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Why the series means a lot

NC State head coach Elliott Avent before a game. | Courtesy of NC State Athletics

At this point of the season, it all comes down to RPI jockeying for NC State as it battles to stay in the NCAA Tournament's field of 64 teams. The Wolfpack can't afford to slip up too much against a struggling Cardinal team, even on the road. According to Warren Nolan, any Pack loss to Stanford would result in a loss of 36 RPI points, while a win would result in a gain of 20 RPI points.

Trickling up the RPI ladder could get NC State a higher seed line and more favorable regional trip if things go according to plan in the other remaining regular-season series, a home set against UNC to wrap things up. However, Avent and his team can't afford to overlook Stanford at all, a historic program likely looking to play the role of disruptor down the stretch against its final ACC foes.

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