Why NC State’s Midweek Break Comes at Crucial Time

RALEIGH — After playing four to five games for the last 10 weeks, NC State baseball is finally getting some time away from the diamond. The break comes at a convenient time for the Pack 9, which sits at 26-14 overall and 9-9 in ACC play.

The Wolfpack played the series finale against Wake Forest on Sunday, April 19, and won't play again until the start of a three-game set in Blacksburg against Virginia Tech on Friday. The lack of a midweek game should help veteran head coach Elliott Avent get his exhausted pitching staff some much-needed rest, while also avoiding another dreaded midweek loss.

Getting the arms right

NC State left-handed pitcher Ryan Marohn watches his team bat from the dugout in the Wolfpack's 4-2 win over Boston College on March 13, 2026. | Courtesy of NC State Athletics

NC State's starting rotation suffered a significant loss after the series sweep over Notre Dame. Talented junior righty Jacob Dudan, who led the ACC in innings pitched with 50 while healthy, suffered a UCL injury that required Tommy John surgery, ending his 2026 season and likely his career with the program. That placed tremendous stress on the rest of the pitching staff, most notably the Wolfpack's lefty ace Ryan Marohn.

To complicate matters further for the Pack, Marohn was scratched from his Friday start against Wake Forest for precautionary reasons and is being considered week-to-week by Avent and pitching coach Clint Chrysler. To put it simply, NC State's most important arm needs a break, as do the pitchers who filled in for him in a brutal series in Winston-Salem.

Marohn's absence pushed fellow juniors Heath Andrews and Cooper Consiglio up one day in the rotation, forcing them to pitch on slightly shortened rest. Both experienced major issues against Wake Forest, so the time away should allow them to reset and recover from the poor outings.

Freshman lefty Luke Hemric put forth a tremendous effort in two starts last week, earning the win on the road against East Carolina on Tuesday, followed by a solid showing in Winston-Salem that his team went on to survive in, although he didn't earn the victory. Because of the lopsided results, the Pack used a lot of its bullpen over the weekend, so the extra time off will only help before the stretch run.

No margin for error

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

While the Wolfpack secured some big wins in conference play and holds quality non-conference victories over East Carolina and Coastal Carolina, the program stumbled against lower-level competition at home. NC State has three Quadrant 4 losses and two Q3 losses in the 2026 season, some of them coming in midweek action. Those defeats didn't help the Pack in the RPI.

Avoiding another potential résumé-harming loss by playing a midweek game with the diminished pitching staff should help NC State keep things moving in the right direction with its RPI standing. The Pack has some massive conference foes in the final month of the regular season, so there's room for improvement down the stretch. Avoiding ugly losses will be the key and a week off takes that possibility off the board.

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