Wolfpack Baseball Set For Critical ACC Series Against Miami
RALEIGH — After a lengthy road trip, NC State baseball is finally back at home for a while. The Wolfpack needs to get things going in the ACC, sitting at 10-11 since the start of league play back in March. The next test will be a three-game set against the Miami Hurricanes (32-12, 12-9 ACC), a team not too far ahead of the Pack in the conference standings.
NC State got back to its winning ways at Doak Field earlier in the week, taking down in-state rival East Carolina in a 12-2 run-rule victory. Midweeks haven't been the problem of late, though, as the Wolfpack still needs to figure things out in weekend league games. It won't be easy to do against the Hurricanes, winners of five of their last seven games.
Probable pitching matchups
NC State and Miami agreed to move Sunday's game to Friday, making the first day of the series a doubleheader because of anticipated inclement weather. That jumbles up some of the pitching for both squads, but the teams revealed their probable matchups for the series.
Friday Game 1: NCSU RHP Heath Andrews (3-3, 6.12 ERA) vs. Miami RHP Lazaro Collera (3-2, 3.58 ERA)
Friday Game 2: NCSU LHP Cooper Consiglio (2-3, 6.02 ERA) vs. Miami TBD
Saturday: TBD vs. TBD
How NC State can attack Miami
Defending the Doak is the key for the Wolfpack down the stretch of the 2026 season. NC State is 21-7 heading into the Miami series. Unlike the Pack, the Canes have been strong away from South Florida, posting a 9-4 road record thus far. However, NC State had more success against some of the shared opponents, winning its series against Duke and Boston College while Miami faltered.
Offensively, it's about as even a matchup as you could have in league play. The programs rank fourth and fifth in batting average, fourth and eighth in total runs, and seventh and eighth in home runs. The Wolfpack won't have one of its key pieces in shortstop Mikey Ryan, something head coach Elliott Avent expected as early as Tuesday.
🚨 An update on this weekend 🚨
— NC State Baseball (@NCStateBaseball) April 30, 2026
Tickets for Sunday's game will be valid for the first game at 3 PM tomorrow, and the original ticket for Friday's game will remain valid for the second game of the doubleheader.
Saturday's game, at 7:30 PM, is still on as scheduled. pic.twitter.com/wD11uvzciL
The weather situation clearly threw off Miami's plans for its pitching, while NC State is sticking to its weekend rotation as closely as possible. The Wolfpack needs to take advantage of a potentially jumbled staff for the Hurricanes, jumping on the visitors early if possible and exhausting the bullpen in the doubleheader.
However, Andrews and Consiglio must put forth better efforts than they had in Blacksburg last weekend against Virginia Tech. Both starters struggled mightily in two disjointed games between the Hokies and the Pack. If NC State gets the top version of those two, it could win the series in one day. If not, Saturday becomes crucial to stay afloat in the postseason race.
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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.
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