The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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34 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER ot many people expected NC State baseball to be sweating over its chances of making the NCAA Tour- nament last year. In a stun- ning decision, the Wolfpack was left out of the field of 64, a choice that still sur- prises D1Baseball.com's Aaron Fitt. But that is in the past now, and 2023 promises to be a new, exciting season. Based on what he saw while observing NC State in the fall, including in an exhi- bition scrimmage against Duke, Fitt said there's a good chance the Wolfpack won't be worried on Selection Day. "It feels to me like a pretty typical NC State team," he noted. "It's a program that's in the top 25 almost every year and will be again this year." Fitt's conservative estimate is that the Wolfpack will be ranked in the 10- 20 range when D1Baseball.com starts the ratings, but with good health, especially among the starting pitchers, Fitt sees big potential. "Upside is Omaha," Fitt stated, refer- ring to the site of the College World Series. "I would feel comfortable saying that." A Potent Lineup Fitt emphasized the word "always" when he said that NC State "always hits." "Every year," he said. "It's like clock- work, and they are going to hit again, no question about it." If anything, the biggest questions will have to do with finding room for all the bats, especially after NC State made sig- nificant additions through the transfer portal. Trevor Candelaria batted .342 with 13 homers and 19 doubles in 234 at bats last season for Davidson. He scored 62 runs while driving in 62 as well. His fellow Wildcat outfielder Parker Nolan hit .310 with 15 home runs and 50 RBI while scoring 58 runs and stealing 12 bases. Both have arrived at NC State as graduate transfers. Another addition is versatile Carter Trice from Old Dominion, a former Freshman All-American who hit .288 with 17 homers and 18 stolen bases as a sophomore. That trio could constitute an entirely new outfield for NC State, but the Pack also returns junior Noah Soles and se- nior Dominic Pilolli, both full-time starters in the outfield. Soles hit .321, third highest on the Pack, while Pilolli batted .261 with 9 homers. One key that Fitt discovered in the fall was that junior LuJames "Gino" Groover III may play third base. Groover led the Pack last season with a .364 batting av- erage that included 10 homers in 236 at- bats and playing a lot of first base. "He did a good job there. If he can play third, it really opens up a lot of possibili- ties for the lineup," Fitt noted. "How do you get your best bats in the lineup? You need him to play third." Groover playing third frees up soph- omore Payton Green, who hit .256 with 7 homers in his debut season, to try shortstop again, while Texas A&M transfer Kalae Harrison, reputedly a strong fielder, potentially handles sec- ond base. First base could be an open competi- tion, but touted freshman Eli Serrano is a name to watch. The imposing 6-5, 193-pound lefty is described by Fitt as "a big-time talent." Sophomore Jacob Cozart, who hit .240 with 4 homers in 146 at-bats last season, returns at catcher. Fitt noted that a year's worth of improvement from Cozart and Green should help a Pack defense that was shaky at times in 2022. Health Is Key At Pitcher While the hitting is a likely strength, the pitching is an unknown. "The only question to me is, how does the pitching come together?" Fitt noted. In particular, can junior Sam Highfill return to form? Two years ago, Highfill was the ace of a team that looked poised to win the College World Series. Last year, he labored through 6 starts before shutting down his season. "Highfill is an X-factor," Fitt said. "Coming off the injury, you don't know. He was a preseason All-American for the Wolfpack last year. He's that kind of talent. If you've got that guy, an All- American on Friday night eating 100 quality innings for you, it changes ev- erything for your team." Junior Matt Willadsen started 14 games last year and had a 4.19 earned run average over 88.0 innings, strik- ing out 95 batters while walking 45. He finished strong, though. In his last five extended outings for NC State, Willad- sen threw 36.0 innings during which he had a 2.00 ERA and allowed 21 hits and 12 walks while striking out 43. The revelation last spring was red- shirt junior Logan Whitaker, who had not thrown a competitive pitch since he was a senior in high school in 2018 due to various arm issues. He was hit hard in his last two starts for NC State, both in the ACC Tournament. That inflated an ERA that was 3.57 going into the event. He finished the year allowing 62 hits and 32 walks over 66.2 innings and striking out 62 batters. Among newcomers, Fitt is highest on Oregon lefty transfer Rio Britton. Last season, Britton threw 39.1 innings over 34 appearances, surrendering 25 hits and allowing a .188 batting average. Britton walked 20 but struck out 35. He had a 4-1 record on the mound with a save while registering a 3.20 ERA. "He was so good for Oregon out of the bullpen last year," Fitt said. "He was their guy in leverage situations and could go multiple innings. He's a lefthander with deception that makes the fast ball play up. "I think he's kind of a Swiss army knife guy." ■ N ON THE ON THE OFFENSIVE OFFENSIVE Hitters Expected To Fuel NC State Baseball Team's Bid For A Return To The NCAA Tournament