The win drops the Pack 7 spots in the RPI rankings
With the NCAA’s baseball selection committee recently warning teams against cancelling games due to RPI implications, NC State took the field against a Norfolk State team ranked as one of D1’s five worst by RPI and the results were as expected: an 18-0 Wolfpack win in a run-rule shortened 7-inning game.
There’s not really much to talk about in this one as it was a complete domination by the Pack. NC State led 8-0 after three innings and a 9-run fifth inning put it all to bed early. From there, it was just a matter of getting the requisite outs to send the teams to the locker rooms.
State pounded out 15 hits to the Spartans’ three while Norfolk State pitchers issued 15 walks (vs one strikeout). This was not a competitive affair. The stat-padding was a bonus, though, I guess, as was the extra win for a team that has lacked mid-week victories this year.
Five Wolfpack hitters tallied multi-hit efforts: Alec Makarewicz (3-for-3, 2B, 3 RBI), Alex Sosa (2-for-3, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB), Eli Serrano (2-for-4, 4 R, RBI, 2 BB), Garrett Pennington (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB), and Jacob Cozart (2-for-3, 2B, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB).
Ryan Marohn (4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K) got the start on the mound and earned the win to move his season ledger to 3-2. Jaxon Lucas (0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K), Heath Andrews (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K), and Hollis Fanning (0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K) finished out the victory.
From an RPI perspective, it was a costly game for the Pack as the win dropped NC State 7 spots in the rankings down to 26th. State’s recent run of series wins over Clemson and UNC along with a series tie versus Florida State had put the Wolfpack on the cusp of Regional hosting. With six regular season games remaining (ACC series at Virginia, vs Wake Forest) the Pack will likely need a 4-2 finish to get back into that hosting consideration. Some noise in the ACC Tournament could also help, of course.
Unless/Until the NCAA selection committee stops prioritizing RPI as the top metric in seeding schools for the postseason, games like this one against such a low RPI team cannot be scheduled. For comparison, RPI #8 Tennessee beat RPI #270 Queens last night and did not have their RPI ranking impacted. Same for South Carolina (RPI #13) with their win over Winthrop (#234).
In addition to ranking 26th in RPI, NC State currently ranks 31st in DSR and 34th in ELO, so there’s work to be done. The Wolfpack currently rank 3rd in the ACC Atlantic Division with a 13-10 record while holding a 27-18 overall mark.