It’s a neutral site game… 20 minutes from Davidson’s campus
Before heading up to Pittsburgh for a weekend ACC series, NC State will travel to Kannapolis for a game with Davidson at Atrium Health Ballpark, the home of the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. The 6:00pm game will be broadcast on YouTube on the Cannon Ballers’ channel.
Davidson comes into the game with a 6-12 record on the year, including a 2-1 mark in Atlantic 10 Conference play. The Wildcats have won two of their four full weekend series (wins over RPI #273 Lafayette and #243 UMass, losses to #7 Clemson and #138 Bucknell), but are 0-4 in midweek games this year.
The Clemson series aside, that midweek schedule has been a lot tougher than the weekend tilts. Games with Wofford (RPI #116), South Carolina (21), and Charlotte (125), although they have generally been competitive early in games before fading late. In back-to-back games in early March, Davidson lost a 3-7 game at South Carolina and a 4-7 game at Clemson. Clearly, these guys have the ability to hang with a team, they just need to close things out when the opportunity presents itself.
Aside from a higher-than-you’d-like strikeout rate, the lineup has not really been the issue from a high-level perspective, posting a collective line of .256/.379/.430, 36 2B, 19 HR, 11.2 BB%, 28.2 K%, 15-19 SB. Productivity from the bottom of the order has been spotty., but there are some stud bats in that lineup, led by FR CF Jaime Daly (.386/.514/.737, 6 2B, 4 HR, 19.2 BB%, 13.7 K%, 2-3 SB). The lefty-hitting Daly has been a steal of a recruit with eight multi-hit games this year, including each of the last three games.
SR SS Jack Cotrone (.310/.468/.569, 3 2B, 4 HR, 15.6 BB%, 32.5 K%, 0-1 SB) and All Name Team candidate SO RF Cider Canon (.333/.429/.643, 4 2B, 3 HR, 10.2 BB%, 26.5 K%, 2-2 SB) have also been very productive, but with strikeout figures that worry. Redshirt-JR 1B Eli Putnam (.278/.350/.389, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5.0 BB%, 30.0 K%, 3-5 SB) was a 1st Team All-A10 selection last year and is worth keeping an eye on in next year’s transfer portal.
While the slash line for the lineup as a whole is solid, there has been an issue at being able to push runs across consistently. The Wildcats have been held to four or fewer runs in exactly half of their 18 games this year. That presents a major issue when coupled with a pitching staff that has a collective 7.82 ERA over 147.1 IP and a walk-to-strikeout split that is not going to hold up well (13.5 BB%, 17.8 K%).
Redshirt-JR RHP Wilson Perkins (2-3, 6.35 ERA, 28.1 IP, 6.1 BB%, 21.4 K%) has the underlying numbers that say he should hold up well as the team’s ace, but getting more consistency from SR LHP Isaac Fix (1-2, 7.65 ERA, 20.0 IP, 14.4 BB%, 11.3 K%) and finding a reliable third starter will be key to sustained success in the A10 for Davidson. FR RHP Jacob Vokal (0-1, 1 SV, 2.25 ERA, 16.0 IP, 6.1 BB%, 15.2 K%) has established himself as the team’s top relief arm, but the unit as a whole lacks strikeout pitchers, and those who have put up hefty strikeout rates also come toting high walk rates. This is a staff that has displayed the most consistency in being wild (101 BB, 46 HBP, 24 WP in 147.1 IP). Correcting that – if it can be corrected – should be focal point #1.