North Carolina State University Athletics
Tuesday, March 31
Raleigh, NC
6 p.m.
NC State
vs
Liberty
NC State Returns Home to Take on Liberty
3/30/2026 3:36:00 PM | Baseball
RALEGH, N.C. – NC State baseball will kick off an eight-game home stand Tuesday night as the Wolfpack faces Liberty at 6 p.m. from Doak Field. The game will be broadcast on ACCNX and can be heard on WKNC 88.1 and the Varsity Network app.
The Wolfpack aims to bounce back and end a six-game losing streak, the longest since 2014. Last season, the Wolfpack had a five-game losing streak before winning its next 11 games.
Liberty travels to Raleigh having won the last two meetings, including last year's 9-8 victory at Doak. With only nine meetings in program history, NC State holds a 5-4 series lead. The first encounter between the two schools was in 1987, with NC State winning 14-1 under head coach Sam Esposito. NC State is 6-2 in midweek games this season.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Tuesday: LHP Luke Hemric (NCSU) vs. LHP Josh Swink (LIB)
Hemric is making his eighth appearance for the Wolfpack and his fifth start. The freshman from Apex, N.C., has a 1-1 record with a 3.06 ERA. In 17.2 innings, he has held opponents to a .143 batting average with 19 strikeouts and 13 walks. In his last start, Hemric pitched a career-high five innings, striking out a career-best eight batters.
The NC State offense is looking to regain its early-season form when it was among the top offenses nationally. The five runs scored in the series against Georgia Tech were the fewest since 2022, when the Wolfpack scored just four runs over three games against Wake Forest.
Freshman Rett Johnson has been one of the most consistent hitters, boasting a .407 batting average and a .528 on-base percentage, leading the team in both categories. His ability to get on base is highlighted by his 21 walks to just seven strikeouts, making him the second-toughest player to strike out in the ACC.
Teammate Ty Head, with a team-high 25 walks, ranks third in the conference behind Johnson.
Drew Lanphere enters Tuesday with a three-game hitting streak, the longest by a Wolfpack player this season. He has had three separate stretches of three-hit games but has never had a four-game hitting streak.
Chris McHugh, with the Wolfpack's longest hitting streak of 16 games this season, has safely reached base in 10 straight games and is the only Wolfpack player with a streak longer than three games.
McHugh leads NC State with 13 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games, including four games with three RBIs. He is one of four Wolfpack players with a 5-RBI game. He has accumulated 32 RBIs and 39 hits in 110 at-bats, both team highs.
NC State pitching kept a Georgia Tech offense, which leads the country in multiple categories, at bay for most of the series. The staff ranks ninth nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (7.06) and 20th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.9).
During the six-game losing streak, the Wolfpack has only had one game with a team batting average over .300. They are 18-97 with runners on base in that span.
Georgia Tech's shutout of NC State on Sunday marked the third time this season the Wolfpack has been shut out. The last time an NC State team was shut out three times in a season was in 2016, when they were shut out four times.
The Wolfpack aims to bounce back and end a six-game losing streak, the longest since 2014. Last season, the Wolfpack had a five-game losing streak before winning its next 11 games.
Liberty travels to Raleigh having won the last two meetings, including last year's 9-8 victory at Doak. With only nine meetings in program history, NC State holds a 5-4 series lead. The first encounter between the two schools was in 1987, with NC State winning 14-1 under head coach Sam Esposito. NC State is 6-2 in midweek games this season.
Probable Starting Pitchers
Tuesday: LHP Luke Hemric (NCSU) vs. LHP Josh Swink (LIB)
Hemric is making his eighth appearance for the Wolfpack and his fifth start. The freshman from Apex, N.C., has a 1-1 record with a 3.06 ERA. In 17.2 innings, he has held opponents to a .143 batting average with 19 strikeouts and 13 walks. In his last start, Hemric pitched a career-high five innings, striking out a career-best eight batters.
The NC State offense is looking to regain its early-season form when it was among the top offenses nationally. The five runs scored in the series against Georgia Tech were the fewest since 2022, when the Wolfpack scored just four runs over three games against Wake Forest.
Freshman Rett Johnson has been one of the most consistent hitters, boasting a .407 batting average and a .528 on-base percentage, leading the team in both categories. His ability to get on base is highlighted by his 21 walks to just seven strikeouts, making him the second-toughest player to strike out in the ACC.
Teammate Ty Head, with a team-high 25 walks, ranks third in the conference behind Johnson.
Drew Lanphere enters Tuesday with a three-game hitting streak, the longest by a Wolfpack player this season. He has had three separate stretches of three-hit games but has never had a four-game hitting streak.
Chris McHugh, with the Wolfpack's longest hitting streak of 16 games this season, has safely reached base in 10 straight games and is the only Wolfpack player with a streak longer than three games.
McHugh leads NC State with 13 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games, including four games with three RBIs. He is one of four Wolfpack players with a 5-RBI game. He has accumulated 32 RBIs and 39 hits in 110 at-bats, both team highs.
NC State pitching kept a Georgia Tech offense, which leads the country in multiple categories, at bay for most of the series. The staff ranks ninth nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (7.06) and 20th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.9).
During the six-game losing streak, the Wolfpack has only had one game with a team batting average over .300. They are 18-97 with runners on base in that span.
Georgia Tech's shutout of NC State on Sunday marked the third time this season the Wolfpack has been shut out. The last time an NC State team was shut out three times in a season was in 2016, when they were shut out four times.
Players Mentioned
LHP
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OF
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INF
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