NC State will open its 2012 NCAA tournament run against Sacred Heart at 7:00 p.m. ET this Friday. That game will be preceded by the No. 2 vs. No. 3 game, Vanderbilt vs. Wilmington.
Sacred Heart doesn't appear to have a whole lot of punch, so it will not surprise me to see Carlos Rodon pitch on Saturday in what is guaranteed to be a tougher game.
Every team in this regional is going to want to run:
NC State: .290/.370/.424 (.794 OPS) -- 35 HR; 93-113 SB (82.3% success rate)
Sacred Heart: .272/.356/.347 (.703 OPS) -- 10 HR; 71-94 SB (75.5% success rate)
Vanderbilt: .266/.365/.377 (.742 OPS) -- 26 HR; 78-105 SB (74.3% success rate)
Wilmington: .302/.384/.443 (.827 OPS) -- 48 HR; 104-132 SB (78.8% success rate)
The winner of this regional will meet the winner of the Gainsville regional in the next round, which means most likely that the nation's number one overall seed -- Florida -- will be standing between the Raleigh Regional champ and the College World Series. That's a tough break.