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#21 NC State Defeats Bucknell 8-2 in Season Opener

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RALEIGH, N.C. – Headlined by a 3-for-4 performance from senior first baseman Evan Edwards, who finished a single shy of hitting for the cycle, the 21st-ranked NC State baseball team earned an 8-2 victory against Bucknell Friday afternoon at Doak Field at Dail Park.

The Wolfpack collected nine hits on the day, while limiting the Bison to six and the NC State pitching staff did not issue a walk.

Junior Jason Parker earned the start on the mound and pitched five innings to earn the win (1-0). In his first appearance for the Pack after transferring from Louisburg College, Parker struck out four batters and allowed four hits. Bucknell starter Jack Gottesman was charged with the loss (0-1).

Avent’s Additions

“I’m really pleased with how we played today,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “We didn’t walk anybody, and we didn’t make any errors. If you can go through college baseball and not walk anybody or make errors, then you’re going to have a chance to be in some ballgames.”

“Evan [Edwards] set the tone for us in the first inning with a big home run and that kind of set the tone and I thought we had really good at-bats all the way through the game.”

 Quick Hits

– NC State plated a pair of runs in its first plate appearance of the season thanks to a two-run homer from Evan Edwards in the bottom of the first.

– Sophomore Jonny Butler led off with a walk and scored on Edwards’ home run to center field to give the Wolfpack a 2-0 lead.

– Bucknell trimmed the margin to 2-1 in the top of the third after an RBI single from Evan Madigan.

– The Pack answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame after a single from Patrick Bailey to plate Will Wilson, who led off the inning with a double down the left field line to make it 3-1.

– Edwards followed with a triple off the wall in right center, scoring Bailey and J.T. Jarrett drew a walk with the bases loaded to push across the final run of the frame.

– In the sixth, Brad Debo dropped an RBI single into center field and later scored on an error to make it 7-1 in favor of NC State.

– A sacrifice fly from Tyler McDonough drove in the final run of the game for the Wolfpack, as Marek Chlup walked to start the inning and came around to score.

– Bucknell added a run in the top of the ninth on an RBI single from JohnPaul Bell to push the score to the final tally of 8-2.

Inside the Box Score

– NC State had its leadoff batter reach in each of the first four innings and in six of eight plate appearances, while Bucknell only had its leadoff batter reach three times.

– Edwards led all players in the contest with three hits – a home run, triple and a double. He finished a single shy of becoming the first Wolfpack player to hit for the cycle since Ryan Pond in 2006.

– Wilson also had a multi-hit outing and scored a run, while Thayer Thomas recorded a single in his first collegiate at-bat.

– Bailey, Debo and Terrell Tatum had one hit apiece in the contest.

On the Mound

– Wolfpack pitchers struck out seven batters and did not walk a batter.

– After Parker, redshirt sophomore Dalton Feeney entered the game and pitched two hitless innings, striking out four of the six batters he faced.

– Freshman Baker Nelson made his collegiate debut with an inning before giving way to David Harrison.

– Nolan Clenney came on to get the final two outs of the game, picking up a strikeout with two runners on before a popup to Bailey in foul territory to end it.

On Deck

NC State and Bucknell will return to the field for the game two of the series Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Doak Field at Dail Park.

(Photo Credit: GoPack)

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NC State Baseball

#22 NC State’s Loses 7-11 to Campbell in 12 Innings in Midweek Contest

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#22 NC State Baseball continues to be a roller coaster ride to follow. After winning 2 out of 3 down at Clemson this past weekend, the Wolfpack lost 7-11 to Campbell in 12 innings last night.

NC State had their chances, leaving 19 batters on base (Campbell left 13). The Wolfpack trailed 7-2 heading into the bottom of the 8th, but they responded with 4 runs, cutting it to a 1-run game. In the bottom of the 9th, Sophomore Center Fielder Eli Serrano III hit a solo Home Run to tie the game to send it to extra innings.

Things went off the rails in the Top of the 12th. Serrano III almost made an incredible diving catch, but the ball popped out of his glove, which led to 2 Campbell runs. In the midst of the chaos, due to a throwing error on the play, a Camel runner advanced to third, and he was able to run across the plate on a groundout the very next at bat. A couple of batters later, with the bases juiced, NC State hit a batter, bringing across the 4th run of the inning.

Despite 2 errors, all 11 runs were earned runs. On the year, the ERA of NC State’s Pitching staff is 6.63, which ranks 2nd-to-last in the ACC. That’s a problem.

Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz was 2 for 5 with an RBI, 2 Runs and 2 Walks. Both of his Hits went for extra bases, with one being a bomb, and the other being a Double. The Home Run was Pennington’s 14th of the year. A-Mak’s batting .357, and his OPS is 1.188.

Senior 1st Baseman Garrett Pennington was 3 of 6 at the plate, with 2 RBI’s, 1 Run and 1 Walk.

Pennington’s batting average is .366 and his OPS is 1.125.

NC State has now lost 3 straight midweek games.

The Wolfpack will look to regroup as their rival #11 UNC comes to town for a 3-game series this weekend.

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NC State Baseball

NC State Finds Their Way Back Into the Top-25 in 1 Poll After Series Win at Clemson

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NC State won 2 of their 4 games last week, winning 2 out of 3 against Clemson on the road this past weekend, and losing to UNCW on the road in a midweek game. Prior to the 2 victories against the Tigers, the Wolfpack had lost 5 straight games, suffering a sweep at Louisville the weekend before.

As a result of NC State’s big series victory at Clemson, the Wolfpack are back in Baseball America’s Top-25.

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NC State didn’t manage to crack the Top-25 for D1Baseball, Perfect Game or the USAToday Coaches Poll. The Wolfpack currently rank 31st in the Coaches Poll.

The NCBWA Poll hasn’t been released yet.

NC State will host Campbell tomorrow night at 6pm, which will be followed up by a series at the Doak this weekend against rival #11 UNC.

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NC State Baseball

Clemson Shuts Out NC State 7-0, but the Wolfpack Win the Series

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NC State didn’t pull of the sweep, falling to #2 Clemson 0-7 on the road this afternoon. Despite the loss, the Wolfpack did take 2 of 3 on the road against the team that entered the weekend ranked #1 in the RPI.

Freshman Cooper Consiglio got the start for the Pack today, and it’s a shame he was tagged with the Loss, because he pitched the first Quality Start of his career, giving up 2 earned runs in 6 innings pitched, striking out 3.

The bullpen didn’t help Consiglio today, with Freshman Heath Andrews surrendering 3 earned runs in 0.1 innings, while Sophomore Andrew Shaffner gave up 2 earned runs in 1.2 innings.

The Tigers limited NC State to only 2 hits, and they were singles by Senior 1st Baseman Garrett Pennington and Junior Shortstop Brandon Butterworth.

The Wolfpack are now 20-13 overall, and 10-8 in conference play heading into a midweek game against Campbell at home on Tuesday night at 6pm. NC State currently ranks 3rd in the Atlantic Division.

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NC State Baseball

NC State Shuts Out #2 Clemson 4-0, Clinching the Series Against the Tigers!

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NC State (20-12) shut out Clemson (28-6) 4-0 this evening, clinching the series against the #2 team in the land on the road.

We’ve been waiting all year for Sophomore Dominic Fritton to return to form, and he picked a good time to do so, pitching 5.2 scoreless innings, striking out 6. The 5.2 innings is his highest of the season, and it’s the first time all season he has pitched, and the other team has scored 0 runs.

Fritton was followed by Freshman Jacob Dudan and Sophomore Derrick Smith, who kept the shutout alive. Dudan allowed 2 hits and 3 walks, but didn’t allow a run in 1.1 innings, and Smith didn’t allow a hit (1 walk) in 2 innings.

Pitching hasn’t been NC State’s strong suit in 2024, but it was tonight, against Sophomore Ethan Darden, who pitched a gem himself, giving up 1 earned run (3 unearned runs) in 9 innings, while striking out 5 (no walks).

Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz was 3 for 4 with 2 RBI’s and a Run.

The Wolfpack and the Tigers will close out the series tomorrow at 1pm.

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