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NC State Baseball

#10 NC State Beats Air Force 15-5, 10 Runs in Final Two At-Bats

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6 years ago

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RALEIGH, N.C. – The 10th-ranked NC State baseball team scored 13 runs in its final two at-bats to surge past the visiting Air Force Falcons for a 15-5 win Monday afternoon at Doak Field at Dail Park. The Wolfpack scored eight runs in the seventh and five runs in the eighth to claim the victory.

Sophomore Michael Bienlien (1-0) earned his first win of the season with an inning of relief, while the Falcons’ Nick Biancalana was charged with the loss and is now 0-1 on the season.

NC State has now won six straight games and moves to 8-1 on the year, while Air Force falls to 1-6.

Now in his 22nd season with the Wolfpack, head coach Elliott Avent earned his 799th win in charge of the program and will go for 800 on Friday against Bowling Green. The skipper has logged 1,023 career victories.

Avent’s Additions
Overall thoughts…
“A lot of guys are stepping up and as a I told the team in the locker room, if guys are stepping up that weren’t starters when the season began then they’re able to do that because of the confidence that their teammates have in them and how they’ve taught them,” said Avent. “I think we have a lot of guys doing a lot of things well and I’m proud of the team.

“To continue to come back in games has been impressive. I thought Air Force really came to play today. They played 16 innings yesterday, they were in Hawai’i last week and I thought they showed a lot of character today, which is what the Air Force is about. We played well today because they played awfully well and I’m really proud of our guys.”

Game Notes
– Brett Kinneman continues to be red-hot at the plate for the Wolfpack, as he belted a pair of three-run homers in the game to take over the NCAA lead for home runs this season with seven.
– He also leads the nation in hits (19) and RBIs (23), as he contributed six RBIs against the Falcons.
– The Wolfpack hit five home runs as a team in the contest to take the ACC lead with 17 on the year and rank third in the NCAA.
– NCSU’s team batting average of .341 paces the conference and is tied for 11th nationally.
– Senior Josh McLain singled in the eighth inning to extend his hitting streak to 17 games dating back to 2017.
– Will Wilson walked in the fourth to stretch his reached base safely streak to 24 games from last season.

Quick Hits
– Air Force grabbed a 2-0 lead in the contest with a run in the first and one in the third, but NC State cut into the advantage with a run in the fourth as freshman switch-hitter Patrick Bailey hit his first collegiate home run from the right side of the plate.
– A balk call against the Falcons pitcher knotted the score at two in the sixth before the teams combined to score 11 runs in the seventh.
– After Air Force took a 5-2 lead with three runs in the top half, NC State answered with eight runs in the bottom of the frame, the most it has scored in an inning this season.
– Wilson and Kinneman had the big hits in the inning, as both hit three-run homers. Wilson hit his first long ball of the year over the wall in left center and Kinneman hit his sixth of the season off the scoreboard beyond the wall in right field.
– An RBI single through the right side off the bat of Shane Shepard and a sac fly from Bailey plated the final two runs of the seventh to push the Pack’s lead to 10-5.
– Kinneman’s second round-tripper of the game was also a three-run shot, as this one also cleared the right field wall. It was his NCAA-leading seventh of the season and second multi-homer game of the year.
– Shepard hit the Wolfpack’s fifth homer of the contest, as he launched his second homer of the year to right field to give NC State a 15-5 advantage.

On the Mound
– Sophomore Mathieu Gauthier started on the mound for the Pack and pitched three innings before handing the ball to freshman Nick Swiney.
– Swiney was extremely impressive out of the bullpen, as he pitched three shutout innings with a career-high eight strikeouts. He struck out the side in the fifth and sixth, retiring seven consecutive outs via strikeout.
– Bienlien entered the game next and threw an inning to record his first win since May 6, 2017 against Delaware.
– Freshman Evan Justice pitched the final two innings and collected four strikeouts, highlighted by striking out the side in the eighth.

Up Next
NC State returns to action Friday afternoon when the Bowling Green Falcons visit Doak Field. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m.

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Matthew is Publisher and Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He is also the Lead Pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

NC State Baseball

Make Sure to Grab Your NC State Baseball Shirts!

Published

4 hours ago

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May 19, 2024

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The NC State Baseball team is one of it the hottest teams in all of College Baseball heading into next weeks 2024 ACC Tournament. They currently rank 14th in the RPI. They are the #3 seed in the ACC Tournament. They have 4 series victories over Top-10 teams, and 5 over Top-12 teams.

In preparation for the postseason, go ahead and grab yourself a few NC State Baseball shirts from our friends over at BreakingT. These are older shirts from over at BreakingT, but still worth the snag. I’ll reach out to them to see if they can cook some new ones up.

If you click the hyperlink above, or any of the pictures of the shirts below, go to the dropdown menu on the top right, and select “Alphabetically, A-Z”, and you will find all 4 of these on on the first two pages.

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NC State Baseball

The Pools for the 2024 ACC Baseball Tournament Have Been Set

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11 hours ago

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May 18, 2024

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The 2024 College Baseball Regular Season is over for all ACC teams, and the Pools have been set for the 2024 ACC Tournament that will kickoff next week in Charlotte, North Carolina.

NC State is the #3 seed in the Tourney, and they are in Pool C with #6 seed Duke, and #10 seed Virginia Tech.

Back at the end of March, the Wolfpack beat the Blue Devils in 2 out of 3 games at Doak Field, when Duke was ranked 9th in the country.

In Game 1, NC State won 4-3. Sam Highfill picked up the W with a Quality Start of 7 innings pitched, giving up 3 earned runs, while striking out 7. Freshman Jacob Dudan picked up the Save pitching 2 hitless innings, while striking out 3. Junior Catcher Jacob Cozart’s RBI Single in the Bottom of the 7th brought in the winning run.

In Game 2, Sophomore Center Fielder Eli Serrano III hit a walk-off 2-Run Home Run to give the Wolfpack a 9-8 win over Duke, securing the series victory. The Wolfpack were trailing 8-3 heading into the Bottom of the 9th inning, but scored 6 Runs in the final frame. Senior 1st Baseman Garrett Pennington had 2 Home Runs in the game, and Senior Outfielder Noah Soles had one. Senior Logan Whitaker got the starting nod, and gave up 4 earned runs in 4 innings, striking out 4. Sophomore Derrick Smith picked up the Win, pitching a scoreless final frame, striking out 1.

In Game 3, the Blue Devils got the best of the Wolfpack, crushing them 13-2. Sophomore Dominic Fritton started the game, and gave up 4 earned runs in 4 innings, striking out 5. Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz was the only bright spot on offense, going 3 for 3, with a Home Run, 2 RBI’s and 2 Runs.

NC State didn’t play #10 seed Virginia Tech in the regular season this year.

Due to securing a Top-4 seed in the Tournament, NC State will not play on the opening day of the Tournament on Tuesday. Their 1st game will be against the Hokies.

The full schedule of the 2024 ACC Baseball Tournament will be released tomorrow. Stay tuned.

 

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NC State Baseball

#17 NC State’s Late Game Heroics Strike Again, Defeating #8 Wake Forest 9-6 to Complete the Sweep

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14 hours ago

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May 18, 2024

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#17 NC State’s late game heroics continued this afternoon, defeating #8 Wake Forest 9-6 in dramatic fashion late in the game for the 3rd straight game, completing the sweep of the Demon Deacons.

With the game tied 6-6, the Wolfpack scored 3 runs in the Bottom of the 8th inning, that would end up being the winning runs. With 2 outs, Freshman Alex Sosa scored on a throwing error, and Senior 1st Baseman Garrett Pennington followed that up with a 2 RBI Double.

Senior Starting Pitcher Logan Whitaker gave up 5 runs (1 unearned) in 4 innings pitched, striking out 5, while walking none. Freshman Ryan Marohn was fabulous in relief, giving up only 1 earned run in 4 innings pitched, striking out 4. Marohn has been extremely dependable as a True Freshman. After picking up the Win today, he boasts a 4-2 record with a 3.60 ERA.

Sophomore Derrick Smith came in to close things out in the Bottom of the 9th, and in electric fashion, he struck out all three batters to pick up his 5th Save of the season.

Sosa had himself a day, putting the Pack on the board in the Bottom of the 2nd with an RBI Single, which was followed up by a Solo Home Run in the Bottom of the 6th inning.

Pennington and Junior Catcher Jacob Cozart both had 3 RBI’s this afternoon. Pennington not only hit his 2 RBI Double in the Bottom of the 8th, but he also hit an RBI Single in the Bottom of the 5th. Cozart hit a 3-run bomb in the bottom of the 6th.

Sophomore Center Fielder Eli Serrano III and Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makerewicz also had multi-hit performances. Serrano III was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a Run, while A-Mak was 2 for 1 with a Run.

With the victory, NC State secured the #3 seed in this upcoming weeks 2024 ACC Tournament, and more than likely locked up a spot as a Regional Host in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

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NC State Baseball

With a Win Today, #17 NC State Will Secure a Top-4 Spot in the 2024 ACC Baseball Tournament

Published

22 hours ago

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May 18, 2024

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After last night’s dramatic walk-off victory over #8 Wake Forest, #17 NC State is 17-11 in ACC play, and if the season were to end today, the Wolfpack would a Top-4 seed in next weeks ACC Tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina.

UNC has locked up the #1 seed (21-9), and Clemson has locked up the #2 seed (19-10)

NC State and FSU are tied with conference records of 17-11, but as things currently stand, the Wolfpack would be the #3 seed over FSU. NC State currently holds the edge over the Seminoles according to tie breaker rules. In head-to-head games, the two teams split. The Wolfpack hold the edge due to having a better Divisional record.

Here are the scenarios for the Pack heading into the regular season finale against Wake Forest this afternoon:

NC State will secure the #3 spot if they win today in the series finale against Wake Forest.

If NC State loses, FSU loses, and UVA loses, NC State will secure the #3 seed.

If NC State loses, FSU loses, and UVA wins, NC State would secure the #4 seed.

If NC State loses, FSU wins and UVA loses, the Wolfpack will secure the #4 seed.

If NC State loses, FSU wins and UVA wins, the Wolfpack will fall out of the Top-4, and be the #5 seed.

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