NC State Baseball
#10 NC State Earns Sweep at No. 2 Clemson with 5-4 Win
CLEMSON, S.C. – The NC State baseball team completed the program’s first-ever sweep at Clemson Sunday afternoon, as the 10th-ranked Wolfpack turned away the second-ranked Tigers with a 5-4 win in the series finale at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
Sophomore Will Wilson recorded his first career multi-home run game, headlined by the go-ahead homer in the eighth and Joe O’Donnell earned the win on the mound with three scoreless innings of relief.
NC State moves to 18-3 on the year and 5-1 in ACC play, while Clemson falls to 16-4 and 3-3 in conference action.
Avent’s Additions
“I think we’re playing extremely well right now,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “We just continue to go about our business and we don’t get too high or too low whether we’re ahead or behind.
“It’s great to watch our team play right now, a lot of people are stepping up. [Kent] Klyman came in and gave us some momentum and then Will [Wilson] gets the big hit and Joe O’Donnell was really good.
“Clemson’s a very good team and awfully tough at home. They have a very dangerous lineup and I thought our pitching staff and Coach Foxhall did a tremendous job all weekend.”
Quick Hits
– For the second time in the series, NC State struck first with a solo home run in the top of the first.
– Wilson launched the second pitch of his at-bat over the left field wall for his fifth home run of the year, giving the Wolfpack a 1-0 lead.
– Clemson responded with a run in the bottom of the frame on a solo homer from Logan Davidson and two in the second to take a 3-1 advantage.
– The Wolfpack answered in the top of the third with a pair of runs to even the score at three, after a two-run homer from Josh McLain, his second of the year.
– The Tigers capitalized on a miscue by NC State to pull ahead 4-3 with an unearned run in the fourth.
– From there, it was all NC State as the Wolfpack scored in the sixth and eighth inning and did not allow another Clemson runner to get past first base.
– Wilson walked and scored in the sixth before leaving the yard for the second time on the day with a solo shot in the eighth, giving NC State a 5-4 lead on his sixth homer of the season.
– He finished the series with a .500 batting average, six hits, four RBI and four runs.
Will Wilson Go-Ahead Home Run in the Eighth
Game Notes
– NC State earned its first-ever sweep in Clemson and its first sweep against the Tigers since 1997 when the Wolfpack accomplished the feat in Raleigh.
– Wilson extended his reached base safely streak to 36 games in the contest, dating back to last season.
– NCSU outscored Clemson, 15-5, during the series and only allowed three extra-base hits and they all came in today’s game.
– The Wolfpack hit three home runs in the game to rank second in the NCAA with 38 on the year.
– NC State is now 9-1 on the year when hitting more than one homer in a game.
Up Next
NC State is back in action next weekend when the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets visit Doak Field at Dail Park for a three-game series. Friday’s game is set for 6:30 p.m.
#21 NC State is coming off of a series victory over UNC this past weekend, and a loss to #7 ECU on the road last night. Where does NC State project to land in the 2024 NCAA Tournament?
The Wolfpack have already seen the Pirates twice this season, but according to D1Baseball and Baseball America, they might not be done playing ECU. Both of them project NC State to be a #2 seed in the Greenville Regional, with D1Baseball projecting the Pirates as the #6 seed and Baseball America projecting them as the #8 seed.
NC State has plenty of baseball left to play, with series against UVA (#14), FSU (#10) and Wake Forest (#8). If the Wolfpack can handle business in 2 of those 3 series, you could make an argument for NC State hosting their own regional.
D1Baseball
Baseball America
#21 NC State lost to #7 ECU 6-10 on the road this evening in a midweek game. As a result, the Pirates have won both games against the Wolfpack in 2024.
When you record 10 hits and score 6 runs, you would hope that’s enough offense to win a baseball game.
Unfortunately the Wolfpack pitching staff was unable to contain the bats of the Pirates, allowing ECU to put 15 hits and 10 runs in the Box Score.
Kudos to Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz for making a STATEment in his return to Clark-LeClair Stadium. A-Mak transferred to NC State from ECU this offseason. This evening Makarewicz was 2-4 with 1 RBI, 2 Runs, and 1 Walk.
A-MAK 👏 ON 👏 THE 👏 ATTACK 👏#Pack9 | @Alec_mak99 pic.twitter.com/7Lps43hXow
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 23, 2024
A-Mak’s Home Run was a part of back-to-back-to-back Home Runs in the Top of the 3rd for the Wolfpack, with Sophomore Right Fielder Josh Hogue and Junior Catcher Jacob Cozart also hitting bombs.
Hogue Homer 💪#Pack9 | @JoshHogue5 pic.twitter.com/CMV3rCQu4B
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 23, 2024
‘Zart completes the trifecta 🤌 pic.twitter.com/gipiWvbcFb
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 23, 2024
NC State will look to flush this loss, and get ready for a 3-game series at home this weekend against Ball State.
Earlier this season on April 2nd, #21 NC State (22-15) lost to #7 ECU (31-8) 4-12 in Raleigh. This evening the Wolfpack will look to get revenge against the Pirates in a game in Greenville at 6pm.
Overall, NC State holds a 71-43 advantage over East Carolina in the series, which dates back to 1957.
Last year, the Wolfpack and the Pirates split their 2-game series, ironically, losing at home, and winning in Greenville.
Replicating last years results will be no small task. The Pirates are ranked 7th in the land, and boast a 3-1 record against ranked opponents this season. One of those wins was against NC State, when the Wolfpack was ranked 19th. The other two ranked wins were at UNC when they were ranked 15th.
NC State has done well against ranked opponents, going 7-4 against teams in the Top-25, and 4-2 against teams in the Top-10.
The Pirates’ pitching staff leads the AAC and is in the Top-10 nationally in ERA (3.61), WHIP (1.18), hits allowed per nine innings (6.99) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.04).
ECU’s home field advantage is a real thing, going 20-2 at home thus far this season.
Senior Carter Cunningham leads the Pirates in nearly every offensive category, batting .396 with 9 Home Runs. He’s not alone though. Five of ECU’s regular starters have batting averages over .300.
It will be a homecoming for Senior Wolfpack Third Baseman Alec Makarewicz, who transferred to NC State from ECU this offseason. A-Mak is having the best season of his career, hitting 15 Home Runs while batting .349. It would be fitting for Makarewicz to win at his old stomping grounds.
NC State’s Baseball team is solidly back in the Top-25 after winning a series over rival UNC this past weekend, winning 2 of 3 at home. Last week, the Wolfpack were ranked 22nd in the Baseball America poll, but in none of the others.
NC State will play a midweek game at East Carolina tomorrow night on the road, and the Pirates rank 7th in the D1Baseball and Coaches Poll.
