NC State Baseball
#6 NC State Baseball Slips Past George Mason, 3-2 (w/ highlights)
RALEIGH, N.C. – The sixth-ranked NC State baseball team slipped past the visiting George Mason Patriots Tuesday afternoon with a 3-2 victory at Doak Field at Dail Park. The Wolfpack scored all three of its runs in the second inning, but its stellar pitching staff held the visitors in check.
NC State moves to 21-4 on the year, which is the best start for the program since 2003 when the squad had an identical record under head coach Elliott Avent, while George Mason falls to 10-12.
Freshman Nick Swiney earned the win on the mound and is now 3-0, while redshirt senior Joe O’Donnell shut the door in the ninth to secure his fifth save.
Avent’s Additions
On matching the program’s best start since 2003…
“The thing I’m most proud of about this program is the consistency through the last 50 years, which has been incredible,” said Avent. “I think the reason we’re 21-4 is that we’ve had unbelievable senior leadership. It’s impressive to watch this team go about their business. We were very fortunate to win today, but we’ll take it.”
“Baseball’s not an easy game to play, but it’s a fun game to watch and it’s a fun game to watch when it’s played well and right now these guys are going about their business very, very well.”
Quick Hits
– George Mason struck first in the contest after a double down the left field line by Greg Popatak and an RBI single by Scott Morgan to give the Patriots a 1-0 lead.
– NC State countered in the bottom half of the second inning with three runs to take the lead and never relinquished it.
– Senior Brock Deatherage sparked the offense for the Wolfpack by legging out a bunt single before stealing second base to get into scoring position.
– Following a walk by Shane Shepard, Dillon Cooper reached on an infield single to the shortstop and an errant throw allowed Deatherage to score and knot the game at one apiece.
– Shepard and Cooper scored on a fielding error by the George Mason second baseman, as the Wolfpack capitalized on the miscue to grab a 3-1 lead.
– The Patriots got a run back in the fourth but could not get any closer.
Inside the Box Score
– Sophomore Will Wilson singled to center field in the bottom of the sixth to extend his reached base safely streak to 40 games dating back to last season.
– Senior Josh McLain had a hit in the third inning to stretch his hitting streak to 13 games, as he has tallied a hit in 24 of the Wolfpack’s 25 games.
On the Mound
– Freshman Reid Johnston started on the mound for NC State and pitched four innings with three strikeouts.
– Classmate Swiney relieved him and threw 3.2 innings, allowing just one hit and fanned four batters.
– With a runner on third in the eighth, Nolan Clenney entered the game to pitch and struck out the only batter he faced to end the threat.
– O’Donnell got a flyout, looking strikeout and groundout in the ninth to log the save.
– The Wolfpack’s pitching staff leads the ACC with 12 saves on the year.
Up Next
NC State returns to action this weekend when the Wolfpack heads to Blacksburg, Va., for a three-game series at Virginia Tech. In observance of Easter weekend, the series will be played Thursday through Saturday. Thursday’s game is set for 4 p.m. at English Field at Union Park.