NC State Baseball
No. 2 NC State Baseball Runs Past Third-Ranked Duke in Series Opener, 9-2
DURHAM, N.C. – The second-ranked NC State baseball team tallied 15 hits and received a stellar outing on the mound from freshman Reid Johnston to earn a 9-2 victory against No. 3 Duke Friday night at Jack Coombs Field.
The Wolfpack records its fourth consecutive win and seventh in its last eight games to take a 1-0 lead in the series against the Blue Devils. NC State, which leads the ACC in scoring, has now scored at least eight runs in eight consecutive games.
NC State moves to 30-7 on the year and 14-5 in ACC play, while Duke falls to 30-9 and 12-6 in conference action. Johnston remains unbeaten on the season and improves to 6-0 with the win, while Blue Devils starter Adam Laskey falls to 6-3.
Quick Hits
– NC State struck first in the contest for the fourth consecutive game, after Terrell Tatum scored on an RBI single through the left side by Brock Deatherage.
– Duke countered in the bottom half of the inning with a run to even the score at one after a triple by Kennie Taylor and an RBI groundout by Griffin Conine.
– The Wolfpack answered in its next at-bat with three runs to grab a 4-1 lead.
– Evan Edwards drove in Brett Kinneman on a single to center field and Tatum had the big hit in the frame with a two-RBI single up the middle with the bases loaded.
– NC State scored four runs in the fourth to break the game open and tally its 22nd ‘big’ inning (four or more runs in an inning) of the season.
– Dillon Cooper reached on a bunt single and scored on a sacrifice fly by Will Wilson to make it 5-1.
– Two batters later, freshman Patrick Bailey hit a bases-clearing triple to deep center field to push the Pack’s lead to 8-1.
– Duke got a run back in the bottom of the fifth, but NC State returned the favor with a run in the sixth to retake a seven-run advantage.
– Will Wilson doubled and came around to score on a single by Edwards to give NC State a 9-2 lead.
Inside the Box Score
– Eight of the nine batters in NC State’s lineup tallied at least one hit in the contest.
– Josh McLain turned in a 3-for-5 performance with a run, while Deatherage also had a three-hit outing with an RBI.
– NC State was 7-for-12 in the game with runners on base and limited Duke to 1-for-10 with runners.
On the Mound
– Johnston delivered a gem for the Wolfpack with a career-long 6.2 innings pitched and limited the Blue Devils to just four hits, while striking out three batters.
– Nolan Clenney relieved the freshman in the seventh and threw the final 2.1 innings. He fanned four batters, highlighted by striking out the side in the ninth.
On Deck
NC State and Duke will return to the field for game two of the series at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field.
#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.
