NC State Baseball
No. 5 NC State Completes Sweep of William & Mary with 7-3 Win
RALEIGH, N.C. – The fifth-ranked NC State baseball team earned a 7-3 win against the William & Mary Tribe Sunday afternoon at Doak Field at Dail Park to complete the series sweep. The Wolfpack records its third sweep of the season.
NC State pushed across four runs in the fourth and did not trail again to move to 34-12 on the year, while William & Mary falls to 15-32.
Freshman Nick Swiney pitched 2.1 innings with four strikeouts to pick up the win, as he remains undefeated with a 4-0 mark. Tribe starter Chris Farrell was charged with the loss and falls to 2-4.
Avent’s Additions
Opening statement…
“William & Mary is a really good team, they’ve played in 23 one-run games and have lost 16 of them, so if you turn that around then you’re looking at a much different record,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “That’s a good ball club and I’m glad we were able to come away with the win.”
“We’re not playing as well as we were earlier this year, there are some things that we have to do better. We’ve got to get a little bit better and we’re working to do it every day, but it’s good to get the sweep.”
Quick Hits
– William & Mary used a pair of doubles to grab a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.
– NC State answered with a big fourth inning to take a 4-1 advantage, following four hits and an error by the Tribe.
– After a single from Evan Edwards to start the frame, Brock Deatherage doubled to center field to score Edwards.
– Terrell Tatum ripped an RBI double to deep right center to plate Deatherage and he scored on a throwing error by the center fielder, as the throw skipped into the W&M dugout.
– Josh McLain extended the NC State lead to 4-1 after chopping a ground ball over the third baseman’s head, allowing Stephen Pitarra to score from second.
– The Wolfpack executed a perfect safety squeeze play in the fifth, as Pitarra dropped a perfect bunt down the first base line and Deatherage raced home to score from third to push the Pack’s lead to 5-1.
– William & Mary got a run back in the sixth and seventh inning following an RBI single by Matt McDermott and a solo homer from Brandon Raquet to narrow the Wolfpack lead to 5-3.
– The Pack countered in the bottom half of the seven with a pair of runs after RBI singles from J.T. Jarrett and McLain to push the margin to 7-3.
Inside the Box Score
– McLain was only player in the game with three hits, as he turned in his 23rd multi-hit game of the season to extend his reached base safely streak to a team-leading 15 games.
– Tatum also turned in a stellar game, as he was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.
– Patrick Bailey, Edwards, Deatherage, Brett Kinneman and Jarrett had one hit apiece.
On the Mound
– NC State pitchers struck out 10 batters in the contest and only issued one walk.
– Sophomore Mathieu Gauthier started on the mound for the Pack and threw 4.2 innings, yielding just one earned run while striking out four batters.
– Swiney took over next and tossed 2.1 to earn the win before handing the ball to Joe O’Donnell.
– O’Donnell pitched the eighth with a pair of strikeouts and Johnny Piedmonte relieved him to pitch the ninth after a 41-minute lightning delay.
On Deck
NC State returns to action with a pair of midweek games against James Madison. Tuesday’s game is set for 6 p.m., while first pitch of Wednesday’s contest is slated for 3 p.m.
*Make plans to join NC State Head Coach Elliott Avent at Backyard Bistro Monday, May 7, at Noon for the final episode of Around the Bases.
#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.
