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.