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#21 NC State Defeats Bucknell 8-2 in Season Opener

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5 years ago

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RALEIGH, N.C. – Headlined by a 3-for-4 performance from senior first baseman Evan Edwards, who finished a single shy of hitting for the cycle, the 21st-ranked NC State baseball team earned an 8-2 victory against Bucknell Friday afternoon at Doak Field at Dail Park.

The Wolfpack collected nine hits on the day, while limiting the Bison to six and the NC State pitching staff did not issue a walk.

Junior Jason Parker earned the start on the mound and pitched five innings to earn the win (1-0). In his first appearance for the Pack after transferring from Louisburg College, Parker struck out four batters and allowed four hits. Bucknell starter Jack Gottesman was charged with the loss (0-1).

Avent’s Additions

“I’m really pleased with how we played today,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “We didn’t walk anybody, and we didn’t make any errors. If you can go through college baseball and not walk anybody or make errors, then you’re going to have a chance to be in some ballgames.”

“Evan [Edwards] set the tone for us in the first inning with a big home run and that kind of set the tone and I thought we had really good at-bats all the way through the game.”

 Quick Hits

– NC State plated a pair of runs in its first plate appearance of the season thanks to a two-run homer from Evan Edwards in the bottom of the first.

– Sophomore Jonny Butler led off with a walk and scored on Edwards’ home run to center field to give the Wolfpack a 2-0 lead.

– Bucknell trimmed the margin to 2-1 in the top of the third after an RBI single from Evan Madigan.

– The Pack answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame after a single from Patrick Bailey to plate Will Wilson, who led off the inning with a double down the left field line to make it 3-1.

– Edwards followed with a triple off the wall in right center, scoring Bailey and J.T. Jarrett drew a walk with the bases loaded to push across the final run of the frame.

– In the sixth, Brad Debo dropped an RBI single into center field and later scored on an error to make it 7-1 in favor of NC State.

– A sacrifice fly from Tyler McDonough drove in the final run of the game for the Wolfpack, as Marek Chlup walked to start the inning and came around to score.

– Bucknell added a run in the top of the ninth on an RBI single from JohnPaul Bell to push the score to the final tally of 8-2.

Inside the Box Score

– NC State had its leadoff batter reach in each of the first four innings and in six of eight plate appearances, while Bucknell only had its leadoff batter reach three times.

– Edwards led all players in the contest with three hits – a home run, triple and a double. He finished a single shy of becoming the first Wolfpack player to hit for the cycle since Ryan Pond in 2006.

– Wilson also had a multi-hit outing and scored a run, while Thayer Thomas recorded a single in his first collegiate at-bat.

– Bailey, Debo and Terrell Tatum had one hit apiece in the contest.

On the Mound

– Wolfpack pitchers struck out seven batters and did not walk a batter.

– After Parker, redshirt sophomore Dalton Feeney entered the game and pitched two hitless innings, striking out four of the six batters he faced.

– Freshman Baker Nelson made his collegiate debut with an inning before giving way to David Harrison.

– Nolan Clenney came on to get the final two outs of the game, picking up a strikeout with two runners on before a popup to Bailey in foul territory to end it.

On Deck

NC State and Bucknell will return to the field for the game two of the series Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Doak Field at Dail Park.

(Photo Credit: GoPack)

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NC State Baseball

NC State has Dominated UNC in Athletics in 2023-24

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30 mins ago

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April 20, 2024

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After NC State clinched a series victory over UNC last night in Baseball, I thought it would be a good time to relish in how the Wolfpack has dominated the Tar Heels Athletic Program as a whole in 2023-24.

The Wolfpack Baseball team has won the first two games in the series against the Tar Heels, clinching a series victory over UNC for the first time since 2021. It marks the first time NC State has won a series against the Tar Heels in Raleigh since 2016.

NC State defeated UNC in Volleyball 3-1, winning in Chapel Hill for the first time in 25 years. The Tar Heels had won the last 5 matches against the Wolfpack.

The Wolfpack defeated the Tar Heels 39-20 in Football in Carter-Finley Stadium. It marked the 3rd consecutive win over UNC.

NC State lost both regular season games to UNC in Men’s Basketball, but when it mattered most, the Wolfpack defeated the Tar Heels in the ACC Championship Game 84-76, winning their first title since 1987.

The Wolfpack Women’s Basketball team lost to their rival in Chapel Hill, but defeated UNC 63-59 in Reynolds Coliseum. NC State has won 5 of the last 7 against UNC.

In Gymnastics, NC State defeated UNC 196.725-194.925 in Raleigh. This marked the 3rd straight victory for the Wolfpack over the Tar Heels.

NC State’s Men & Women’s Swimming & Diving teams both beat UNC. The Men won 258-93, and the Women won 196-157.

The Wolfpack Wrestling team defeated UNC 33-6 in Reynolds Coliseum. NC State has won 11 straight Duals against the Tar Heels.

The NC State Men’s Tennis team defeated UNC 4-0, winning against their rival in back-to-back years.

The Wolfpack Women’s Tennis team has defeated the Tar Heels 4-3 on two occasions thus far this season, and will face their rival again today.

The Cross Country teams didn’t have individual meets against UNC, but the Women obviously beat them, because they won the ACC Championship. The Men didn’t, finishing 8th in the Conference, with the Tar Heels finishing 1st.

The only other NC State athletic team that didn’t taste victory against UNC this year was the Women’s Soccer team, losing 0-4 in Raleigh.

Of course, each of these NC State athletic teams has much higher goals than just beating their rival, but there’s no denying how sweet it is to beat the Tar Heels.

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NC State Baseball

WATCH: Highlights from NC State’s Series Clinching Win Over #11 UNC

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8 hours ago

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April 20, 2024

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NC State came from behind for the 2nd straight to defeat their rival #11 UNC. This evening, the Wolfpack scored 3 runs in the Bottom of the 8th to secure the series victory, with a 5-4 win at Doak Field over the Tar Heels. Check out the Highlights.





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NC State Baseball

NC State Came From Behind to Beat UNC 5-4 Securing 1st Home Series Win Over the Tar Heels Since 2016!

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11 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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NC State came from behind to defeat their rival #11 UNC 5-4, winning their first series at home against the Tar Heels since 2016. The last time NC State won a series against UNC was in Chapel Hill in 2021.

A good team learns to take advantage of their opponents mistakes, and that’s exactly what the Wolfpack did this evening. Of the 5 runs they scored, only 3 of them were earned.

In the Bottom of the 8th inning, with the Wolfpack trailing 4-2, Junior Shortstop Brandon Butterworth was the author of late-game heroics once again, hitting an RBI Single, knocking in Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz, but the play wasn’t over. Butterworth advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch, and Junior Catcher Jacob Cozart scored on a Wild Pitch. After a groundout by Junior Outfielder Chase Nixon, Butterworth would score on a Passed Ball during the next at bat, scoring the winning run of the game.

Sophomore Dominic Fritton was fairly steady, giving up 4 earned runs in 6 innings pitched, striking out 7 (4 walks). Fortunately, no one was on base for all three of UNC’s Home Runs.

When Fritton left the game, the Pack was trailing 4-1, with their only run coming off of an RBI Double by Senior 1st Baseman Garrett Pennington in the Bottom of the 3rd.

The Wolfpack bullpen was exceptional this evening, putting 0’s on the board for 3 straight innings after Fritton exited the game. Freshman Jaxon Lucas pitched two scoreless innings with 2 K’s, and Freshman Jacob Dudan pitched a scoreless 9th, picking up his 4th Save of the year. Lucas was credited with the Win, and is 2-0 on the year.

While I’m dishing out kudos, I don’t want to forget Sophomore Center Fielder Eli Serrano III’s RBI Double in the Bottom of the 7th, cutting UNC’s lead to 2 Runs.

This NC State is peaking at the right time, against the right teams.

The Wolfpack will look to finish things off with a sweep tomorrow afternoon, with the first pitch scheduled for 3pm.

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NC State Baseball

WATCH All 9 of NC State’s RBI’s From Their 9-8 Walk-Off Win Over #11 UNC

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1 day ago

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April 18, 2024

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NC State just defeated their rival #11 UNC 9-8 in dramatic fashion, walking it off in the Bottom of the 9th inning via a Solo Home Run from Junior Shortstop Brandon Butterworth.

The Wolfpack victory snapped a 5-game losing streak to the Tar Heels.

Check out all 9 RBI’s from NC State’s 6th walk-off win of the season, which leads the nation.

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