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

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)