NC State Baseball
#2 NC State Rallies for 6-5 Win at Charlotte to Remain Undefeated
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Off to its best start in program history and one of the nation’s two remaining unbeaten teams, the second-ranked NC State baseball team continues to find ways to win as the Wolfpack rallied for a 6-5 win against Charlotte Tuesday night at BB&T Ballpark.
Charlotte jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the contest before extending the lead to 4-1, but a three-run homer from Patrick Bailey in the top of the eighth knotted the score at four. The Wolfpack added two runs in the top of the ninth and held off the 49ers in the bottom half to seal the win.
NC State moves to 16-0 on the year, while Charlotte falls to 8-8. Kent Klyman picked up the win on the mound and is now 5-0 to lead all ACC pitchers, while Dalton Feeney nailed down his fourth save of the season.
Avent’s Additions
“We keep getting better and our guys are resilient,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “Tonight, we were down 4-1 and with the way Charlotte was playing, to come back and win is that much more impressive. They were not only making every play, but also their pitching was outstanding. It seemed like if we did hit a ball hard, it was right at one of their guys.
“When things like that happen, it looks like it’s just one of those nights, but our guys didn’t think that way. They came in ready to roll in the eighth inning.”
Quick Hits
– Charlotte scored first in the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third following a pair of RBI singles from Carson Johnson and Drew Ober to grab a 2-0 lead.
– NC State answered with a run in the top of the fifth after two-out walks from Lawson McArthur and Terrell Tatum before Jonny Butler came up big for the Wolfpack with a clutch, pinch-hit single through the right side to plate McArthur.
– The 49ers added a run in the sixth on a solo homer from Dominick Cammarata and a single by Johnson to pull ahead, 4-1.
– Will Wilson sparked the Pack’s rally in the eighth, as he drew a leadoff walk and Evan Edwards followed with a single up the middle.
– After working his way into a 3-1 count, Bailey crushed the next pitch from Ryan Czanstkowski over the right field wall to tie the game at four apiece.
– The sophomore hit his third homer of the year 402 feet into the right field bleachers and each of his home runs this season have been go-ahead or game-tying hits.
– Tatum doubled down the right field line to start the ninth and scored on a two-out RBI single from Wilson to give NC State its first lead of the day at 5-4.
– After a single from Edwards and a hit-by-pitch to load the bases, Brad Debo battled to draw a walk, pushing across what proved to be the winning run.
– Charlotte threatened in the bottom of the ninth, but the inning took a turn for NC State after a great block on a pitch in the dirt from Bailey and the runner on second tried to advance to third, but the sophomore catcher fired a strike to Dillon Cooper, who applied the tag for the second out of the inning.
– Dalton Feeney then forced the next batter to fly out to McArthur in right field to end the game.
On Deck
NC State will return to action Wednesday afternoon when the Wolfpack hosts George Mason. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. at Doak Field at Dail Park.
Photo Credit: @NCStateBaseball
#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.
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