NC State Baseball
#1 NC State Powers Past Boston College To Clinch Series, 16-4
BRIGHTON, Mass. – Highlighted by a five-run burst in the third and six-run surge in the sixth, No. 1 NC State baseball secured its fifth ACC series win of the season with a dominant 16-4 victory over Boston College on Saturday afternoon.
For 11th time this season, the Wolfpack scored double-digit runs in a single game to improve to 29-3 overall and 12-2 in league play. The Eagles fall to 14-17 overall and 5-9 in conference action.
The victory over the Eagles marks the team’s second-straight series win against BC, including its first series win at Boston College since April 13-14, 2013.
Quick Hits
-The Wolfpack grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first. Will Wilson and Patrick Bailey both hit outfield singles on one out to put runners on for Evan Edwards. BC’s first baseman gloved Edwards’ grounder and tried to start the double play, but the ball hit Bailey in the back, which allowed Wilson to score on the errant play.
-BC responded with a pair of runs in the home half of the first to take a 2-1 advantage. Jack Cunningham drove in Brian Dempsey from second, knotting the score at one with an RBI triple to left field after a one-out single and stolen base started the inning.
-The Eagles took its first lead of the weekendwith Gian Martinelli’s RBI single up the middle that plated Cunningham.
-NC State re-gained its lead in the third behind a five-run burst. Tyler McDonough’s bases-loaded walk, followed by David Vazquez’s two-run single and Lawson McArthur’s two-RBI double gave the Pack a 6-2 advantage.
-Edwards tacked on two more runs in the fourth, extending his team’s lead to six with his ninth homer of the season. His nine long balls ties for the most on the team this year.
-NC State took a commanding 14-2 lead in the sixth lead thanks to a six-run surge on five hits and an error.
-BC got a run back in the home half of the sixth with a leadoff homer to right field.
-The Eagles added on another run in the eighth on Joe Suozzi’s RBI single up the middle after a walk and one-out single followed by a groundout to second started the threat, but their deficit was too much to overcome late in the game.
Inside The Box Score
-Bailey, Edwards and McArthur all turned in multi-hit performances, tallying eight of the team’s 13 hits in the contest. Bailey went 3-for-5 with two singles and a double, and Edwards went 3-for-4 with two base hits and a homer along with 4 RBI.
-McArthur additionally went 2-for-5 at the plate, and both of his hits were two-run doubles.
-Bailey and Edwards extended their reached base streak to 32 games, and Edwards extended his hit streak to 13.
On The Mound
-Starter Reid Johnston went seven strong to collect his fifth win of the season, as he allowed three earned runs on seven hits and walked one batter.
-Kent Klyman and Alec Barger closed out the game with an inning apiece, giving up a combined four hits and earned run.
On Deck
NC State and Boston College will play the series finale Sunday at Harrington Athletics Village. First pitch is 1 p.m. as the Wolfpack will look to earn its third conference sweep, including its second on the road, of the season.
#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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