NC State Baseball
#7 NC State Defeats UNCW 14-7, Collects 30th Win Of Season
WILMINGTON, N.C. – No. 7 NC State baseball collected its 30th win of the season on Tuesday evening with a 14-7 victory at UNCW’s Brooks Field in Wilmington, N.C.
After NC State jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first two innings, UNCW plated all seven of its runs in the fifth and sixth innings to trim its deficit to two. A four-run spark in the eighth and insurance run in the ninth, along with strong work from relievers Nick Swiney and Alec Barger, allowed the Wolfpack to come away with the win.
NC State improves to 30-8, becoming the first team in the ACC to reach the 30-win plateau in 2019, while the Seahawks move to 20-18 on the year.
Quick Hits
-NC State took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Tyler McDonough’s RBI single to right field drove in the first run after Will Wilson’s one-out walk and Evan Edwards’ double to left center started the contest.
-David Vazquez’s bases-loaded sac fly to center field and Terrell Tatum’s bases-loaded walk plated the other two runs of the frame.
-Wilson launched a two-run homer over the left field wall in the second, his team-leading 13th of the year, to give the Pack a 5-0 advantage after two innings.
-The Seahawks got on the board in the fifth with three runs on a one-out RBI single followed by a two-run double off the right center wall.
-In the sixth, Jonny Butler’s RBI double to left center and Brad Debo’s three-run homer to right field gave the Pack a 9-3 advantage.
-UNCW countered with four runs of its own though in the bottom frame thanks to Noah Bridges’ grand slam to right center.
-Edwards clubbed the team’s third homer of the night in the eighth, as he went opposite field with a three-run blast to give his team a 12-7 advantage.
-Lawson McArthur tacked on a fourth run in the frame with his RBI triple down the right field line, scoring McDonough after a leadoff walk and error placed him on third.
-J.T. Jarrett’s RBI sac bunt provided an additional run in the ninth. Vojtech Mensik took second on a dropped fly ball in right field and a dropped third strike passed ball allowed him to threaten.
Inside The Box Score
-Edwards led the team offensively with a 3-for-4 performance, highlighted by his 11th homer of the year.
-Jarrett also had a multi-hit performance as he went 2-for-2 with a pair of sac bunts.
-Debo’s long ball in the sixth inning was his fourth of the year.
On The Mound
-Starter Cameron Cotter (3-2) and David Harrison threw two innings apiece, not allowing a hit and striking out a combined five batters.
-Swiney and Barger were also effective down the stretch for the Pack, combining for eight strikeouts in the nine batters they faced.
On Deck
NC State will travel to Wake Forest for a three-game set Thursday through Saturday at the David F. Couch Ballpark in Winston-Salem, N.C. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and the series finale Saturday is slated for a 1 p.m. start. All three games will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra.
NC State and #11 UNC will kickoff a 3-game series in Raleigh tonight, but before the two rivals hit the diamond, here’s a Bracketology report for the Wolfpack before the first pitch.
D1Baseball currently projects that NC State will be the #2 seed in Greenville Region, hosted by #9 seed East Carolina. Back on April 2nd, the Wolfpack lost 4-12 to the Pirates at the Doak.
Baseball America projects NC State will be a #2 seed in the Knoxville Region, hosted by #6 seed Tennessee.
The Wolfpack are currently 20-14 overall, ranking 33rd in the RPI.
#22 NC State Baseball continues to be a roller coaster ride to follow. After winning 2 out of 3 down at Clemson this past weekend, the Wolfpack lost 7-11 to Campbell in 12 innings last night.
NC State had their chances, leaving 19 batters on base (Campbell left 13). The Wolfpack trailed 7-2 heading into the bottom of the 8th, but they responded with 4 runs, cutting it to a 1-run game. In the bottom of the 9th, Sophomore Center Fielder Eli Serrano III hit a solo Home Run to tie the game to send it to extra innings.
CLUTCH 🥶#Pack9 | @eliserrano__ pic.twitter.com/z61sLMOYtG
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 17, 2024
Things went off the rails in the Top of the 12th. Serrano III almost made an incredible diving catch, but the ball popped out of his glove, which led to 2 Campbell runs. In the midst of the chaos, due to a throwing error on the play, a Camel runner advanced to third, and he was able to run across the plate on a groundout the very next at bat. A couple of batters later, with the bases juiced, NC State hit a batter, bringing across the 4th run of the inning.
Despite 2 errors, all 11 runs were earned runs. On the year, the ERA of NC State’s Pitching staff is 6.63, which ranks 2nd-to-last in the ACC. That’s a problem.
Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz was 2 for 5 with an RBI, 2 Runs and 2 Walks. Both of his Hits went for extra bases, with one being a bomb, and the other being a Double. The Home Run was Pennington’s 14th of the year. A-Mak’s batting .357, and his OPS is 1.188.
CLUTCH 🥶#Pack9 | @eliserrano__ pic.twitter.com/z61sLMOYtG
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 17, 2024
Senior 1st Baseman Garrett Pennington was 3 of 6 at the plate, with 2 RBI’s, 1 Run and 1 Walk.
Penny plates a pair ➕2️⃣#Pack9 | @Garrettpenn14 pic.twitter.com/bKjDyitXIh
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 17, 2024
Pennington’s batting average is .366 and his OPS is 1.125.
NC State has now lost 3 straight midweek games.
The Wolfpack will look to regroup as their rival #11 UNC comes to town for a 3-game series this weekend.
NC State Baseball
NC State Finds Their Way Back Into the Top-25 in 1 Poll After Series Win at Clemson
NC State won 2 of their 4 games last week, winning 2 out of 3 against Clemson on the road this past weekend, and losing to UNCW on the road in a midweek game. Prior to the 2 victories against the Tigers, the Wolfpack had lost 5 straight games, suffering a sweep at Louisville the weekend before.
As a result of NC State’s big series victory at Clemson, the Wolfpack are back in Baseball America’s Top-25.
NC State didn’t manage to crack the Top-25 for D1Baseball, Perfect Game or the USAToday Coaches Poll. The Wolfpack currently rank 31st in the Coaches Poll.
The NCBWA Poll hasn’t been released yet.
NC State will host Campbell tomorrow night at 6pm, which will be followed up by a series at the Doak this weekend against rival #11 UNC.
Georgetown Transfer Dontrez Styles Commits to NC State!
NC State vs. UNC: A Historical Perspective
WATCH: Hollywood Smothers Leads NC State in Rushing at the Spring Game
3-Star LB Jaiden Braker Locks In Official Visit to NC State
NC State Baseball Bracketology Report Heading into UNC Series
Players in the Transfer Portal that Have Heard from NC State
Rothstein’s Way-Too-Early 2024-25 Preseason Top-25
Looking to Next Year: 4-Star SF Paul McNeil Jr. Will Make an Instant Impact
That Concludes the Most Incredible March Madness Run in College Basketball History
NC State’s Mohamed Diarra Has Professional Options in France
2024 NC State Commit Trey Parker Finishes 2nd in OTE Dunk Contest
VIDEO BREAKDOWN: Was BYU 3 point barrage unstoppable, or was NC State’s defense to blame? You decide.
VIDEO: Terquavion Smith GOES OFF in G-League Debut with 37 points & 8 Boards
NC State lands combo guard DJ Horne from the portal
