NC State Baseball
#Pack9 Opens Season With Doubleheader Sweep Over Davidson
RALEIGH – No. 11 NC State baseball (2-0) opened its 2021 season on Sunday with a doubleheader sweep over Davidson (1-2) at Doak Field at Dail Park. Thanks to a 10-run fifth inning in game one, the Wolfpack earned a 13-3 win. The nightcap was a back-and-forth contest with five lead changes, but NC State came out on top with a 6-4 victory.
Its win in game one marked the fifth time in six years that the Pack has clinched a victory in its season opener. Additionally, NC State has won the last 11 meetings with Davidson in the all-time series.
GAME ONE SCORING RECAP
-Austin Murr put his team on the board in the first inning, as he scored the Pack’s first run of the year on a 6-4-3 double play with the bases-loaded.
-Murr then drove in a run of his own in the second inning with an RBI single to center field, scoring Terrell Tatum after his infield single and a Noah Soles walk put him in scoring position.
-Alex Fedje-Johnson’s solo shot over the left field wall in the third inning and RBI single in the fifth inning tied things up for the Wildcats.
-The Pack responded in the bottom of the fifth with 10 runs on nine hits, taking a commanding 12-2 lead.
-Parker Nolan cut into Davidson’s deficit in the sixth when he went yard to left center to start the frame.
-Jonny Butler tallied the Pack’s first homer of the year with a one-out home run to right field in the seventh.
OF NOTE (GAME ONE)
-Reid Johnston picked up the win on the mound with 3.1 innings of work in relief.
-Danny Carnazzo, Eddie Eisert, Coby Ingle and Tristan Sipple made their first appearances in a Wolfpack uniform.
-Five players turned in a multi-hit performance, led by Devonte Brown and J.T. Jarrett’s 3-for-5 outings. In total, the team recorded 17 hits in game one.
-Brown, Murr and Tatum tallied two RBI’s a piece, accounting for six of the 11 in the game.
GAME TWO SCORING RECAP
-After three scoreless innings, Luca Tresh put the Pack on the board with a leadoff home run in the fourth inning.
-Davidson’s Trevor Candelaria belted a two-run home run in the fifth inning to give his team its first lead of the game.
-NC State knotted the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth, as Jarrett led off with a single through the left side, stole second, then scored on Vojtech Mensik’s one-out single up the middle.
-In the sixth, Butler and Brown laced back-to-back outfield singles to get the offense going, then after Brown stole second, a wild pitch brought Butler home to allow the Pack to regain its lead.
-The Wildcats took a 4-3 advantage in the seventh thanks to a two-out double by Candelaria and single by John Hosmer.
-NC State answered in the bottom frame with three runs thanks to back-to-back RBI doubles by Murr and Tyler McDonough and an RBI fielder’s choice by Butler.
OF NOTE (GAME TWO)
-Sam Highfill earned his first collegiate start on the mound in game two, going five complete innings and fanning seven. He was one shy of matching his career high of eight strikeouts.
-Kent Klyman, who was recently named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List, picked up the win as he hurled the final 2.1 innings, yielding just one hit and fanning two in his outing. He entered the game in the seventh with the bases loaded and two outs.
-Offensively the team tallied 10 hits, led by Tresh (2-for-3), Mensik (2-for-3) and Butler (2-for-4).
-Dating back to last season, McDonough currently owns a six-game hit streak while Tresh is on a five-game hit streak.
ON DECK
Tuesday, Feb. 23 • vs. UNCG • 3 PM
Box Scores
Game1
Game 2:
#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.
