NC State Baseball
NC State Outlasts UNC Asheville in Slugfest, 15-11
RALEIGH, N.C. – The 23rd-ranked NC State baseball team scored in seven of its eight plate appearances to earn a 15-11 win against UNC Asheville Tuesday afternoon at Doak Field at Dail Park. The teams combined for 36 hits in the contest and 26 runs.
Junior Nolan Clenney earned the win on the mound with 2.2 innings of relief, while UNC Asheville’s Jesse Juday was charged with loss after allowing three runs in a third of an inning pitched.
NC State moves to 14-3 on the year, while the Bulldogs fall to 3-12.
Quick Hits
– UNC Asheville started fast in the game, scoring four runs in the first but NC State countered with three runs in the bottom half to narrow the deficit to one.
– Brad Debo and Brock Deatherage had RBI singles in the frame, while Terrell Tatum drew a walk with the bases loaded.
– A grand slam extended the Bulldogs lead to 8-3, but the Wolfpack chipped away at the score and took its first lead in the game in the fourth inning.
– An RBI single from Evan Edwards started a stretch of seven unanswered runs for NC State.
– Josh McLain had an RBI single in the third and Brett Kinneman, the NCAA’s home run leader, left the yard for the 10th time on the year to score McLain and trim the UNCA lead to 8-7 in the third inning.
– Kinneman’s 10 homers through the first 17 games equal his total from all of 2017.
– Dillon Cooper’s single plated the tying run, as Tatum scored from second and an RBI triple from Kinneman gave NCSU its first lead of the game at 9-8.
– Jack Conley hit his first homer of the season in the fifth to push the Pack’s lead to 10-8, as he smashed the second pitch of his at-bat over the left field wall.
– UNC Asheville scored in the sixth and eighth, but NC State had an answer each time.
– Kinneman and Will Wilson hit RBI doubles in the sixth and Shane Shepard laced an RBI single in the eighth before a sacrifice fly from Deatherage to push the tally to 15-11.
Inside the Box Score
– The Wolfpack’s first four batters in the lineup combined for 16 of the team’s 23 hits.
– McLain and Wilson were each 4-for-6 with the former scoring four runs with an RBI and the latter, two runs with an RBI.
– Kinneman finished the game a single shy of hitting for the cycle, as he homered in the third, tripled in the fourth and doubled in the sixth.
– Wilson extended his reached base safely streak to 32 games, dating back to last season.
– NC State is now 8-1 on the year when hitting more than one homer in the contest.
– The Pack tallied seven hits with two outs in the game and limited the Bulldogs to just one hit with two outs in the inning.
On the Mound
– Freshman Evan Justice made his first career start in the game and struck out a batter.
– Clenney threw 2.2 innings to pick up his second win of the year, fanning five batters in a strong relief appearance.
– Kent Klyman pitched to one batter but delivered in a big situation as he struck out the batter swinging to strand the tying run on second base in the eighth.
– Joe O’Donnell pitched the ninth for the Wolfpack and struck out two batters to seal the win for the Wolfpack.
Up Next
NC State returns to action Wednesday afternoon for a rematch with the UNC Asheville Bulldogs. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. at Doak Field.
#20 NC State will head down to Tallahassee tomorrow for a 3-game series against #7 FSU. Before they do, here’s a look at where NC State is projected to land in the 2024 NCAA Tournament as things currently stand.
Last week, both D1Baseball and Baseball America projected the Wolfpack to play as a #2 seed in the Greenville Regional (ECU), with the former projecting the Pirates to be a #6 seed, and the latter projecting them to be a #8 seed.
This week, D1Baseball has NC State as a #2 seed in the Lexington Regional, with Kentucky as a #5 seed. Baseball America still has the Wolfpack as a #2 seed in the Greenville Region, with the Pirates still sitting as a #8 seed.
D1Baseball
Baseball America
#20 NC State lost to UNC-Wilmington 4-5 this evening at home, losing their 5th straight midweek game. The Wolfpack were swept by the Seahawks this year, ironically losing 4-5 down in Wilmington on April 9th.
Freshman Ryan Marohn got the starting nod, and he was excellent, giving up 1 earned run in 5 innings pitched, striking out 7. It was arguably his best start since his collegiate debut against VCU in the opening series.
Sophomore Shane Van Dam was Mr. Reliable through much of the season, but he hasn’t had his best stuff as of late. This evening, he faced four batters, hitting 2, walking another, and surrendering a hit to the other. Van Dam failed to record an out, and gave up 3 earned runs. Heading into the UNC game back on April 18th, Van Dam had a 2.63 ERA. After the past 4 appearances, his ERA has shot up to 3.96.
Freshman Jacob Dudan settled things down, pitching 4 scoreless innings, giving up only 1 hit, while striking out 5.
Unfortunately, Sophomore Derrick Smith allowed the Seahawks to score a run in the Top of the 10th, which was enough for the opposing team to leave Raleigh with a win, with NC State failing to score a run in the final 5 frames.
Junior Jacob Cozart continues an insane power surge, hitting two more Home Runs tonight. Cozart has hit 7 Home Runs in the past 6 games.
*Scheduled tweet* pic.twitter.com/eHvyuGT6so
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 30, 2024
SCOREBOARD SHOT 🚀 pic.twitter.com/tMvY8imzgG
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 30, 2024
Cozart now has 14 Home Runs on the year. His previous career high was 11.
Senior 1st Baseman Garrett Pennington also hit a Solo Home Run, his 11th bomb of the year.
Goodbye Baseball ✌️#Pack9 | @Garrettpenn14 pic.twitter.com/p0tySYt3aF
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 30, 2024
On Friday, the Wolfpack will head down to Tallahassee for a 3-game series against #7 Florida State.
After sweeping Ball State this past weekend, NC State jumped up in almost all of the Top-25 polls.
Baseball America – 13th (+4)
RPI – 20th (+9)
D1Baseball – 20th (+1)
USAToday Coaches Poll – 20th (+3)
Perfect Game – 25th (-)
