NC State Baseball
No. 5 NC State Rallies Late to Clinch Series Against William & Mary
RALEIGH, N.C. – The fifth-ranked NC State baseball team rallied late with eight unanswered runs, highlighted by six runs in the eighth inning to earn an 8-4 win against William & Mary Saturday night at Doak Field at Dail Park to clinch the series.
The Wolfpack has now won 10 of its 11 weekend series this season and 12 consecutive non-conference weekend series dating back to 2011. For the second consecutive game, the NC State pitching staff did not issue a walk and three pitchers combined to strike out 11 batters.
NC State moves to 33-12 on the year and William & Mary falls to 15-31. Sophomore Kent Klyman earns the win for the Pack and is now 4-2, while Jacob Haney took the loss for the Tribe and is 1-7.
Quick Hits
– William & Mary struck first with a run in the top of the third after an RBI double and the Tribe extended the advantage to 4-0 with three solo homers in the sixth.
– From there, it was all NC State as the squad scored eight unanswered runs to rally for the win.
– Senior Brock Deatherage ignited the Wolfpack offense with a two-run homer in the seventh to cut the deficit to 4-2 after his 10th home run of the year.
– NCSU pushed across six runs on three hits and capitalized on an error by William & Mary in the eighth inning.
– Will Wilson reached on a fielder’s choice and an errant throw allowed Terrell Tatum and Josh McLain to score to knot the tally at four apiece.
– Patrick Bailey just missed a three-run go-ahead homer, as a hard-hit ball down the right field line hooked foul but he doubled down the left field line on the next pitch to drive in Wilson to give NC State a 5-4 lead.
– A wild pitch scored Edwards from third base and Deatherage left the yard for the second time in the game with a two-run blast over the left field wall to put NC State ahead, 8-4.
– It was the second multi-homer outing in the last four games for the Burlington, N.C., native.
Inside the Box Score
– Deatherage led the Wolfpack at the plate with a 2-for-4 performance, highlighted by four RBI and two runs scored.
– Bailey, Brett Kinneman, McLain and Tatum each had one hit for NC State.
– McLain’s hit extended his reached base safely streak to a team-leading 14 games.
– The Pack plated six runs in the eighth inning to record its 23rd big inning of the season with four or more runs in the frame.
On the Mound
– Senior Brian Brown started on the mound for NC State and pitched 5.2 innings with seven strikeouts, yielding four runs.
– Nolan Clenney pitched a 1.2 scoreless innings and Klyman closed it out with a 1.2, fanning three batters.
On Deck
The Wolfpack and Tribe wrap-up the series Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
#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 (-)
