NC State Baseball
No. 4 NC State Takes Series Opener Against Wake Forest with 8-5 Win
RALEIGH, N.C. – The fourth-ranked NC State baseball team recorded its sixth consecutive win with an 8-5 victory in game one of the series against Wake Forest Friday night at Doak Field at Dail Park.
After the Demon Deacons knotted the score at 5-5 in the top of the sixth, the Wolfpack answered with a pair of runs in the bottom half and added a run in the eighth to secure the win.
NC State moves to 37-12 on the year and 16-9 in ACC play, while Wake Forest falls to 22-27 and 11-14 in conference action. Sophomore Kent Klyman earned the win on the mound with 3.2 innings of shutout relief, while Wake Forest reliever Antonio Menendez was charged with the loss (0-4).
Avent’s Additions
Overall thoughts…
“I thought we played really well,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “Griffin Roberts is as good as anybody in this league, I thought we had some really good at-bats and made him throw a lot of pitches and got to their bullpen early.
“I thought Reid [Johnston] was outstanding. It’s impressive to have a freshman be your Friday night starter at this time of the year. He continues to compete on every big stage. He is the epitome of a competitive pitcher; our staff is full of them”
Quick Hits
– NC State jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first after a three-run homer from Brett Kinneman, his 15th of the year which ties the ACC lead.
– Stephen Pitarra started the inning with a single and Patrick Bailey reached on a fielder’s choice to score on Kinneman’s blast.
– The Wolfpack tacked on a pair of runs in the fourth to open up a 5-0 advantage after a two-RBI single from Will Wilson to plate J.T. Jarrett and Pitarra, who both walked earlier in the frame.
– Wake Forest trimmed the deficit to 5-3 in the fifth, after scoring its first run of the game on a balk call before a two-RBI single from Patrick Frick.
– A two-run homer from the Deacs’ Bobby Seymour knotted the score at 5-5 in the top of the sixth.
– NC State countered with a pair of runs in the bottom half to regain the lead, 7-5.
– Pitarra scored from third on a balk and McLain scored on a sacrifice fly from Wilson.
– In the eighth, Wilson picked up his fourth RBI of the game as he doubled to right center to score McLain, who tripled to start the inning, and push the NC State lead to 8-5.
Inside the Box Score
– McLain led the Wolfpack at the plate and was the only player in the game to record three hits, as he extended his reached base safely streak to 18 games.
– Freshman Patrick Bailey and Wilson also turned in multi-hit outings, as both tallied a pair of hits in the contest.
– Brock Deatherage, Kinneman and Pitarra all had one hit for the Wolfpack.
On the Mound
– Freshman Reid Johnston started on the mound for NC State and pitched 4.2 innings, allowing just one hit to go along with a career-best six strikeouts.
– He retired 10 consecutive batters from the second to the fifth inning, but struggled with his command late in the fifth.
– Klyman was stellar in relief to pick up his sixth win, as he allowed just three hits in 3.2 shutout innings of work.
On Deck
NC State and Wake Forest return to the field for game two of the series Saturday evening at 6:30 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 (-)
