NC State Baseball
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly – State Baseball falls to UNCG 16-13
With this baseball season having not only more ACC matchups, but much sooner meetings (like this Friday versus GT), the hope was that State could take care of business in a few warm-ups before starting the conference grind. That plan lasted two games. Tuesday’s 16-13 loss to UNCG was a tough one to take and, without further ado, our quick hits.
The Good
While it would be easy to start with hitting, seeing we scored 13 runs, a highlight of the day was actually State’s starter, Chris Villaman. The poise of the freshman* was on full display, going three innings, with only one hit while striking out five. He was aggressive and brought the energy that was severely lacking the rest of the game.
*Crazy thinking that all the freshmen had a short test run last year. Hopefully, as is the case for Villaman, the experience can give a better transition into this season.
Austin Murr started the game 5 for 5 with one RBI, making him the first player since Andrew Knizer (2014) to get five hits in a single game. Luca Tresh also had himself a day with 4 RBIs and falling just a triple short of the cycle.
The Bad
Kent Klyman looked to continue his strong senior campaign after picking up a win against Davidson. A fielder’s choice followed by a pair of strikeouts seemed to show that would be the case. Then the wheels fell off. Three runs and a couple walks later, Klyman takes the L.
We thought Devonte Brown might be the breakout player for this State club but ends up going 0-4 at the plate with a walk. While it’s just one game, would have hoped he would have joined the scoring party.
The Ugly
Going to make this fairly simple; The 5th and 7th inning. After State jumped out to a 7-0 lead through four, the pitching and fielding took an ugly turn. UNCG scored SEVEN in the 5th before scoring another SIX in the 7th. As we’ve seen in previous postseason runs, the inability to hold ginormous leads continues to haunt State. Let’s just hope that they get the boogeyman out now, only three games into the season.
See the full box score here at GoPack.com.
ACC action starts Friday for the Wolfpack, as they host Georgia Tech for a three-game series.
Sophomore Dom Fritton was solid this afternoon in NC State’s 9-3 win over Ball State, securing the series victory. He gave up 1 earned run in 5.2 innings, striking out 4 (3 walks). The bullpen was solid, with Freshman Jaxon Lucas pitching 1 inning with no earned runs (1 unearned run), while Sophomore Shane Van Dam gave up 1 run in 2.1 innings, striking out 3. Fritton is now 3-3 on the year with a 6.89 ERA.
Sophomore Center Fielder Eli Serrano III had a 2 RBI Single in the Bottom of the 2nd, which gave the Wolfpack their 3rd run of the inning after Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz scored off a wild pitch.
Up the middle for ✌️#Pack9 | @eliserrano__ pic.twitter.com/baS1ozuV9D
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 27, 2024
In the Bottom of the 3rd, Junior Catcher Jacob Cozart hit a solo shot, his 11th Home Run of the year, which is a new career high.
Into the trees 🌳💣 pic.twitter.com/3STnCOYvux
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 27, 2024
In the Bottom of the 5th, the Wolfpack would tack on 3 more runs. A-Mak had an RBI groundout, Junior Left Fielder Chase Nixon had an RBI Single, and then he scored when his brother Luke was caught stealing.
In the Bottom of the 7th, Chase Nixon knocked in 2 more with an RBI Double. He also had this web gem in the Top of the 8th, which would have surely scored 2 runs without his diving effort.
What a play by C-Nix 🤯#Pack9 x #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/rNonhH4kCY
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 27, 2024
The Wolfpack and the Cardinals will close out the series tomorrow at 1pm at Doak Field.
#21 NC State convincingly defeated Ball State 10-2 in the series opener in Raleigh this evening.
Senior Sam Highfill pitched a Quality Start against the Cardinals, giving up 2 earned runs in 6 innings, while striking out 6. The Quality Start was Highfill’s 3rd of the season, and his record on the year is now 4-1.
Freshman Ryan Marohn was brilliant in relief, pitching 3 scoreless innings, giving up only 1 hit, while striking out 3. Marohn picked up his 1st Save of his collegiate career.
Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz was the Wolfpack’s Offensive MVP, going 2 for 4, with a Grand Slam.
17 homers, 55 RBI and another GRAND SLAM for A-Mak 💣#Pack9 | @Alec_mak99 pic.twitter.com/fTBCrh5afv
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 26, 2024
Makarewica now has 17 Home Runs and 55 RBI’s.
Sophomore Right Fielder Josh Hogue, Junior Catcher Jacob Cozart, Junior Left Fielder Chase Nixon, Freshman 2nd Baseman Luke Nixon and Sophomore Matt Heavner all had an RBI apiece.
Junior Shortstop Brandon Butterworth was the only player besides A-Mak to have multiple hits, going 2 for 4 with a Double.
Game 2 is tomorrow at 3pm.
#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.
