The No. 8 NC State baseball team came into the Irish Classic looking to correct its starting pitching, and did so during the course of three games.
The Wolfpack swept its three games of the Irish Classic against the Niagara Purple Eagles, the No. 23 Alabama Crimson Tide and the Bucknell Bison to reach 10 wins on the season.
The Wolfpack (10-2) outscored its opponents 14-4 during the series, with the bullpen shutting out its opponents during the weekend. Head coach Elliott Avent was impressed with the performance, but recognized there’s still more work to be done by the pitching staff.
“Our starting pitching has gotten us along a lot further than it had been lately,” Avent said. “But it’s gotta get us further in the game. We’ve been playing well, but we have to get through the first four or five innings better.”
The Wolfpack got the weekend started with a 7-1 win over the Niagara Purple Eagles (2-11), a game that showcased the Wolfpack’s offensive prowess. Senior catcher Chance Shepard’s two-run home run and sophomore centerfielder Josh McLain’s grand slam were responsible for six of the team’s seven runs.
Despite the Purple Eagles 2-8 record going into the game, Avent thought Niagara was a pretty good team.
“I actually thought they were a pretty decent ball club,” Avent said Friday. “They don’t get to practice as much as we do outside, but they played really good defense.”
For Shepard, it was his sixth-straight game with a homer, which broke a record held by former Wolfpack player Mark Wells. For McLain, the streak has been helping the team bond.
“It’s really impressive that he can hit six home runs in a row,” McLain said. “It’s just bonding us and we all are hoping that he can succeed.”
The Wolfpack tried to carry the offensive surge to the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, but the No. 23 Alabama Crimson Tide (10-2) had other plans for NC State.
Despite getting shut down offensively, The Wolfpack defeated the Tide 2-1 behind strong pitching performances from redshirt junior and sophomore relievers Sean Adler and Evan Brabrand.
The game seemed to change when Adler hit an Alabama batter on the hand to load the bases with one out in the fifth. The pitch seemed more like a wild pitch at first to the Alabama players, and to junior first baseman Preston Palmeiro.
“I thought it was a passed ball at first and I was mad,” Palmeiro said Saturday. “But luckily it wasn’t. If that pitch gets by, the runs might’ve scored and anything could’ve happened.”
After Adler pitched his way out of the fifth without surrendering a run, Palmeiro hit a double in the sixth and a double in the eighth to set up the only two runs for the Wolfpack to give the team the victory. Palmeiro remained humble about his contributions to the win.
“It was big obviously,” Palmeiro said. “But with Chance and ‘Kniz’ behind me, who are big RBI guys, it’s just about making sure that me and Josh are able to get on base to make sure that we can get home.”
The Pack capped off the weekend with a win over the Bison (5-5) on Sunday, giving the Wolfpack it’s first weekend sweep of the season. Shepard hit his seventh home run of the season during the game, a feat he remained humble about following the win.
“I don’t know how impressive it’s been so far, but it’s definitely been a lot of fun.” Shepard said Sunday. “Just gotta focus on hitting balls and not getting strikeouts. I struggled a little bit with that last night, but he was a great pitcher last night.”
Up next for the Wolfpack will be a two-game series with the Fairfield Stags before a three-game series against the Boston College Eagles to open conference play for the Wolfpack. Avent did not give a definite answer about starting pitching for the week, but did say starter Brian Brown will look to be in the mix for the week.
