NC State baseball could not play two more opposite games in its double header against Princeton if it had tried.
The Wolfpack (5-1) split the doubleheader against the Tigers (1-2) by winning the first game 16-1, then dropping the second game 1-0. Despite missing out on an opportunity for a series sweep, the Wolfpack still clinched the series. The loss provides plenty of opportunity for NC State to learn and improve.
“It’s frustrating to get a loss,“ said head coach Elliott Avent. “But if we grow from this, I think you learn a lot, you have the ability to learn a lot more from losses than players today ever do from wins.”
In both games, the Wolfpack impressed on the mound. Junior pitcher Jacob Dudan set the tone with a seven-inning outing in the early game. Racking up a career high 11 strikeouts while only surrendering three hits, worked through his arsenal of pitches to keep the Tigers guessing. Dudan’s slider proved to be particularly dangerous today.
“Just being able to land off-speed early,” Dudan said. “They were really trying to sell out on fastball early in the count, so being able to get ahead with the slider and eventually play the sinker and four-seam off that was crucial for me today.”
Dudan is having a career day with seven shutout innings. pic.twitter.com/St6NNosYdB
— NC State Baseball (@NCStateBaseball) February 21, 2026
While Dudan impressed on the mound, NC State’s bats came out swinging early. The Wolfpack scored in every inning except the sixth and scored multiple runs in six different frames. The Pack racked up four total homers. However, NC State also utilized its speed on the basepaths to steal six bases and tag up at every opportunity.
“A lot of positives to take from today,” Avent said. “Game one, played a lot of small ball. It led to a lot of runs.”
The second game played out the opposite of the first in what turned out to be a pitcher’s duel. The Wolfpack failed to score and only managed to get three hits, two of which came from sophomore center fielder Ty Head. The Tigers leaned on pitchers Brady Kaufman and Ryan Penney to shut down the Pack’s bats.
“I thought those two guys for Princeton were outstanding,” Avent said. “I thought they pounded the zone, three pitches and kept us off balance. We’re gonna see that again, we gotta learn how to attack that a little better and figure out ways to score.”
Despite the loss, junior pitcher Cooper Consiglio dictated the flow of the game, recording six strikeouts and only allowing two hits, one run and a walk in five innings.
“Our pitching was outstanding today,” Avent said. “But it’s disappointing to lose the second game when you know, I don’t know how many hits they got, maybe three or four.”
As the game was still undecided entering the 6th inning, Princeton’s Isaac Lamson homered to deep left field to open the scoring and shift the momentum in their favor. With a lead for the first time all day and confidence soaring, the Tigers smelled blood in the water and pounced on the Wolfpack.
Sophomore pitcher Ryder Garino then stepped to the mound to replace Consiglio and struck out a batter with a runner on third to keep the Wolfpack’s hopes alive. Throwing for two innings and 38 total pitches, Garino only allowed one hit and recorded three strikeouts for the red-and-white.
Despite the bullpen holding strong, NC State failed to find its way to home base as they trailed for the rest of the game to split the doubleheader with Princeton. The Pack came closest in the bottom of the ninth when Head led off the frame with a double, however three straight outs ultimately doomed NC State.
“Our timing’s off and timing is everything in hitting,” Avent said. “And we’re in-between pitches a lot and we got to figure that out. We got to understand the value of playing the small game.”
Next up, NC State will host Richmond on Tuesday Feb. 24 at 3 p.m. The game will be available via ACC Network Extra.
