No. 13 NC State baseball had won seven-straight games heading into the series opener. Lafayette had lost seven straight. But with NC State’s ace not taking the field, the Leopards flipped the script.
NC State (12-2) fell 11-6 to Lafayette (1-7) as Leopards starting pitcher Tristan Helmick shoved, only allowing two runs while throwing 109 pitches and getting through eight innings. The Pack’s pitchers did not fare so well, giving up six home runs throughout the game, including a grand slam to open it up in the first inning, and the Pack was behind the eight ball immediately.
“They got the big granny in the first inning off the foul pole, I was sitting there just trying to push that thing foul,” said head coach Elliott Avent.
Redshirt-junior lefty Julien Peissel took the mound to start the game, in hopes of filling the shoes of his absent teammate, junior lefty Ryan Marohn, who suffered a minor bicep injury in the prior days.
“[Marohn] wanted to go,” Avent said. “It was something, maybe lifting [weights], just a little bicep … nothing to it. But it’s a long season and he’s such a competitor who always wants to go … I thought [he] was good today … I just always err on the side of caution.”
After Peissel gave up a single and walked two hitters, the bases were loaded, and sophomore infielder Boden Fernsler was up to bat. With an 0-1 count, Fernsler sent the ball soaring to left field and hit the foul-ball post, knocking it out of play, bringing home his three teammates.
The next hitter, senior outfielder Bode Grieve, was fighting to do the same. With four foul balls and two balls, he didn’t letting up. Grieve timed the sixth pitch perfectly and hit another rocket out past the left field wall, ending the first inning 5-0 — and the Pack was down big.
Keeping the pressure high, two other Lafayette hitters recorded two home runs each. Sophomore infielder Liam Ebbs sent a missile over the wall in the second off of freshman righty Sam Harris and tallied an RBI, as well as in the seventh off of sophomore righty Anderson Nance.
Not recording a single hit all season, senior outfielder Ryan Ulisse was in search of his first. Receiving much more than that, he blasted two balls over the wall — one in the fourth against Harris and one in the ninth against Anderson — to close out Lafayette’s runs at 11.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Pack started to gain momentum after the Leopards took out Helmick. Finally finding its rhythm, the hits were coming more consistently, and allowing players to get on base. With players on second and first, sophomore outfielder Ty Head hit a bomb off of junior righty Ben Waterman, and sent the ball flying out of the park to cut the lead to five. Although NC State scored four runs in the ninth, it wasn’t enough for the comeback it hoped for.
“I thought we had a shot there in the ninth inning,” Avent said. “I’m looking at that two-run homer in the top of the ninth, 9-6 would’ve been a little bit more pressure on them than 11-6, but we know we have to get better.”
NC State will rematch Lafayette on Saturday, March 7, at 2 p.m. at Doak Field.
