No. 14 NC State baseball lost another grueling tight matchup against No. 3 Georgia Tech, with the game neck-and-neck the whole night in Russ Chandler Stadium.
NC State (18-9, 3-5 ACC) has now lost its fifth straight game. If this ballclub wants to host a regional, it has to find some footing in ACC play and shake off this offensive slump. We know how good the bats can be for the Wolfpack, but its inconsistency during games has been suffocating.
The second game of the series at Georgia Tech (21-5, 8-3 ACC) was a must win for the Pack to save the series. The energy was high to start the game, and the bats came out hot in the first three frames; both teams scored more runs in the first three innings than they did in the entire first game of the series.
While Game 1 was a defensive onslaught, the bats were active for both teams in Game 2. Georgia Tech scored quickly in the first inning, nothing strange for the best offense in the nation. However, the Pack immediately responded with two runs of its own in the second inning. The Pack bats continued to wear down the Yellow Jackets, as it took a 3-2 lead in the third — the first lead of the series for NC state.
The high-octane offense from Georgia Tech was bound to erupt, and after going scoreless for four-straight innings, they strung together three straight infield hits in the bottom of the fifth, driving in two runs and reclaiming the lead 4-3. The Yellow Jackets had 13 total hits on the night.
The game remained 4-3 until head coach Elliott Avent subbed in junior pinch hitter Andrew Wiggins to take a cut at the ball to lead-off the eighth. Wiggins got every bit of a breaking ball, and sent a no-doubt solo shot to deep center to tie the game at four apiece. The Pack still lacked in the hitting department, as its nine hits were not enough to keep up with Georgia Tech.
The Wolfpack had a chance to break its four game losing streak, but the eighth inning unrolled and kept unraveling for sophomore relief pitcher Anderson Nance. All American Drew Burress roped a triple to regain the lead for the Yellow Jackets, and they ended up having a three hit inning. Nance was fortunate to only allow two runs, as sophomore center fielder Ty Head robbed a homerun to end the eighth and keep the Wolfpack howling.
Junior right-hander Jacob Dudan got the start for Avent, and the high velocity star held the best offense in the nation at bay for seven innings. Even though he gave up nine hits, none of them were hit especially hard, as the Yellowjackets grinded out their runs through infield singles. Dudan finished the game with 10 strikeouts on 114 pitches, his fifth straight start with over 100 pitches.
Capitalizing on hits with two outs is a recipe for championship caliber teams, and NC State had some dialed-in two-out at bats. It posted a better two-out average than the Yellow Jackets, going 3-for-10; something to be happy about despite the loss.
The Wolfpack will conclude its series with the Yellow Jackets, Sunday, March 29. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
