Shortly after Wolfpack baseball lost to UCF, it quickly turned around to face the Auburn Tigers just four hours later. The Wolfpack went down early, and could never reclaim the lead, ultimately losing 17-13.
It was a long Saturday for the Pack (32-22), starting early in the morning with UCF, and finishing off with Auburn — playing through multiple rain storms and bright sunshine. The Wolfpack’s fatigue was evident, but went down swinging.
The Tigers (39-20) came in as the No. 5 Team nationally, earning the right to host a regional. Unexpectedly, the Tigers fell to the bottom in the region, the Milwaukee Panthers, matching them up with NC State in a win-or-go-home game.
In the first two opening frames, the Pack was reminded why the Tigers are ranked so high. Auburn racked up 10 runs through the first two innings on eight hits. Three of those eight hits left the yard, and Auburn was crushing baseballs all day, totaling five homers after nine.
The Wolfpack retaliated in bursts of scoring all day, but five scoreless innings dug a hole too deep to mount a comeback from.
The first bunch of scoring came in the second and third frames, with the Wolfpack cutting the lead to only three runs in the bottom of the third. A pair of Auburn errors and a huge home run by senior designated hitter Dalton Bargo pushed two runs across the plate and gave NC State some hope of staying in the game.
Bargo was a leader at the plate today. He finished going 3-for-5, driving in four runs and picking up two runs himself to try and give the Pack a chance.
When the Wolfpack made a punch, the Tigers had a counterpunch waiting. In the middle three frames, Auburn scored seven more runs and pushed the lead back to 10. The Wolfpack bats didn’t have the same pop as Auburn, as all 18 of the hits recorded by the Tigers were daggers into the Pack’s side.
With desperation, the Wolfpack looked to create something in the bottom of the seventh. Freshman right fielder Christian Serrano and freshman catcher Vincent DiCarlo were crucial substitution hitters. They each made a hit when it mattered, with Serrano skying a sacrifice flyout to score a run, and DiCarlo crushing a deep solo home run to left field to cut the lead to four runs.
After a combined 30 runs crossed the plate, the offenses for both teams pumped the brakes a bit, with both teams going scoreless in the final two innings.
The end of the game was a controversy, as the home plate umpire called an impromptu strike three due to Serrano taking too much time to get into the batter’s box. The call made head coach Elliott Avent irate, as he came out screaming his head off at the home plate umpire. The 30th and final year comes to a close for Avent — an ending almost as uncertain as you can get.
Avent’s career has had its curtain call, and with it he has clearly etched his name into NC State and NCAA baseball history. He’s been the driving force of the program for the past 30 seasons, and will forever be a member of the Wolfpack.
With the loss, the NC State baseball season comes to an end. The Wolfpack will travel back to Raleigh, where newly appointed head coach Chris Hart awaits to pick up the program’s reins.
