After clubbing past Wake Forest (12-9, 1-4 ACC) Friday night, the N.C. State baseball team (15-5, 2-3 ACC) dropped the second game of the three-game set Saturday afternoon at Gene Hooks Field, 13-4.
Freshman pitcher Brad Stone (1-1, 7.98 ERA) gave up seven runs, five of them earned, on five hits and two walks in only one inning of work. Stone also struck out two of the 11 batters he faced in the loss.
Junior pitcher Andrew Woeck picked up where Stone left off and was on the hill for 3.1 innings, surrendering three earned runs on three hits and a walk while striking out three.
Freshman southpaw Will Gilbert gave up a double to the only batter he faced. Freshman pitcher Jon Olczak went to the mound after Gilbert and threw 1.1 innings, giving up one run on one hit and one walk.
Junior left-handed pitcher D.J. Thomas threw for 1.2 innings as the Demon Deacons scored two runs off of three hits and a walk while he was on the mound. Thomas struck out two Wake batters before getting pulled. Freshman Karl Keglovits finished out the game with one hit and one walk in 0.2 innings.
On a day where the Wolfpack only managed four hits, senior first baseman Tarran Senay went 1-for-4 with a solo home run to lead off the top of the sixth inning.
The Deacons began the scoring barrage early as Wake redshirt junior right fielder Jack Carey launched a Stone pitch over the left field fence for a grand slam. The Deacons’ designated hitter, redshirt freshman Kevin Conway, hit a solo home run two batters later as Wake jumped ahead to a 5-0 lead after the first inning.
State fought back in the top of the second with junior second baseman Sam Morgan opening the Pack’s scoring with a sacrifice fly, bringing sophomore center fielder Jake Fincher home. Sophomore right fielder Jake Armstrong followed with an RBI single as freshman designated hitter Will Nance came around to score.
The Deacs soon retaliated with a two runs in the bottom half of the second as Wake senior second baseman Mark Rhine plated redshirt sophomore left fielder Grant Shambly, followed by junior center fielder Evan Stephens, who on a wild pitch from Woeck three batters later.
State managed to scrounge up a run in the top half of the third inning on a groundout by Fincher. Sophomore catcher Brett Austin, who led off the frame with a double, scored on the play.
After holding the Deacons scoreless in the bottom of the third, Wake returned to its scoring ways by plating two runners in the fourth. Rhine scored Shambly on a single up the middle and later scored on an RBI double by redshirt junior first baseman Matt Conway.
The Deacs scored one run in every inning it batted after the fourth. The fifth inning saw Kevin Conway scoring on a groundout by Stephens.
The final run scored by the Pack came off of Senay’s bat as he hammered a 2-1 pitch from the Deacons’ starting pitcher, senior Justin Van Grouw (2-3, 4.24 ERA), over the left field fence.
Kevin Conway plated the sixth inning run for Wake by grounding out to first base while the bases were loaded. Senay’s throw to Austin arrives late as Deacon senior shortstop Pat Blair slides home.
Once again in a bases-loaded situation, the Pack surrendered a run to the home team in the bottom of the seventh as Matt Conway singled to bring freshman center fielder Joey Rodriguez home. The Deacons concluded their scoring in the bottom half of the eighth inning when Wake graduate student Andrew Williams launched Thomas’ final pitch of the game over the right-center field wall for a solo home run.
Van Grouw earned the win for the Deacons, pitching six innings and giving up two earned runs, four total, on four hits and two walks while striking out three State batters. Wake junior pitcher Nate Jones picked up his second save of the season after shutting out the Pack for three innings.
State will conclude its series with the Deacons Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
