Luke Nadkarni
Staff Writer
The N.C. State baseball team followed up a series win over Maryland this past weekend by defeating in-state foe East Carolina 6-1 on Tuesday night at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville. The nonconference win brings State’s record to 20-10 on the season, while East Carolina falls to 14-15.
A trio of State pitchers held ECU to one run on just four hits. The Wolfpack pounded out 10 hits, three of them for extra bases. Senior center fielder Brett Williams led the charge, going 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI doubles. Sophomore shortstop Trea Turner drove in two runs despite not recording a hit on the evening.
The Wolfpack struck first with three runs in the top of the third inning against ECU hurler Ryan Williams. Senior third baseman Grant Clyde led off the inning with a single, and sophomore second baseman Logan Ratledge attempted to bunt Clyde over to second. Pirate third baseman Zach Houchins misplayed the bunt, allowing Ratledge to reach base. Brett Williams followed with his sixth double of the season, scoring Clyde and Ratledge. After a groundout by sophomore right fielder Jake Fincher, Williams stole third base, and Turner batted him home with an RBI groundout to short.
Wolfpack starting pitcher Ryan Wilkins pitched masterfully through five innings before being lifted in favor of senior Josh Easley in the sixth. The senior right-hander faced 16 batters, one more than the minimum for five innings, did not allow a hit, and struck out five, earning the win to move his record to 3-1 on the season. ECU’s Ryan Williams was saddled with the loss, dropping him to 5-2 this year.
“[Wilkins] was on a pitch count, we were trying to keep him between 50 and 60 pitches,” N.C. State manager Elliot Avent said. “He ended up throwing 59, and he shut them down.”
East Carolina did not get their first baserunner until the fourth inning, when Turner committed his eighth error of the season on a grounder by Jay Cannon with two outs. Cannon then swiped second base, but Wilkins got Houchins to ground out to third to end the threat.
Easley allowed the Pirates their first hit of the contest with one out in the bottom of the sixth, a single by Bryan Bass, but struck out the next two batters to escape the inning unscathed.
State added a run in the top of the seventh, getting another RBI double from Brett Williams. Sophomore designated hitter Carlos Rodon led off the inning with a single up the middle, and he was replaced by pinch runner Bryan Taylor. Clyde bunted Taylor over to second, and after a groundout by Ratledge, Williams came through once again. The Pack scored again in the eighth on an RBI single by sophomore left fielder Jake Armstrong.
ECU finally scratched the surface in the bottom half of the eighth. Pinch hitter Drew Reynolds singled to plate Garrett Brooks, who had been hit by a pitch. The Pirates loaded the bases to chase Easley from the game, but senior left-hander Grant Sasser put out the fire by retiring the next two hitters on a strikeout and a groundout. The Pirates left five men on base for the game.
“Our relief pitching has been great all year,” Avent said. “Grant Sasser was outstanding.”
A sacrifice fly by Turner in the top of the ninth completed the scoring for the Wolfpack. Sasser mowed down the Pirates in order to secure the win. Wilkins, Easley, and Sasser combined for 11 strikeouts for the game.
N.C. State will return to Raleigh to host Elon on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Their next ACC series is against Virginia Tech in a three-game series from Apr. 5th-7th.
“It’s tough playing five games a week,” Avent said. “But we’re looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow.”
