After losing its season opener against Appalachian State on Feb. 15, the No. 10 N.C. State baseball team picked up its seventh straight victory Thursday night, taking down the New Mexico State Aggies, 8-3.
The two teams were tied through four innings, but the Wolfpack (7-1) put its bats together in the last half of the game, scoring two in the fifth and three in the seventh to put the Aggies (3-6) away.
Sophomore shortstop Trea Turner continued his impressive start to the season by going 2-for-4 with his fourth double and his third home run, a solo shot to lead off the bottom half of the fifth to give State the go ahead run.
Turner’s double led the game off for the Pack, setting up an early 2-0 lead for the Pack Nine. Senior left fielder Tarran Senay put the Red Terrors on top 1-0, bringing Turner home on a single through the right side.
A day removed from his SportsCenter No. 2 top play of the day, senior center fielder Brett Williams also tacked on two hits to his credit, including his sixth double and an RBI groundout.
Sophomore right fielder Jake Fincher also had a productive day at the plate, knocking his fourth double of the season, picking up two RBI and a run.
Additionally, senior first baseman Grant Clyde picked up three hits in four plate appearances, belting two doubles, driving in a run and scoring one.
Freshman lefty Brad Stone earned the start for the Pack. He pitched three nearly flawless innings before NMSU’s Derek Umphres knocked a 1-1 count over the wall in left field to lead off the fourth for the Aggies.
Stone then walked his next two batters. After fanning the third hitter, he gave up a single to load the bases. Head coach Elliott Avent left Stone in for an additional at bat, which resulted in a strikeout, bringing his game total to six through 3.2 innings before being pulled.
Junior reliever Andrew Woeck (1-0) took over for Stone on the mound to try and close out the inning, but Aggie left fielder Quinnton Mack picked up a two-RBI double to tie the game before Woeck forced a pop up for the third out.
It was all Wolfpack from there. Woeck pitched two more innings, allowing two singles and striking out three. He left the game with a 5-3 lead, setting him up for the win.
Grant Sasser, a redshirt senior lefthander, filled in for Woeck in the seventh. Sasser faced five batters, sitting down four of them and forcing a double play to get the fifth. Senior Ryan Wilkins came into the game with two out in the eighth and pitched the final four outs of the game to close it out for the Pack.
Aggie starter Adam Mott had a solid outing for New Mexico State before giving up the lead in the fifth. Mott picked up the loss for the Aggies, pitching 5.2 innings, allowing five earned runs off of eight hits, three walks and four strikeouts.
Immediately following the conclusion of the game, players and coaches quickly loaded a bus and left Raleigh for Myrtle Beach, S.C. to play in the Baseball at the Beach tournament hosted by Coastal Carolina. The first game will be played today at 1:30 against the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), followed by a 5 p.m. Saturday game against Florida Atlantic and a 5 p.m. finale against Coastal Carolina.
