The N.C. State baseball was defeated by UCLA, 2-0, on Saturday night at the U.S.A. Baseball Complex in Cary. The Wolfpack was stifled by a terrific pitching performance by the Bruins’ sophomore pitcher Watson Grant, who pitched eight innings and allowed no runs on three hits while striking out three.
Junior pitcher Carlos Rodon earned the start for the Wolfpack (8-2 overall), and nearly matched Grant’s gem, pitching seven innings and allowing two runs on three hits while striking out eight. But Rodon was victimized by bad luck, especially in the second inning, when the Bruins (6-4 overall) scored their only two runs of the game.
The inning began for UCLA when sophomore outfielder Ty Moore beat out a dribbling grounder to junior shortstop Trea Turner. In the Bruins’ next at-bat, Rodon misplayed an easy grounder hit right back to him.
Redshirt sophomore right-fielder Christoph Bono was subsequently drilled by a pitch on a 0-2 count, loading the bases with no one out. After Rodon struck out the next batter, sophomore shortstop Trent Chatterton ripped a single down the right field line, driving in two runners and giving UCLA the lead.
“Carlos threw good,” Wolfpack head coach Elliott Avent said. “He had the second inning where they get a squib hit, the ball rolls up Carlos’ glove and we hit a guy with an 0-2 breaking ball, which he doesn’t throw very often. Just unfortunate, but that’s baseball and that’s how UCLA won a National Championship, and they beat us again today.”
State would threaten in the third inning, bringing runners to first and second with two outs for junior center fielder Jake Fincher, but Fincher grounded out to the shortstop to end the inning.
Watson would dominate from there on out, sitting down batter after batter. Watson would retire eight straight before an error by Chatterton allowed Fincher to reach first safely. State would finally break through with a hit in the seventh, when freshman first baseman Kyle Cavanaugh broke State’s four-inning hitless streak.
“[Watson] threw a good game, hats off to him,” Fincher said. “He changed speeds really well, so we were never really on balance at the plate. He really mixed up his pitches well and didn’t walk anybody, which is one of our strengths. We needed to make them make more plays against us, but we’ll go back to work tomorrow.”
Rodon would settle down after the second inning, matching Watson pitch for pitch. The three hits allowed in the second inning were the only hits that Rodon would allow all game.
The Bruins would threaten in the fourth inning after Rodon hit Bono for a second time. Bono would swipe second base with two outs, but Rodon would strike out senior first baseman Pat Gallagher to end the inning.
“[Rodon] is as good as any pitcher in the country,” UCLA head coach John Savage said. “He was as good as advertised: A power pitcher who looks like a number one pick in the MLB draft right now. It’s only March 1st, but tonight felt like a big time game.”
Wolfpack freshman right-hander Joe O’Donnell would relieve Rodon in the eighth, retiring the side to send the game to the ninth and give the Wolfpack one final chance.
The ninth inning started promisingly, with Fincher reaching safely on a tapper up the third base line. Fincher’s hit put the tying run at the plate with the heart of State’s order coming up to bat. However, junior leftfielder Bubby Riley grounded into a double play and junior second baseman Logan Ratledge struck out to end the game.
The game was the second of three scheduled for the Wolfpack in the Irish Classic Tournament. The Wolfpack defeated Michigan on Friday night, 3-0, and will play Youngstown State on Sunday to cap off the weekend. Despite the loss on Saturday, Avent said there is a benefit in playing a team like UCLA in preparation for a title run.
“That’s the type of team that you have to play to get to where you want to go,” Avent said. “That’s the type of talent we are going to see in the ACC every week. We are going to see a pitcher like that every weekend, so it’s going to be an outcome like this a lot.”
