Despite a rough start, N.C. State earned a 6-2 victory against Duke Saturday. With the victory, the Wolfpack tied the series with the Blue Devils at 1-1 and improved its record to 20-14 overall and 6-11 in conference.
Junior pitcher Eric Peterson led the team after coming into the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. The right-hander didn’t allow a run until the bottom of the eighth.
Peterson fanned a season-high nine batters in 4.2 innings. Peterson was one strikeout away from his career high of 10 strikeouts set while he was playing at Temple. He also threw a season-high 97 pitches, with 60 resulting in strikes.
Head coach Elliott Avent said that he was confident when bringing Peterson into the game in the fourth, saying that he has seen a lot of hard work and success in Peterson throughout the year.
“The Peterson twins have been phenomenal all year,” Avent said, “It seems like surrounding all the good things that have happened for us, one of them was in the game. He probably stayed in too long today but that was because of his guts.”
Freshman pitcher Ryan Williamson started the game and threw a no-hitter through the first three innings. In the bottom of the fourth, Duke redshirt senior left fielder Ryan Deitrich hit a high pop-fly that junior infielder Jake Armstrong lost in the sun. After the hit, Avent removed Williamson from the game, replacing him with Peterson.
Junior shortstop Trea Turner scored the first run for the Pack in the top of the fifth after freshman third baseman Andrew Knizner hit a chopper past the Blue Devil third baseman, who was caught playing shallow. Knizner scored later in the inning when freshman first baseman Preston Palmeiro hit a sacrifice fly to left field.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Pack added three more runs to extend its lead to five. Junior second baseman Logan Ratledge singled up the middle with the bases loaded, driving in two. Shortly after, sophomore designated hitter Chance Shepard hit a one-hop double off the left field wall, driving in another run.
Avent said the two-RBI hit by Ratledge was a huge momentum swing in the game.
“The big hit was Ratledge’s hit up the middle,” Avent said. “He did a good staying down on the ball and driving it up the middle. It was a huge point in the game for us.”
It took a while for the Wolfpack put the ball in play. Before the fifth inning, the team recorded nine strikeouts and only two hits. Duke also struggled hitting the ball, recording only three hits and striking out 13 times over the course of the game.
Ratledge said that the State team just needed a change in mindset to get out of its slump in the fifth and sixth innings.
“We got a few clutch hits when we needed it,” Ratledge said. “We buckled down at not swinging at bad pitches. We had to go out there with the approach of if its not there then turn it over to the next guy and that’s what we did.”
Controversy arose in the bottom of the eighth inning when Duke designated hitter Andy Perez hit a ball off the glass railing above the left field wall. Perez rounded the bases as if it was a home run, but Avent argued the play. After review, Perez was sent back to second base, and only one run was recorded.
“It was very hard to tell,” Avent said. “No one had signaled home run. I was more worried about the team playing it out and actually tagging the runner out.”
Palmeiro led off the ninth inning with a deep single that was misplayed by the Duke center fielder, giving the freshman a stand-up triple. Junior pitcher Carlos Rodon was called upon to pinch hit for Armstrong in the top of the ninth and picked up his fourth RBI of the season, driving in Palmeiro.
The Pack will take on the Duke again Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park For the series finale.