Sophomore pitcher Carlos Rodon throws a pitch during N.C. State’s season opener against Appalachain State on Doak Field Feb. 17, 2013. The Wolfpack fell to the Mountaineers, 6-3, in the first game, while the second and third games were cancelled due to inclement weather." />
Archive/Technician
Sophomore pitcher Carlos Rodon throws a pitch during N.C. State’s season opener against Appalachain State on Doak Field Feb. 17, 2013. The Wolfpack fell to the Mountaineers, 6-3, in the first game, while the second and third games were cancelled due to inclement weather.
Behind a strong pitching performance from junior pitcher Rohn Pierce and a little help from N.C. State, the Canisius Golden Griffins defeated the Wolfpack, 3-0, Sunday at Doak Field in Raleigh.
Junior pitcher Carlos Rodon earned the opening day start for the Wolfpack and pitched well, allowing only four hits and three runs while striking out six during six innings of work.
However, only one of the runs Rodon allowed was an earned run. Errors by junior left fielder Bubby Riley and junior second baseman Logan Ratledge cost the Wolfpack crucial runs in the early stages of the ballgame.
“It’s one game, we should be able to get more than three runs for [Rodon],” junior shortstop Trea Turner said. “I think we can improve everywhere…it’s not a total disaster but it wasn’t how we wanted it to go.”
Opening day at Doak Field came a week early for the N.C. State Wolfpack, who was not originally scheduled to play its home opener until Feb. 21. State was scheduled to play a three-game series against the University of California-Santa Barbara this weekend but due to weather and travel issues the series was cancelled.
In its place, the Wolfpack scheduled a three-game series against Canisius, but game one of the series on Saturday was cancelled as well due to poor weather conditions.
“We wanted to play,” Turner said. “We were anxious to find out where and when and it. I don’t think the scheduling affected us mentally or physically though.”
The Golden Griffins jumped on Rodon right from the beginning, with junior outfielder Mike Krische leading off the game with a ground rule double. Senior outfielder Jessie Kelso followed that up with a double past a diving Riley in left field to drive home Krische.
The Wolfpack immediately bounced back, getting runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the first. But Pierce quickly slammed the door shut, striking out one Wolfpack batter and getting junior right fielder Jake Fincher to fly out to right.
Rodon got the Golden Griffins out in order in the second, but the wheels came off in the third. After Riley misplayed a deep fly ball in left field, Rodon hit a batter and then issued back-to-back walks to give Canisius its second run.
The junior left-hander would work out of the jam, but quickly found himself with a runner on third and two outs in the top of the fifth. Junior designated hitter Jesse Puscheck laced a screaming line drive back up the middle that Rodon got a piece of, sending a dribbling ground ball toward Ratledge, who misfired to first base and allowed another Golden Griffins runner to score.
“My command overall today was just up-and-down, in-and-out, just inconsistent,” Rodon said. “I just wanted a win and it didn’t happen.”
The game settled into a defensive battle from there, as no one could muster a threat until the Wolfpack moved freshman third baseman Andrew Knizner to second base with two outs in the seventh. But once again, Pierce (seven IP, 0 ER, five H) came through by striking out freshman right fielder Garrett Suggs to end the threat.
Turner was a bright spot for the Wolfpack with a three-for-four day at the plate. However, he was left stranded in scoring position all three times.
“Trea [Turner] can’t do this by himself and it’s a baseball game, so sometimes you have bad days…but today we really didn’t have good at bats at all,” Wolfpack head coach Elliott Avent said.
Wolfpack fans got their first chance to see State’s new-look bullpen when senior reliever Andrew Woeck came in to relieve Rodon at the top of the seventh. Woeck retired the side one, two, three in the seventh, and allowed a long single in the eighth to senior first baseman Jimmy Luppens before junior catcher Brett Austin gunned him out trying to steal second. In total, Woeck threw three scoreless innings, surrendering one hit and striking out four.
Canisius’ sophomore pitcher Alex Godzak relieved Pierce and earned the save for the Golden Griffins by shutting down State’s final rally in the ninth. After Fincher drew a walk, freshman first baseman Kyle Cavanaugh lined a single to left field with no outs. However, Godzak retired the final three Wolfpack hitters to end the game.
“I put a lot of stock in one game,” Avent said. “That game counts. It was real. It was who we were today and it wasn’t very good. Maybe we’ve heard too much about how good we are, and maybe we’re not that good.”