The No. 8 Wolfpack baseball team fell to the Huskies 6-1 in the first game of its weekend home series against Northeastern on Friday, March 4 at Doak Field.
NC State (8-2) was coming off of its first loss of the season on Wednesday, March 2 against Campbell that saw the Pack fail to put up more than five runs for the first time this year. With its performance today, that number of games has doubled to two after the afternoon Northeastern (4-5) posted in Raleigh.
Things got off to a brutal start for the Pack, letting in three runs in the top of the first inning. After sophomore right-handed pitcher Sam Highfill allowed the first two batters of the afternoon to get on base via a walk and a hit by pitch, respectively, Northeastern’s Mike Sirota doubled to right center to bring in both Justin Bosland and Jeff Costello. An early 2-0 lead wasn’t enough for the Huskies, however, as they found their third and final run of the first by way of a Corey DiLoreto single sending Sirota home.
Despite his early struggles, Highfill was able to pull himself together at the end of the top of the first, forcing the final three batters to go down swinging. Unfortunately, Highfill’s rebound couldn’t relieve struggles on the other side of the ball that made themselves known when the Pack got its first opportunity at the plate.
The Huskies sent the top of the Pack’s lineup back into the dugout immediately, retiring both senior center fielder Devonte Brown and sophomore second baseman LuJames Groover III on groundouts and turning freshman first baseman Tommy White around on a 1-4-3 play to first base. The inability to get runners on base was an issue that persisted for NC State through the first four innings of the ball game.
The bats weren’t all to blame for NC State, however, with Northeastern’s right-handed ace Cam Schlittler dealing all afternoon. As a member of the Freshman All-American Second Team and All-CAA First Team a year ago, Schlittler was primed to have an even bigger season this year and has shown flashes of greatness so far. Today’s outing against the Pack was no different, throwing 100 pitches in eight innings, only allowing three hits and amassing five strikeouts.
NC State didn’t find its first hit of the game until the bottom of the fifth, with redshirt junior third baseman Josh Hood doubling to center. Freshman shortstop Payton Green also managed to get on base in the inning on a hit by a pitch, but a signature Schlittler strikeout on freshman catcher Jacob Cozart kept the Pack scoreless over halfway through the game.
After finding its fourth run of the afternoon in the second on a sacrifice fly from Sirota that sent Luke Beckstein home, Northeastern cooled off as Highfill continued to find his groove. After Sirota’s RBI in the second the Huskies wouldn’t find another hit until the fifth, Highfill’s last inning. Highfill allowed four hits, three earned runs, four walks and six strikeouts in his performance.
Highfill’s relievers, right-handed sophomore Garrett Payne, freshman righty Jacob Halford and left-handed sophomore John Miralia didn’t fare much better, allowing a combined five hits and two earned runs with seven strikeouts between the three.
Whether it was on the mound or in the batter’s box, struggles defined this series’ opening matchup, with NC State failing to get anything meaningful going all afternoon. Its lone run of the game came in the bottom of the ninth on a Hood solo shot to right field, serving as one of the few exciting moments for the Pack all game.
NC State has a chance to rebound on Saturday, March 5 where it will see another talented member of the Huskies’ rotation. The opening pitch for the series’ second game is set for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally on ACC Network Extra. For a recap on how the Pack will respond to today’s performance, make sure to follow @TechSports on Twitter for updates on all things Wolfpack sports.
