Through the first four innings of its game against Virginia Tech, NC State baseball’s nine-game winning streak looked like a fugazi. The Wolfpack had just two hits and didn’t seem to have an answer for Hokies’ starting pitcher Brett Renfrow.
During its win streak, the Wolfpack outscored its opponents 90-24 and collected seven run-rule wins, but they all came against lower-level competition. Through the first four frames against the Hokies, the Pack looked like the team that had lost five games in a row earlier in the season when it was outscored 36-15 against higher-level competition.
But then, NC State (13-5, 1-0 ACC) scored 10 runs in the fifth and sixth innings to power it to an 11-1 seven inning run-rule win over Virginia Tech (12-6, 1-3 ACC) in its ACC opener Friday night at Doak Field, proving its offense could produce against higher-level competition.
“I thought we played probably our best game of the year,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “Today, I thought it culminated in a lot of practices and a lot of work by our staff and our players, and we played our best game of the year.
The Wolfpack’s offensive onslaught began in the fifth inning when freshman center fielder Ty Head cracked a two-run shot over the right field wall to break the ice, but the Pack didn’t stop there. Three batters later, sophomore first baseman Chris McHugh crushed one way over the left field wall, his fourth homerun of the season and his team-high 28th RBI — sixth in the ACC.
“Last year, I had problems chasing a lot, and swinging at pitches I couldn’t really do damage with,” McHugh said. “And this year, I’m just focusing on one pitch and waiting until I get it… I feel like every time I’m up, I’ve got a guy on second and third, so that just gives you a lot of confidence as a hitter.”
Still in the fifth, sophomore catcher Alex Sosa reached second with a double and made it all the way home after a Hokie error to give the Wolfpack a 5-1 lead.
The fifth inning was all about the long ball, but in the sixth, the Pack didn’t record any extra base hits. Instead, it tallied five more runs with five singles as Sosa and junior right fielder Brayden Fraasman recorded a two-RBI hit each for a 10-1 advantage.
Much like the offense, junior left-handed pitcher Dominic Fritton looked shaky against higher-level competition early on. It took Fritton 25 pitches to get out of the first inning after he gave up two walks and a run. Fritton didn’t let the first frame shake him. Instead, he thought it helped him refocus.
“I think when I give up a run in the first sometimes it helps me to just go out there and know that they’ve already scored, so that’s all they get,” Fritton said. “I’m just going to attack them as well as I can.”
Attack is exactly what he did. Fritton only allowed one baserunner the rest of the game on his way to a seven-inning complete game with just one earned run and eight strikeouts.
“The first inning was a little rough for me, so just kind of refocused myself,” Fritton said. “I was able to get my breaking ball going a little bit there and worked in the splitter a few times. I think just getting ahead in counts was what helped me in the long run to make it deep in that game.”
It marked the third straight game Fritton went at least six innings while giving up just one earned run. After a rough start to the season where he didn’t make it five innings in either of his first two starts and combined for eight walks, Fritton has seemingly cemented his role as the Friday starter.
“I know how hard he worked in the off-season and this fall with his body,” Avent said. “To see him get rewarded is pretty special to all of us.”
With Fritton pitching the whole game, it leaves NC State with a fresh bullpen for today’s doubleheader against Virginia Tech. The first game is set to start at 1 p.m., while the second is slated for 4 p.m.
