For the second time this season, East Carolina took down NC State baseball, giving up double-digit runs. The Pack couldn’t keep up with the hard-hitting Pirates and as a result, lost its second game against them this season.
ECU consistently got on base and recorded hits to which the Wolfpack had no answer. The Pirates only had two innings where they didn’t record a run. NC State, on the other hand, only had two innings where it scored.
In front of the home crowd, the purple-and-gold wasted no time getting runners to home plate in a rivalry game. After giving up no hits in the top of the first, ECU scored twice in the bottom half of the inning, handing the Pack an early two-run deficit.
The top of the Pirates’ order combined for a pair of singles, a fly out and a triple to bring in two early runs. The tough start was enough to end freshman right-handed pitcher Jaxon Lucas’s day early, with one inning pitched.
Short stints on the mound were a common theme for the Woflpack in Greenville as the team went through seven pitchers in the contest. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Shane Van Dam had the longest stretch of any Pack pitcher with three innings on the mound. NC State had three pitchers who couldn’t complete an inning as ECU took advantage of a team that has struggled on the mound.
Giving up zero hits in the bottom of the second, the Pack briefly got its feet back under itself and at the top of the third, got the momentum back on its side as it took what would be its only lead of the afternoon.
After graduate first baseman Garrett Pennington reached first on a walk, NC State proceeded to score four runs on back-to-back-to-back home runs. Sophomore right-fielder Josh Hogue, graduate third baseman Alec Makarewicz and junior catcher Jacob Cozart all went yard to right field, stunning Clark-LeClair Stadium.
Despite both Nixon brothers reaching base, the Wolfpack couldn’t find a way to score either of them and stranded both on base. The No. 7 team in the country wasn’t going to let four quick runs take it out and in the bottom of the third, responded with two runs of its own to tie the game back up at four apiece.
In the bottom of the fourth and sixth innings, ECU added to its lead by stringing multiple hits together to bring the score to 8-4. Whether it be a single, double or triple, ECU kept putting runners in scoring position and driving them home.
Just like they did in the top of the third, Hogue, Makarewicz and Cozart all earned a run or RBI to tally two more runs for the Wolfpack in the seventh frame. Aided by a throwing error, Hogue scored on a Makarewicz single and Cozart then brought Makarewicz across home plate on a fly out to center field.
Off another homer in the seventh and a combination of a double and a single in the eighth, ECU stretched its lead to four again by the top of the ninth where it was do-or-die for NC State. The team who has recorded the most walk-offs in the NCAA field this year went three up, three down to end the night.
Of the 295 teams in Division I, the Wolfpack ranks 210th in earned run average as a team with a 6.83. With series wins against Duke, Clemson and UNC the Wolfpack has a strong resume and shouldn’t have trouble making the postseason. But if they want to host a regional and go deep in the playoffs, at some point the pitching needs to turn around.
The Pack will look to rebound from its loss in a series against Ball State with the first game starting on Friday, April 26th. First pitch set for 6 p.m.
