NC State baseball brought the heavy artillery out to Doak Field, using a flurry of extra-base hits and home runs to put The Citadel under siege in its series-clinching 12-3 win.
Once the Wolfpack’s offensive barrage started, it didn’t stop, and NC State (28-14) used every weapon in its arsenal to record four extra-base hits and three home runs. In fact, six batters recorded RBI’s as the Pack clinched a much-needed series win over the Bulldogs (19-21).
“It’s really important, I mean that’s what you try to do on the weekends — win the series.” said head coach Elliott Avent. “…I thought we played well, and we’re getting people on base but driving them in is the key and I thought we had some big hits.”
The Wolfpack had more than a few big hits on the day, with those hits leading to an efficient 12 runs on 13 knocks. The long ball was also working for the Wolfpack — junior third baseman Lujames Groover and graduate center fielder Trevor Candelaria each hit two-run homers that helped create a comfortable lead for the Pack, while freshman designated hitter Cannon Peebles added on with a solo shot in the sixth.
However, junior right fielder Noah Soles — who was 10 feet short of hitting for the cycle — did the most damage to The Citadel, recording four RBI’s on three hits that included a key bases-clearing triple to get the scoring started in the second.
NC State’s recent dedication to patience at the plate has paid dividends in the past few days alone. Just after tying its season-high in walks with 12 in its series-opening win over the Bulldogs, NC State’s six walks on the day helped set up its second-inning surge.
“We settled in, we were a little more disciplined in playing up pitches to drive and we drove them,” Avent said. “We’ve done a good job with that, probably a good part of the season, staying in the zone, but we just got to start driving people in where you get them on base.”
From the second inning on, the Wolfpack was relentless in that area. It was in that frame The Citadel looked like it was about to pitch another three up, three down inning. However, after three free passes and a bases-clearing double from Soles, the Wolfpack was off to the races.
The two-out rally didn’t stop there, though. Before fans could even sit back down in their seats, Groover tattooed a no-doubt, two-run jack over the left field wall that left The Citadel’s outfielders scratching their heads and bumped the score up to 5-0.
Meanwhile, NC State’s defense held the Bulldogs to three runs, with junior right-hander’s Matt Willadsen and Sam Highfill handling the brunt of the work for the Wolfpack. Each tossed four innings, with Highfill flaming three strikeouts and only relinquishing one run in his fourth win of the season. No matter how solid NC State’s defense was, though, the Wolfpack’s bats stole the show inning after inning.
The Bulldogs scored two on Willadsen and company in the top of the fourth, but Soles foiled The Citadel’s defenses once again. This time, the junior turned on the burners after hitting a high-arcing ball to the gap for a triple that scored one. Just like the second inning, Groover scored Soles in the next at-bat with a groundout, bringing the count to 7-2.
One inning later, a flurry of Wolfpack hits and walks allowed junior shortstop Kalae Harrison’s single to score one, moving the game ever-closer into blowout territory.
But if that didn’t do it, Candelaria’s and Peebles’ back-to-back sixth-inning homers definitely did the trick. First, Candelario snuck a line-drive down the left-field line and over the wall to make it 10-2. Peebles followed suit by smashing a solo-shot off of The Doak’s outfield scoreboard, all but solidifying NC State’s series win.
Each team put one more run up — NC State doing it with a sacrifice fly in the seventh and The Citadel doing it with an eighth-inning triple that interrupted a slight stint in an impressive outing from Highfill.
After getting swept by Clemson in its last series, NC State desperately needed a series win to get back on track, and did it with an offensive onslaught against the Bulldogs. While the series isn’t over, the Wolfpack needs to replicate this kind of performance against ACC teams in order to get back on track for the postseason.
“We’re just trying to take it one game at a time,” Soles said. “Really just rely on each other, on our teammates, and at the end of the day I think if we rely on each other, and just take it one day at a time I think we’ll get into a good spot.”
It’ll have plenty of opportunities to prove itself in the next few weeks, especially with road series against Notre Dame and UNC-Chapel Hill.
For now, though, the Pack will take it one game at a time, starting with its series finale versus the Bulldogs on Sunday, April 30, at 1 p.m.
