Using an early offensive blitz and a strong outing from sophomore pitcher Cory Wilder, the NC State baseball team cruised to an easy 14-5 win over Villanova on Opening Day.

The Wolfpack scored 11 runs in the first three innings to ensure that the Wildcats would have no chance of stealing a victory on the road.

Not even the frigid temperatures in Raleigh on Friday could cool the Wolfpack’s offense early. After senior designated hitter Logan Ratledge singled to lead off the game and newcomer and junior shortstop Ryne Willard walked, sophomore catcher Andrew Knizner singled into left-field on a hit and run to draw the first blood of the 2015 season.

The Wolfpack was far from done however, as senior right fielder Jake Armstrong laced a triple into right center field, scoring two more runs. Three batters later, freshman third-baseman Joe Dunand gained his first hit as a collegiate player, when his high fly-ball got past the Wildcat center fielder for the second triple of the inning, bringing the score to 5-0.

State went right back to work in the second inning, with Knizner and Armstrong getting their second RBI’s of the game on singles. The inning was capped off by sophomore first-baseman Preston Palmeiro’s three-run home run that soared well over the right-field wall. The blast was Palmeiro’s first career home run and his four RBI’s were a career high.

“I haven’t had a ball come off the bat like that in a while,” Palmeiro said. “It was pretty awesome.”

The Wolfpack would tack on two more in the sixth inning to bring the score to 13-0 and sailed to the finish.

Meanwhile on the mound, Wilder was quietly setting the Wildcat hitters down one by one. Wilder finished with zero earned runs on two hits over five innings of work.

“It was a good first outing of the year and a good first win as a college pitcher,” Wilder said. “It’s a good way to start off the season.”

With so much attrition along the pitching staff in the 2014 offseason, there were questions as to who would be able to step into weekend rotation spots. Several pitchers will get opportunities early in the season to prove they deserve a starting spot and strong performances are going to be what is necessary to gain Wolfpack head coach Elliott Avent’s attention.

Wilder fell behind in the count on several occasions and while he managed to recover and retire most of the batters, he will need to improve his command heading forward. Villanova’s lineup certainly won’t strike fear into many pitching staffs and a strong lineup will take advantage of hitters’ counts.

“He’s gonna have to be better than that,” Avent said. “He’s going to have to get ahead in counts better than he did to be successful. He’s a competitor and he competed today but he has to be better.”

Opening Day was also a good chance to see new additions to the Pack’s lineup and several returning players in their new positions.

Knizner made the move from third base to catcher in the offseason and looked surprisingly fluid behind the plate. He made one throw to second base that was off-line, but it was a wild pitch so the jury will remain out on his arm strength.

“I thought [Knizner] looked great,” Avent said. “For a guy who converted to a catcher in such a short period of time, it speaks to Knizner’s makeup, his learning curve and the hard work he put in.”

Dunand, the man tasked with replacing Knizner at third base, went 1-3 with a triple and one RBI in his debut.

Also in the infield were transfers Ryne Willard and Joel McKeithan, who started at shortstop and second base, respectively.

Willard, a transfer from Tallahassee Community College, went 1-3 with a walk and a stolen base.

McKeithan, who transferred in from Vanderbilt, went 1-4 with an RBI single and also showed off a slick glove at second. McKeithan started for Ratledge, who was nursing tendonitis in his elbow.

Perhaps the shakiest debut belonged to South Carolina transfer pitcher Curt Britt, who relieved Wilder in the sixth inning and allowed three runs on as many hits in two innings of relief. Britt was excellent in getting ahead of batters but was unable to finish them.

The Wolfpack quieted some doubts that the team’s offense would struggle this season, even if it was against a lowly Wildcats team. It will be interesting to see if it can bring the offense again Saturday when it faces a higher caliber team in the Davidson Wildcats.