The baseball team brought out the lumber in the win Tuesday against Wofford, winning 12-0, despite the rainy weather. Junior Drew Poulk led the charge going 3-5 with two homeruns and seven RBIs, both season highs for the team.
“We didn’t play perfect,” outfielder Drew Poulk said. “But we played well enough to win.”
The win brings the Pack to 19-17 on the season, 7-11 in the ACC. The loss takes the Terriers to 14-16. Redshirt junior Jake Kensmoe picked up the win pitching three scoreless innings, taking him to 2-0 on the season while Wofford pitcher Cash Collins picked up the loss moving him to 1-4.
“I wouldn’t say it was our best game,” Kensmoe said. “But it shows how our team can be if we put all the pieces together.”
Tuesday’s shutout against Wofford marked only the second shutout of the season. Coach Elliott Avent said he was pleased to see that kind of effort from the pitchers.
“It was good to see the pitchers throw a shutout,” Avent said.
After a disappointing weekend when the Wolfpack lost two of three at Duke, Tuesday’s victory over Wofford was necessary. The Pack’s loss to Duke included a demoralizing loss on Sunday in which the team blew a five run lead and then blew a two run lead in the 10th inning.
“It was a tough one at Duke,” Poulk said, “especially feeling like we should have won all three games. It just didn’t fall our way, so Wofford was definitely a must win for us.”
Despite coming off the weekend’s loss, the Pack was able to stay focused Tuesday and take care of business against the Terriers. The team played a complete game in all aspects of baseball, with a good day at the plate, managing 17 hits, which tied the season high. The Pack also had strong pitching and a solid fielding performance.
“The hitters showed a lot of confidence and it showed in their swings,” Kensmoe said. “It was just a matter of our pitchers throwing with confidence. It was just a matter of getting ahead in counts, when you do that it really puts the pitchers at a good advantage. We did a good job at that and it paid off.”
The Pack struck first in the third inning with both junior Dallas Poulk and freshman John Gianis recording singles and scoring off of RBIs from the bat of freshman Pratt Maynard and senior Pat Ferguson respectively. The Pack went on to score two in the next inning but broke it open in the fifth inning with a three-run homerun by Drew Poulk.
Drew Poulk continued his strong game by blasting a grand slam in the eighth inning that capped a five run inning for the Pack.
The Pack pitching silenced the Terriers, scattering six hits over nine innings of play. Starting redshirt senior pitcher Jason Zinser went three innings giving up only one hit while striking out three. Relief pitcher Kensmoe, who got the win, pitched three scoreless innings giving up only three hits. Sophomore Grant Sasser and Maynard, who made his pitching debut, finished up the game for the Pack.
“Jake Kensmoe really stabilized the game,” Avent said. “I thought that’s where the game was won. And Sasser went in and pitched well behind him.”
The Pack continues the action as it travels to Greenville to take on rival East Carolina tonight at 6 p.m. The last time the Pack met ECU was earlier this month, as the Pirates walked away with the 14-4 win at Doak Field. According to Drew Poulk, Tuesday’s game gave the team some much needed energy in order to play against ECU.
“We definitely have some revenge against ECU,” Drew Poulk said. “But it’s just a good momentum going into it.”
