In an offensive bout that went the full nine innings, N.C. State was downed by UNC-Wilmington Wednesday night, 7-4.
One month ago, the Wolfpack faced the N.C. Central Eagles and Seahawks on consecutive days. They blew out the Eagles, 24-6, and lost to the Seahawks, 9-6. This time around, the Pack defeated the Eagles again, 11-0, and, despite nine hits, suffered another loss in its matchup with UNC-W.
A good portion of the output was from sophomore left fielder Harold Riggins and freshman infielder Danny Canela, who went 2-4 and 3-5, respectively.
Riggins went 2-for-4 from the plate to continue what is now a six-game hitting streak. He has seen his batting average jump from .235 at the midway point of the season to .343 after Wednesday’s performance.
“It felt good tonight, even though our loss does not help moving forward,” Riggins said. “We still have to work and get better. We just can’t lose games like this moving forward.”
Out of the four runs the Pack scored, Riggins accounted for three of them, with two RBIs and a run scored. Despite the loss, Riggins said he felt good from the plate.
“It’s kind of frustrating when you account for half of the offense with 2 RBIs, and we lose 7-4,” Riggins said. “We just have to put more runs across the plate.”
Rey Cotilla started the game for State and went scoreless through two innings, but the Seahawks pounded the ball at the plate in the third inning. UNC-W’s Alex Hill hit a two run homer that contributed to the first runs scored on Cotilla all season.
State began to make a comeback in the fifth inning with two runs on three hits to bring the game to a tie. With the bases loaded and one out, freshman infielder Matt Bergquist grounded into a double play to end the final scoring inning for the Pack.
Avent said he was pleased with the adjustments several players made in the field.
“I thought we played hard,” coach Elliott Avent said. “We had four guys who played different positions, and I thought those guys really did a nice job.”
Those four players included senior Dallas Poulk in center field, Riggins in left field, and junior Russell Wilson in right field. With the entire outfield receiving a facelift due to injuries to seniors Kyle Wilson and Drew Poulk, those players had to step up for the Pack.
“Riggins also made a pretty nice play in left field,” Avent said. “He has never played that position in his life.”
Canela hit from the designated hitter position rather than playing in the field, but he made his presence known offensively. He drove in an RBI single in the first inning to bring in Pratt Maynard.
“It was a rough night,” Canela said. “We went to their place and had a good game too. They just had the better night.”
Now the Pack heads into an ACC weekend series starting Friday against Maryland.
“Now we have to focus on a big weekend series with Maryland,” Avent said. “We go into it with a downer, but a Friday night win can change all of that.”
