NC State kept the bats hot, but couldn’t stop Notre Dame from coming back in a tough 12-8 loss at Doak Field Friday in the series opener.
The Wolfpack’s (26-7, 11-5 ACC) pitching gave up a combined five home runs, while the Fighting Irish’s (15-19, 6-10 ACC) bullpen shut down the Pack, not allowing a hit. Senior center fielder Josh McLain had a stellar day at the plate, going 4 for 5 with a home run. The Wolfpack held a 7-2 lead early in the game, but let it slip away after a disastrous six-run fourth inning for the Irish.
“Offensively, we were very, very, very good,” head coach Elliott Avent said. “After that disaster in the fourth inning, it just got in our head a little bit. We were the same team, but we just didn’t hit with men on base. I just thought it got in our head a little bit after that disaster, we just unraveled.”
NC State wasted no time against the Fighting Irish. To lead off the game, McLain jumped on the first pitch and sent it over the wall in left field for his fourth home run of the season.
“The first pitch. I was trying to see it deep, and it was a fastball right down the middle,” McLain said. “I knew he was going to try to get ahead with that fastball. He tries to sneak it in. He’s got the offspeed, but he tries to sneak the fastball by you. I was just ready for fastball.”
Junior left fielder Brett Kinneman added to his stellar season with a single to right and sophomore shortstop Will Wilson stayed hot with a double to left-center field. Junior first baseman Evan Edwards’ sacrifice fly scored Kinneman to make the score 2-0.
Freshman catcher Patrick Bailey’s single advanced Wilson to third base before Wilson scored on an errant pickoff attempt by the Notre Dame starting pitcher. Bailey was stranded at third base, but the Pack got the early 3-0 lead.
The Irish earned one run back in the second inning thanks to Eric Gilgenbach, who homered off of NC State’s starting pitcher, graduate Johnny Piedmonte. Notre Dame struck again in the third inning with another solo shot off Piedmonte to get within one run.
NC State scored again in the third thanks to an error by the Notre Dame left fielder that allowed Edwards to get all the way to third base. Bailey doubled in Edwards to collect his second hit of the day.
After a walk to senior second baseman Stephen Pitarra, senior right fielder Brock Deatherage crushed a three-run home run to center field. The four-run third inning marked the 17th inning with four or more runs this year for the Pack and made the score 7-2.
Piedmonte’s outing finished after only three innings. He gave up two runs on three hits on 53 pitches. Piedmonte exited the game because of a lingering back injury that has affected him all season, according to Avent.
Freshman left hander Nick Swiney immediately ran into trouble, walking two and giving up a hit without recording an out. Redshirt junior pitcher Nolan Clenney replaced Swiney and also struggled to shut down the Irish.
A sacrifice fly and an RBI groundout added two runs, and then back-to-back home runs put the the Irish up 8-7 after the six-run frame.
Freshman designated hitter Terrell Tatum walked and scored in the fifth inning on McLain’s RBI single to left. His fourth hit of the game tied the score at 8-8.
“Josh McLain is just one of the toughest players that NC State has ever had,” Avent said. “He competes with the game. If everybody played as hard as Josh McLain, you’d have the best chance to be successful. He does a great job for us.”
Sophomore lefty Kent Klyman finished the game out for NC State on the mound, throwing 4.1 innings and allowing five hits and four runs. He hit two batters in the seventh inning before allowing a two-out, two-run RBI double and an RBI single to give the Irish an 11-8 lead. Gilgenbach added his second home run of the game in the ninth inning to make it 12-8.
This marks the fourth straight series the Pack has lost the opener, and NC State will look to bounce back and win the series as it has done each of the previous three times in a Saturday doubleheader against the Irish starting at 2:00 p.m.
