When it rains it pours.

NC State baseball played one of its worst games of the season to open the NCAA Tournament, suffering an 11-2 loss to Stetson in Game 1 of the Auburn Regional. Falling behind 7-0 in the first inning, the Wolfpack never gave itself in the chance against the Hatters.

With junior pitcher Dominic Fritton on the mound, the Wolfpack (33-20) certainly expected to have the benefit of strong pitching. Fritton never found the strike zone however and began walking Stetson (41-20) batters from the very first at-bat. Facing just seven batters, Fritton walked a trio of hitters and earned just one out before being pulled.

With its ace knocked out of the game almost instantly, NC State turned to freshman pitcher Anderson Nance. He walked his first batter and allowed a string of three runs before finally escaping the inning.

Down 7-0 before even stepping to the plate, things looked bleak for the Wolfpack. However, with nine innings to claw back into the game, the Pack had a puncher’s chance to come back. Instead, NC State waited till the eighth inning to score its first runs.

Stetson pitcher Jonathan Gonzalez, a true ace for the Hatters, lived up to his impressive reputation. Gonzalez threw six innings and played a key role in keeping the red-and-white off the board. While he only threw four strikeouts, Gonzalez refused to give away free bases — a stark contrast to NC State’s pitchers. Additionally, Gonzalez navigated a pair of jams unscathed in the second and third innings.

The Pack had its best chance to come back in the third inning when it loaded the bases with just one out. Gonzalez temporarily lost control, walking a pair of batters and allowing a single to junior left fielder Josh Hogue. Rather than taking advantage, the Wolfpack squandered the opportunity with a strikeout and hitting into a ground out.

After stranding three runners on base in the third, the next several innings went poorly for NC State. From the fourth through seventh innings, the Wolfpack managed just two hits against the Hatters. Meanwhile, Stetson added to its lead with a two-out RBI single in the fifth, pushing the Hatters’ lead up to eight.

The Pack eventually got on the board in the eighth inning, but by that point it was far too late for a rally. Hogue blasted a homer over the right center field wall, then freshman designated hitter Brandon Novy hit a home run of his own. Stetson punched right back in the final inning with a pair of runs, putting an exclamation point on the Hatters’ 11-2 victory.

Dropping into the loser’s bracket, the Wolfpack will now have to win four straight games to advance to the Super Regionals. To put it in perspective, in last year’s tournament not a single team that lost their opening game in the Regionals advanced to the Super Regionals. While the Wolfpack is still alive, the season is barely hanging on by a thread.

Next up, NC State will face Central Connecticut State in the loser’s bracket at 3 p.m. on Saturday. It will be an elimination game for both teams.