In its first game back at the Doak for the 2026 season, No. 17 NC State baseball kept it rolling with a 7-3 win over Winthrop.
After trading small-ball blows, the Wolfpack (3-0) and the Eagles (2-2) locked heads at three runs apiece in the fifth inning, and Winthrop was putting some offensive pressure on the Wolfpack. But in the final stretches of the game, it felt like it was never in doubt as redshirt junior catcher Drew Lanphere knocked in three runs in the final four frames, with a two-run homer and an RBI-double.
“You can’t be disappointed if you’re 3-0,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “I don’t think anybody in the country is ready to play yet … We were hamstrung with Heath going out there today. He’s had better stuff, but he stuck with it.”
Making his first start of the season was junior pitcher Heath Andrews, who is set to be the typical Sunday starter for the Wolfpack. He didn’t get a chance to play opening weekend due to a weather cancellation, and despite Andrews only going 3.1 innings, his relievers kept the Pack in control.
First out of the pen, freshman lefty Luke Hemric made his first collegiate appearance and looked solid after coming into a tough spot. With runners on first and third base, the Apex native walked the first batter he faced, making matters worse.
“As a little kid growing up in Apex, I’ve always dreamed of coming out here and pitching,” Hemric said. “ … It’s kind of rare to see young guys go out there in big jams.”
But after fanning the next batter, he was an out away. A potential hit-by-pitch call threatened, but after the call was overturned after review, Hemric got out of the jam with a strikeout and waved his hand in a brush-like motion, signaling for the runner to head back to the dugout.
“I was a little surprised at the emotion,” Avent said. “But it showed what a tough spot he was in. This game can draw that kind of emotion out of anybody.”
When Hemric came off of the mound in the sixth, he gave the next reliever some work to do with two men on and two outs. But the rock-solid sophomore Anderson Nance put out the fire and earned the official win, helping Hemric keep his card clean and securing a clean 2.1 innings of his own.
On the offensive side, the Pack blasted three homers over the Doak Field fence, and fed at the plate with sophomore center fielder Ty Head breaking it open early. Going 0-for-7 in Puerto Rico, and being one of the only guys to struggle opening weekend, Head was due for an explosion. He broke through, sending one 367 feet over the right-field fence to tie the game in the third.
Next, Lanphere notched his homer in the sixth to give the Pack the lead, as the Wendell, North Carolina Native has been red hot, going 5-for-7 at the plate so far this season. Soon enough, senior Brayden Fraasman shut the door with a dinger of his own to give another insurance run.
Back in action this weekend, the Pack hosts Princeton for a three-game series Friday through Sunday, beginning on Feb. 20 at 3 p.m.
