Sacred Heart tried its hardest to hold NC State baseball back, but in the fifth inning the dam burst and the Wolfpack raced ahead till the run rule mercifully ended the game.
“I think we’re showing what we’re capable of right now,” said junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Dudan. “Offense started off a little slow, but we still put up 15 runs so we’ve been super impressive the last couple of games.”
Fresh off an impressive 13-run win to open the series, NC State kept the momentum rolling with a 15-5 victory over Sacred Heart. The Pack clinched a series victory, and will have a chance at its first series sweep of the season.
“Sacred Heart came out ready to play,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “You gotta really have a great deal of respect for their ball club… we got behind, we stayed with it, got back in it, and it became really a back and forth affair and then we were able to break it open.”
The Wolfpack (9-1) struggled with the Pioneers (1-7) for four innings. However, with sophomore second baseman Luke Nixon and junior third baseman Sherman Johnson on the bases in a tie game, the Pack found an opening. Despite striking out twice before, junior left fielder Andrew Wiggins broke the game open with a 401-foot home run to put the Pack up 5-2.
“Andrew had gone up twice before and come up empty with guys on base,” Avent said. “You give him a lot of credit, got down two strikes and he just battled and battled and battled and hit a breaking pitch and he’s such a strong young man, he hit it pretty good.”
After getting the first lead, NC State’s bats played with newfound confidence and torched Sacred Heart the rest of the way. The Wolfpack tacked on seven runs in the sixth inning, capping the frame with a three-RBI triple by junior shortstop Mikey Ryan. The triple dropped into the perfect spot in left field and the Pack’s runners showcased their speed to score a trio of runs.
“I kinda just thought it was a regular flyball,” Ryan said. “But I saw the other guy coming in and knew it was deeper than that so I just saw it down and kept running.”
While the Wolfpack couldn’t be stopped from the fifth inning on, the afternoon started slow and NC State needed Dudan to hold the Pioneers at bay. Dudan settled in for 5.2 innings that included ten strikeouts and just two walks. However the most impressive part of Dudan’s performance wasn’t in the stat sheet — it was Dudan’s ability to throw his best pitches when Sacred Heart pressured him with men on base.
“Dudan got hit a little bit for this time this year today,” Avent said. “I thought he responded very, very well, made some big pitches with men on base.”
To earn his strong statline, Dudan overcame early struggles on the mound. With his slider appearing slightly off, Dudan pivoted to use his fastball to contain Sacred Heart. The move worked to perfection and the Huntersville native only allowed two runs all afternoon.
“Later in the game I had more fastball command,” Dudan said. “Slider early in the game was kinda hanging, it wasn’t moving how I wanted it to, but I feel like I figured that out and made them sit more slider and then I can just blow the fastball behind.”
The win marks another winning weekend for NC State — key for a team with transfers and freshmen at key positions. For a team still getting used to playing each other, early wins are key for building team chemistry and getting into a position to make noise in the NCAA Tournament once the team fully gels.
“We just got a good group of guys,” Ryan said. “We all just like to hang out around each other and just be around each other and that always helps on the field too.”
Next up, NC State will look to complete the series sweep against Sacred Heart on Sunday, March 1. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. and will stream on ACC Network Extra.
