After a 13-0 victory over Sacred Heart, No. 14 NC State baseball (10-1) has now scored 90 runs in its last five games.
Junior left-handed pitcher Cooper Consiglio threw a scoreless five innings, striking out five and only giving up one hit. Meanwhile, the Pack’s potent offense was in full effect, batting 10-for-26 with two home runs. NC State only had one error on the day, and it came in the last inning to blemish an otherwise perfect ending to the series.
“We can all relax when things are going our way, and actually all you should be focused on is getting better and playing in different situations,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “That error in the [last] inning perturbs me.”
Junior infielder Luke Nixon launched NC State’s sequence of effective hitting with a deep-right 365-yard home run in the first inning. While the pitching held strong, the Pack stretched out its lead in a long second inning.
A home run by sophomore infielder Mikey Ryan soared right over the 370-foot marker before junior Sherman Johnson, playing out of position at right field, hit a center-single two-RBI knockout to push the lead to 6-0.
“I just like the way [Johnson]’s playing the game, playing it with enthusiasm, a will to get better,” Avent said. “His effort level is what I’m most pleased with.”
There was a lull during the third and fourth innings, with zero runs, hits, errors or batters left on base for both the Pack and the Pioneers. But the break in heavy hitters was short-lived as the Wolfpack came out hot in the fifth inning. Sherman, Nixon and senior infielder Wyatt Peifer lit up the box score.
Sherman and Nixon were a power duo. Nixon hit a double to left field and stole third, while Sherman singled to center field, allowing Nixon to score off the RBI.
“I’m just out there swinging at good pitches and putting myself in good counts,” Sherman said. “I just want to be up there and if someone is on base I’m gonna drive them in.”
Piefer turned the power duo into trio with a single up the middle to send two more runners in. The stack of runs continued when Ryan grounded out, giving Piefer the opportunity to score and advance the lead to 10-0.
The Wolfpack’s consistent batting caused Sacred Heart to switch out pitchers five times throughout the game, but nothing worked.
“We saw their pitchers tended to get behind, which led to a lot of runs for us,” said Consiglio.
The right-handed bullpen picked up where Consiglio left off to close the game until the run rule kicked in. Freshman Aiden Kitchings and sophomore Ryder Garino threw one inning each, holding Sacred Heart to three base runners between the both of them.
“Keeping the ball in the zone. Making them work,” said Consiglio. “Letting our defense work as we have a great defense, great defenders. That was kind of the game plan.”
The Wolfpack also stole four bases, adding to a season-total 30 that matches the number of bases last year’s team stole in the whole season.
After sweeping the series, NC State will face its first true test of the season as it hosts No. 9 Coastal Carolina at Doak Field on March 3. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
