Dick Howser stadium was cheering all day for the Seminoles, as the Wolfpack got run over in seven innings for a 15-5 loss.
No.10 NC State baseball (18-6, 3-3 ACC) dropped its second-straight game to No. 11 Florida State (19-4, 5-1), losing the season series after winning Game 1 in Tallahassee. The Wolfpack couldn’t find a speck of grass as the Florida State pitching and defense were unstoppable.
The same couldn’t be said for the Wolfpack; sloppy errors and wild pitches allowed for Florida State to load the bases numerous times. When there were players in scoring position, the Seminoles went 7-for-14. The bats were scorching for the Noles’ and they made a statement win against the Pack with 14 total hits.
The Wolfpack couldn’t get on the right track at the start of the game, as the Seminoles scored two runs in the bottom of the first, and never trailed again. They scored in six out of the seven innings played.
NC State threw four different arms in Tallahassee. The control on the ball wasn’t there, as the Wolfpack pitching crew hit three Seminole batters while only striking out four of them. Junior right-hander Heath Andrews had the start for the Pack, but it was a rough performance from him. He hit two batters and gave up a home run, stretching the Seminole lead to 7-0 at the bottom of the second.
Sophomore right-hander Ryder Garino and junior left-hander Cooper Consiglio each saw their time on the mound, trying their best to stop the lead from swelling even further. Their efforts were to no avail, as nine earned runs were scored by the Noles’ between the two.
The offense for the Wolfpack was lackluster, and Tallahassee hasn’t been kind to the NC State bats in the last two games. Sophomore center fielder Ty Head and junior designated hitter Chris McHugh especially struggled this weekend. Head went 0-for-3 today, and he only really started to get going late in Game 2 with a solo home run in the 8th inning. McHugh only had two hits through the entire series, an important power factor missing for the Pack.
Game 3 was another example of offense coming “too little, too late” for the Wolfpack, as its three runs in the top of the seventh were merely a dent in the 13 run lead that the Seminoles had at the start of the inning. The bats need to get hot earlier against ranked opponents if the Pack wants to battle for a regional host. Teams like No. 3 Georgia Tech and No. 24 Wake Forest will be just as challenging as FSU, and the Pack has a long way to go if it wants to grab those series.
The red-and-white made decent contact with the ball, but Seminole pitcher Bryson Moore was in command of the mound. The starter made it through five innings with only five hits and two earned runs, placing balls in perfect slots that were hit right to his defense. The Seminoles played a very clean game defensively, posting zero errors.
The Wolfpack will be back in Raleigh to face Campbell in a mid-week matchup on Tuesday, March 24. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at the Doak.
