N.C. State baseball dropped its first two games against Clemson, but finished strong in its third game, winning 4-1.
The Wolfpack suffered a heavy loss during the series. Sophomore infielder Trea Turner broke his ankle during the second game of the series. He is expected to be back in four to six weeks.
Game One
The Wolfpack started off very strong by scoring four runs in the first three innings, but Clemson ultimately defeated N.C. State, 10-5.
Freshman outfielder Will Nance recorded his first career home run to give State a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.
Turner rocketed his fifth home run of the season to tie his season total from last year.
The Pack managed to give up eight unanswered runs in the fourth and fifth innings. During the fifth inning, starting pitcher Carlos Rodon left the game, but not without striking out eight batters during his stretch.
Junior right-handed pitcher Andrew Woeck held Clemson to only one hit during two innings with two strikeouts.
From then on, it was all Clemson.
Clemson put up eight straight runs in the fourth and fifth innings, capping it off with a three-run home run by Clemson’s Garrett Boulware.
During the eighth inning, N.C. State put up its last run of the game with a delayed double-steal by senior center-fielder Brett Williams.
Game 2
Even though the Wolfpack put up ten more hits than Clemson, N.C. State fell short again to the Tigers, 7-4.
Senior outfielder Bryan Adametz stood out for the Pack two for two during with two singles. Sophomore catcher Brett Austin registered a three for five stint with two RBIs, a double and a stolen base. Senior outfielder Brett Williams had a RBI despite his on-going shin splints.
N.C. State had opportunities to put points on the board runners in scoring positions, but couldn’t bring them in as the Clemson bullpen kept pitching itself out of jam after jam.
Clemson started the game off strong, putting up its first five run in just the second inning. Clemson’s Thomas Brittle ended the inning with a grand-slam.
The Wolfpack trailed Clemson, 6-1, going into the bottom of the fourth inning when Austin batted a two out single to left field. Williams singled again to put Austin at second base.
Senior outfielder Tarran Senay kept the inning alive with a RBI single, bringing in Brett Austin.
During the seventh inning, Williams came in and hit a single, then stole his way around the bases, ended up around third. Sophomore pitcher Carolos Rodon sent Williams home with an RBI single through the right side.
Clemson scored one more run during the sixth inning to end its scoring and come out with a win, 7-4.
Game 3
N.C. State finished the series on a strong note when it defeated the Tigers, 4-1.
Sophomore outfielder Jake Fincher put on a show for the home crowd by batting four-for-four. Fincher didn’t do it alone with the Wolfpack showing a strong defensive effort.
N.C. State took a one to nothing lead going into the third inning but Clemson responded quick, tying the game at 1-1.
After both teams repeatedly leaving runners on the bases, the Wolfpack started to roll with a lead-off triple by Fincher in the sixth inning. Freshman outfielder Will Nance brought home Fincher with a single.
In the eight inning, Fincher hit an infield single to short. He moved to second off of a wild pitch.
Junior infielder Sam Morgan then came up as a pinch hitter. He blasted a double to the center field wall to bring home senior infielder Matt Bergquist and Fincher to put the score at 4-1 in favor of State
“Even though we are playing with our guys nicked-up, we came through and got a huge win,” head coach Elliott Avent said. “This is why I love coaching at State because it’s all about heart.”
N.C. State looks to improve for its up and coming game against Quinnipiac Tuesday.
“We need to just play within our game and not make anyone feel like they have to do more than they are used to,” Avent said. “This isn’t that AT&T commercial with that little girl saying that more is better; we just need to play our game and everyone does their part.”
“As a team, we need to work on our mechanics. You know… the little things,” added Jake Fincher. “We just need to continue to fight hard and keep winning games, and the momentum from this win can carry over.”
N.C. State will take on Quinnipiac Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.
