N.C. State (14-4, 1-2 ACC) has shut out its opponent for 24 consecutive innings with the latest nine coming from Wednesday night’s victory over the Old Dominion Monarchs (9-6, 2-1 CAA), 5-0.
“I thought we played well,” head coach Elliott Avent said. “Our bats were better tonight.”
Sophomore pitcher Travis Orwig started the game for the Wolfpack, forced the first out of the game and then took a baseball to the knee.
“I have been there before,” Avent said. “It hit the kneecap, but it hit at a place where we think it is going to be OK. He seemed OK at the end of the game, but he is going to be obviously sore for the next few days.”
Freshman pitcher Karl Keglovits (1-0, 1.22 ERA) replaced Orwig and pitched three shutout innings en route to earning the win for State.
Sophomore catcher Brett Austin led the team with two hits and a walk despite being left on base three different occasions.
“Brett Austin has played his butt off,” Avent said. “A lot of the success we have right now is largely attributed to his performance and leadership.”
The Pack jumped on the scoreboard early, gaining a 1-0 lead at the end of the first inning via a sacrifice fly by senior first baseman Tarran Senay that scored senior left fielder Bryan Adametz.
State added another run in the following inning, initiated by sophomore right fielder Jake Fincher’s leadoff double. After Fincher stole third base, freshman designated hitter Will Nance brought Fincher home by grounding out to shortstop.
After getting shut out in the next frame, the Pack put distance between itself and the Monarchs by scoring three runs in the fourth inning. Fincher began by walking, followed by Nance singling to right field with Fincher moving to third on the play. Senior third baseman Grant Clyde drew a walk to load the bases for senior shortstop Matt Bergquist, who grounded out to shortstop to score Fincher. Adametz followed with a sacrifice fly to center field that brought Nance home for the run. Sophomore second baseman Logan Ratledge walked and later advanced to second on a wild pitch. Austin earned a base on balls to load the bases for the second time in that frame. In the next at-bat, a wild pitch scored Clyde and moved Austin and Ratledge to second and third base respectively. Senay struck out to leave the base runners stranded in scoring position.
The bullpen sealed the deal for State as the hurlers following Keglovits combined for 5.1 innings, one hit, five strikeouts and one walk.
“We have a good pitching staff,” Avent said. “We have a deep bullpen and a good bullpen. They came in throwing strikes, and we were able to use them tonight.”
Senior pitcher Josh Easley, who entered the game with two outs in the fourth, pitched a perfect fifth inning by striking out the first and third batter while forcing a fly out to Adametz in between.
Redshirt senior southpaw Grant Sasser entered the game in the sixth and retired all three batters he faced, including striking out the last batter he faced.
The last three hurlers to enter the game for State were all seniors. Ethan Ogburn replaced Sasser and struck out two of three batters to shut down Old Dominion in the seventh frame. Chris Overman entered the game in the eighth. Overman retired all but one batter in the inning while giving up a one-out walk. After surrendering a leadoff double in the ninth inning, Ryan Wilkins closed out the game by retiring the next three batters.
The Pack will travel to Winston-Salem this weekend for a three-game set against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The road series will begin Friday at BB&T Ballpark at 6 p.m.
