No. 20 NC State baseball’s midweek struggles continued in its 5-4 loss to UNC-Wilmington at Doak Field.
The Wolfpack (25-17) held a 4-1 lead through five innings, thanks mostly to two home runs by junior catcher Jacob Cozart — his 13th and 14th of the season. For a moment, it looked like the Pack was in a good position to end its recent skid of midweek games.
However, the Seahawks (29-16) went to work shortly afterward, scoring three runs in the sixth inning to tie the game at 4-4 and later scored the go-ahead run in the 10th inning. The Pack failed to score for the fifth consecutive frame, sending the team to its fifth straight midweek loss and second loss to UNCW this season.
“I think our midweek games are too tough,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “You got East Carolina twice, Wilmington twice, Campbell, UNC-Greensboro; you try to stay within the state and keep the travel distance down. All the teams in the state are really, really good.”
To begin the sixth inning, sophomore right-handed pitcher Shane Van Dam came on the mound to relieve freshman left-handed pitcher Ryan Marohn, who largely kept the Seahawks at bay by allowing two hits and one earned run and throwing seven strikeouts in five innings — one shy of his season-high that was set in his collegiate debut on February 18.
Van Dam struggled, however, putting all four batters faced on base, including a bases-loaded walk to give the Seahawks their second run of the game. That was the end of the line for Van Dam, whose night was done after throwing just 19 pitches.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Jacob Dudan then came in relief. Put in a tough spot, Dudan gave up a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch as the Seahawks tied the score at 4-4, although both runs were credited to Van Dam. No matter who the runs were attributed to, the Pack’s 4-1 lead had evaporated.
The Pack nearly regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth when sophomore second baseman Matt Heavner smoked a deep shot to the left field wall and looked like it was going to be a home run. However, UNCW’s Brock Wills made the highlight of the night, leaping over the fence to rob Heavner of what would have been his third home run of the season, keeping the score tied.
Despite the runs scored in the sixth, Dudan held steady on the mound through the final three innings, only letting up one hit and striking out four. Heading to the bottom of the ninth, it was the Wolfpack offense’s turn to seal the deal.
Heavner drew a walk to lead off the inning and reached second base on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore center fielder Eli Serrano III, putting the winning run in scoring position. The Seahawks then intentionally walked graduate first baseman Garrett Pennington, a move that paid off. Both graduate third baseman Alec Makarewicz and Cozart went down to end the scoring threat and send the game to extras.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Derrick Smith came in to relieve Dudan to begin the 10th, and after striking out his first batter faced, Smith gave up a double to UNCW’s Tanner Thach, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position. A groundout gave UNCW two outs but put Thach on third, and it was Trevor Marsh who delivered the game-winning run, hitting an RBI double to center field to send Thach home and put the Seahawks on top for the first time.
The Pack had one last chance in the bottom of the 10th as junior right-fielder Chase Nixon was hit by a pitch and reached second base on a wild pitch, but a flyout by redshirt junior pinch hitter Carson Falsken sealed the deal and granted UNCW its first win in Raleigh since 2011.
NC State scored all of its runs this evening via the long ball. Headlined by two blasts from Cozart in the first and fifth innings, the Pack was the beneficiary of three runs. The Pack also scored another homer in the third inning, this time off the bat of Pennington. With eight homers in his last eight games, Cozart’s bat is undeniably hot and is a large benefit to this team.
“Just trying to do what I can to help this team win,” Cozart said. “I wish I could have pulled it out at the end, but overall, just trying to do what I can to help this team is what it’s about.”
Despite dropping another tough midweek game, the Pack has little time to dwell on it. With three upcoming weekends of top-ranked opponents, there is certainly lots of opportunity for NC State to solidify itself ahead of postseason play.
“There is no message; they know what they’ve gotta do,” Avent said. “We play well, we’re hosting a regional. We still have some work for the postseason, but we know what we’ve got to do.”
NC State will be back in action on Friday, May 3, when it travels to take on No. 7 Florida State. The first pitch is slated for 6 p.m. and will be televised on ACC Network Extra.
