In a tightly contested, back-and-forth affair at Doak Field Friday night, the NC State baseball team fell to rival UNC-Chapel Hill, 6-5, to open up a three-game ACC series.
The Wolfpack (31-9, 15-7 ACC) held a 4-3 lead entering the eighth inning, but the Tar Heels (29-13, 16-6 ACC) were able to push three runs across in the frame to secure the win. Freshman catcher Patrick Bailey was the highlight at the plate for the Pack, going 2 for 4 with a big home run in the fourth inning.
“You’ve got to just put this one to bed as soon as you can, and come back ready to play tomorrow,” Wolfpack head coach Elliott Avent said. “Just a good ball game. Both teams gave everything they had, and they just came out on top.
Freshman righty Reid Johnston (6-0, 2.98 ERA) got the nod on the mound for the Pack, his second straight weekend start. He lasted 4.2 innings, allowing three runs on six hits and striking out five. Avent had high praise for his starter.
“I thought he pitched great,” Avent said. “He’s a freshman, and he’s pitched very, very well for us. I actually thought he pitched very well tonight. Bad break at the end.”
Sophomore lefty Kent Klyman (3-2, 2.89) relieved Johnston in the fifth to escape a bases-loaded jam, and threw 2.1 strong innings before falling apart. Klyman gave up three runs in the eighth inning, taking the loss.
For the Tar Heels, righty Cooper Criswell started on the mound, giving up four runs on seven hits over 4.1 innings of work. The winning pitcher was Ben Casparius, who tossed a scoreless seventh inning.
NC State opened up the scoring in the second inning, linking together three hits and a sacrifice fly to plate two runs. Bailey and senior outfielder Brock Deatherage led the frame off with back-to-back singles, and came around to score on a single from senior second baseman Stephen Pitarra and a sacrifice fly off the bat of redshirt sophomore third baseman Dillon Cooper.
After not allowing a base runner through the opening three innings, Johnston gave up three straight singles to the Heels to open up the fourth frame. All three runners came around to score, putting UNC up 3-2, with left fielder Ashton McGee delivering a two-run, two-out single.
The Carolina lead didn’t last long, as Bailey led the Wolfpack fourth off with a blast over the wall in right field, tying the game at 3-3 with his sixth home run of the season and second of the year against the Tar Heels.
“It was just a breaking ball that he kind of left over the middle of the plate,” Bailey said. “I was just able to get the barrel out there and get some loft under it, and it ended up going out.”
Johnston loaded the bases again in the fifth, but the Pack was able to escape the jam with no damage done on the scoreboard. After loading the bases with a one-out walk, Johnston picked up a big strikeout for the second out. He would make way for sophomore lefty Kent Klyman, who induced a line drive for the final out of the inning.
The Wolfpack jumped back ahead in the fifth, as senior outfielder Josh McLain came around to score on a double to the wall off the bat of junior outfielder Brett Kinneman. McLain reached first after getting hit by a pitch to start the inning, and easily scored on Kinneman’s team-leading 46th RBI of the year, which tied UNC’s Michael Busch for the ACC lead in the category.
Klyman threw 2.1 good innings of baseball after coming in to get to the eighth inning, but was roughed around by the Tar Heels in his third full frame. The first four runners of the inning reached base for the Heels, with all three runs coming across thanks to an Ike Freeman double and an error, putting UNC up 6-4.
NC State didn’t die there, pulling one run back in the eighth to make it 6-5. McLain drew a two-out, bases loaded walk to drive in the run. Kinneman followed McLain, and was rung up looking at strike three, much to the dismay of both Kinneman and Avent.
“I thought we had a chance to win it the whole time,” Bailey said. “We put some really good at bats up. The whole game we were pretty much one swing away from getting the lead.”
The Pack couldn’t get anything across in the ninth, falling 6-5. NC State now finds itself in familiar territory, having lost an ACC series opener four times already this year. The Wolfpack, however, has yet to drop a conference series and Avent feels confident in his team’s ability to bounce back.
“I’ve just got confidence in this team,” Avent said. “This team gives me confidence. They play well. They play hard. They like to win. They compete. They’ll do that tomorrow.”
NC State and UNC will return to Doak Field at 6:30 p.m. Saturday evening, with NC State senior lefty Brian Brown (6-0, 0.99 ERA) slated to throw against Carolina righty Austin Bergner (4-1, 4.53 ERA).
Brett Kinneman, a junior outfielder, avoids being tagged out during the baseball game against UNC-Chapel Hill on Friday, April 27, 2018 in Doak Field. The Wolfpack lost to the Tarheels 5-6, starting off the weekend against UNC-CH on a bad foot.
