The NC State baseball team topped Florida State 5-3 Saturday afternoon behind a strong combined pitching performance and several clutch hits to avoid the sweep and beat Florida State in Tallahassee for the first time since 2012.
The Wolfpack (40-14, 19-12 ACC) has now won 40 games for the first time since 2013 when it advanced to the College World Series and the 19 conference wins matches the team’s ACC win total from 2013 as well.
The Seminoles (39-17, 16-13 ACC) came back to win the first two games of the series and will finish in fourth place in the ACC Atlantic Division.
Junior left fielder Brett Kinneman turned in an impressive 2-for-3 performance with a double, a home run and a walk. Junior first baseman Evan Edwards drove in three runs and socked a home run of his own. Sophomore left-hander Kent Klyman picked up the win in relief, his seventh of the year, after throwing 2.2 innings of two-run ball.
A pair of early solo home runs put NC State on the board early. Edwards launched his 13th home run of the season to right field in the third frame to put the Pack up 1-0, and Kinneman followed with a long ball of his own in the fourth inning, his team-high 17th home run of the season to extend the lead to 2-0.
Freshman left-hander David Harrison got the start for the Pack, throwing 3.1 scoreless innings before running into trouble in the fourth inning.
After falling behind in the count 2-0 to the Seminoles’ top hitter and catcher Cal Raleigh, Harrison yielded a solo home run to left field to cut the lead to 2-1. Harrison managed one more out, but a double by Florida State with two outs in the fourth ended his day as head coach Elliott Avent called on redshirt junior right-hander Nolan Clenney to record the final out of the frame.
Klyman came in to preserve the one-run lead in the fifth inning. After loading the bases with one out, he induced a strikeout and fielder’s choice to keep the 2-1 NC State lead intact.
Florida State starter Cole Sands tossed six solid innings before the Pack loaded the bases to start the seventh. Sands was pulled from the game, giving way to Clayton Kwiatkowski.
Faced with a bases-loaded, no-out situation, Kwiatkowski walked Edwards as the Pack extended its lead to 3-1. Senior third baseman Stephen Pitarra grounded into a double play, scoring Kinneman from third to push the score to 4-1.
The Seminoles answered immediately, plating two runs of their own in the seventh inning. Klyman, after getting through the fifth and sixth frames unscathed, got two quick outs to start the seventh but walked a batter and plunked another before giving up an RBI single by Rhett Aplin to cut the lead to 4-2.
Redshirt freshman left-hander Connor Centala, coming off an impressive outing Friday in which he tossed three scoreless innings, was brought in to pitch to get the final out but surrendered an RBI double to Raleigh.
Centala would eventually record the final out as the Wolfpack lead stood at 4-3 after seven frames.
A Kinneman fly ball to right fielder Steven Wells started the ninth, but Wells lost it in the sun and Kinneman was able to advance to second in what was ruled a double. The Florida State miscue proved costly, as freshman catcher Patrick Bailey advanced Kinneman to third on a groundout and Edwards drove him in with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 5-3.
Redshirt senior Joe O’Donnell pitched a clean ninth inning to pick up his 11th save of the year as the Wolfpack secured the 5-3 victory to conclude the regular season.
With the win, the Pack remains in contention to host an NCAA regional depending on its ACC Tournament performance next week.
The Wolfpack will be the No. 3 seed entering the ACC Tournament, which starts May 22 at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
