N.C. State defeated the Northwestern Wildcats (5-12) for the second time in two days by a score of 8-7 Wednesday afternoon. The Pack improved to 12-10 on the season in a close, back and forth game.
Junior third baseman and captain Andrew Ciencin led the offense with two hits and most notably a clutch two out RBI double that gave the Pack the final lead in the eighth. Sophomore infielder Matt Bergquist also collected two hits on the day, knocked in a run and scored two. Sophomore pitcher Ethan Ogburn gave State a spark out of their bullpen picking up his second victory of the season.
Ciencin’s double for the Pack was a big one, as they’ve struggled offensively throughout most of the year, especially in clutch, two-out situations. Despite the struggles, Wolfpack remains confident and will look to build some confidence from today’s performance.
“I think aggressiveness and confidence will take over,” Ciencin said. “Once you start competing and playing hard every day, everything starts to fall back in place.”
Ogburn pitched well for the Pack in relief of junior starter Josh Easley, giving the Pack a chance to get back in the game and eventually take the win. He has continued to prove his versatility as both a starter and relief pitcher throughout the season as he put in four innings of work, allowing one run on three hits and striking out four.
“I wanted to pound the strike zone… I knew that our bats [would] get going,” Ogburn said. “I had really good command today. I was able to stay in the zone with all three of my pitches.”
Northwestern took an early 1-0 lead on a pair of doubles in the first and extended its lead in the third. A pair of walks put runners on first and second when Chris Kontos hit an RBI double to add one more for Northwestern. With runners on first and third, Easley walked the bases loaded and plunked the next batter to give the Cats a 3-0 lead.
Easley worked only three innings allowing three runs on the day. He only gave up three hits but ran into some control issues walking four and hitting another batter.
After Bergquist led the third inning off with a double and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch to tie the game, the Pack added three more to take the lead in the fourth. With runners on first and second, sophomore infielder Chris Diaz came through with a two-out double to tie the game. Bergquist drove in Diaz with a single of his own and put the Pack on top 4-3.
However, the lead was short lived as the Wildcats’ first batter in the fifth hit a homerun to tie the game at four runs apiece. After a single, a walk and a passed ball, Northwestern took a 5-4 lead on an RBI groundout.
State tied the game in the seventh on three consecutive singles to make it 5-5 and took the lead for good in the eighth, which was highlighted by Ciencin’s double. The momentum was in State’s favor as it loaded the bases with no one out until junior outfielder John Gianis lined a ball off the pitcher who somehow recovered to start a 1-2-5 double play. With two outs and runners on first and second, Ciencin ripped an RBI double to give the Pack a 6-5 edge.
The Pack added some insurance in the eighth when junior catcher Pratt Maynard lifted a towering fly ball directly over the infield that dropped in between everyone. The pitcher was charged with an error and State scored two more to make it 8-5. Northwestern made it interesting in the final frame scoring two but junior relief pitcher Grant Sasser came in, earning his fourth save of the season.
The Pack will face a Clemson team this weekend that ranks 15th in the country and needs to bounce back from a 1-5 start in the ACC. For a team that has been struggling this year relative to their expectations, it will look to build confidence with these two wins heading into the series this weekend.
“I don’t think we played perfect but we won,” head coach Elliott Avent said. “To get two wins in the middle of the week is outstanding”
The Pack returns to Doak Field at Dail Park against the Clemson Tigers Friday at 6:30 for the first game of the weekend series.
