The team stands while the national anthem is played before the 0-4 loss to Coastal Carolina on June 4 on Doak Field." />
Nick Faulkner
The team stands while the national anthem is played before the 0-4 loss to Coastal Carolina on June 4 on Doak Field.
NC State baseball’s annual Fall World Series took place this weekend as the team squared off in three intrasquad scrimmages.
Team Piedmonte, led by senior pitcher Johnny Piedmonte, took two of three games in the series against Team Wilder, led by senior pitcher Cory Wilder.
“This is the most fun I’ve ever had in a Fall World Series,” head coach Elliott Avent said. “It shows how much depth we have on this team, both pitching and position player-wise, so that’s encouraging for the future of the program.”
Wilder was the starting pitcher for Team Wilder in game three of the series. He pitched to a 4.61 ERA last year for the Pack in 13 starts. After promptly loading the bases, Team Piedmonte hit three straight singles and tacked on another run later in the first inning to jump out to a 4-0 lead.
Piedmonte took the rubber for his own team to start off the contest. In the top of the second, Team Wilder trimmed the lead to one with a three-run inning.
The game continued to be a back-and-forth affair with several lead changes and ties. In the top of the eighth, sophomore catcher Jack Conley hit a two-run home run to left field for Team Piedmonte to tie the game at eight runs apiece. Freshman second baseman Will Wilson hit an RBI double later in the inning to put his team up 9-8.
In the bottom of the eighth inning junior second baseman Stephen Pitarra, who hit .291 last season, launched a two-run home run to right field, putting Team Wilder up 10-8.
Each side would go on to score one more run each, but Team Wilder held on to win 11-10.
Regardless of scores, the series is about more than winning, it’s also about getting reps in a real, game-like environment.
“To play with this kind of emotion, this kind of energy, to be playing your buddies on the other side, but really trying to go after them because you want to win, I thought it was three of the best days we’ve ever had here at NC State in the fall,” Avent said. “I couldn’t be more pleased and proud of the guys we got here.”
Junior Evan Mendoza looked sharp at shortstop in the third game of the series, recording several assists. Despite starting mostly at third base last year and pitching the year before, his adequate range and strong arm give Avent and his staff flexibility when it comes to infield positioning.
Both Wilder and Piedmonte pitched well for their teams after each struggled through one inning. Wilder gave up four runs in the first inning and Piedmonte surrendered three in the second inning. Each managed several scoreless frames before being taken out.
After losing several seniors to graduation and others to the MLB Draft, the Wolfpack has several positions to fill for the upcoming season. The Fall World Series and fall practices help to determine what roles players will have.
“Every day is a measuring stick for coaches of things they see,” Avent said. “There’s not a practice that goes by or anything that goes by in the fall where you don’t take mental notice of what’s going on.”
With the Fall World Series over, fall practices will continue along with several scrimmages along the way. The Pack will take on Academy Baseball of Canada Wednesday, Campbell Saturday and Elon Sunday in exhibition matchups. All three games will be at Doak Field.