N.C. State (16-6, 3-3 ACC) held a strong lead throughout its Tuesday night game against UNC-Greensboro (9-10, 0-3 SoCon), but the Spartans charged back to defeat the Wolfpack in 11 innings at Doak Field, 8-5.
“We did not play hard and we did not play well,” head coach Elliott Avent said. “We did not play like this game was important.”
Sophomore center fielder Jake Fincher was the silver lining in State’s dark cloud of defeat. The Charlotte native had three hits in six at-bats and drove in two runs in Tuesday’s game.
“When you play hard and come up short, there is not much to say,” said.
Sophomore right fielder Brett Austin saw his 10-game hitting streak snap as he was hitless in four at-bats, but he managed to cross the plate after walking in the third inning.
Trouble started early for the Pack as sophomore pitcher Logan Jernigan left the game after 0.2 innings. In that stretch, he allowed a run on one hit and four walks.
“He could not find the strike zone,” Avent said.
Junior pitcher Andrew Woeck followed Jernigan and threw for 3.1 shutout innings, striking out three and holding UNCG to two hits.
Senior pitcher Josh Easley came to the mound to pitch 1.2 innings and allowed a run on two hits. Redshirt senior southpaw Grant Sasser succeeded Easley and was on the hill for 1.1 frames, holding the Spartans to one run on one hit while striking out two batters.
Senior Ryan Wilkins (2-1, 1.56 ERA) earned the loss after giving up four runs, three of them earned, on two hits and two walks while striking out four Spartans in three innings.
“I tried to go out there and battle, but I could not get it done,” Wilkins said.
Sophomore left-hander Travis Orwig earned a strikeout before giving way to senior right-hander Chris Overman who closed out UNCG’s offense by striking out two and walking one while giving up an unearned run in 0.2 innings.
After dropping behind by a run due to Jernigan’s four free passes, State jumped ahead in the third inning. Following a leadoff triple by senior left fielder Bryan Adametz, sophomore second baseman Logan Ratledge grounded out to second base while Adametz crossed the plate to tie the game.
Austin walked with one out in the frame. Senior first baseman Tarran Senay hit a single to put runners on the corners as Austin advanced to third base. Fincher followed with an RBI bunt single that plated Austin. Following a wild pitch that moved Fincher and Senay to second and third respectively, sophomore pitcher Carlos Rodon grounded out to shortstop as Senay reached home plate.
UNCG responded in the fifth inning with a solo home run into left-center field by Spartan senior center fielder Zach Leach. The Pack returned to the scoreboard in the sixth inning when Fincher scored Ratledge on a base hit to center field.
The Spartans turned their luck around in the eighth, scoring three runs off of Wilkins, capitalizing on a two-run home run by UNCG senior shortstop T.J. Spina.
State would not settle for defeat easily. After a leadoff double by Ratledge, Senay walked to put runners on first and second with one away. A failed double play attempt by the Spartan defense tied the game as UNCG redshirt freshman second baseman Nin Marrero’s throw to first base was off target. Ratledge, who made it to third on the batted ball, took advantage of the error and scored.
The top of the 11th inning started off with two walks from Wilkins. After Orwig entered and struck out the next batter, Overman took over on the mound and walked the subsequent Spartan to load the bases. During the next at-bat, Overman’s pitch got by Austin and a run scored. On the next play, Morgan’s throw to first base was misaligned as UNCG scored two runners to seal the Pack’s fate.
State will travel to Charlottesville, Va. to take on the Virginia Cavaliers for a three-game series.
