N.C. State swept East Carolina in a doubleheader Wednesday night at Dail Stadium. The Wolfpack took care of business easily in the first game, defeating the Pirates, 7-2, but needed extra innings to take the second game, 5-4. The 11-inning nightcap marked the Pack’s longest contest since 2012.
The Wolfpack (25-10 overall 12-4 ACC) came into Wednesday’s contest riding a five-game win streak. State was returning from a road trip to up-state New York, where the team swept Syracuse in a two-game series. That momentum paired with the atmosphere of its home stadium provided the perfect storm for the Pack.
“It was just nice to be home again,” junior pitcher Emily Weiman said. “Mid-week games are sometimes tough, but you can back down against any of the competition.”
Weiman got the start in the first game against the Pirates, giving up only four hits and not allowing any runs until the sixth inning. The reigning ACC Pitcher of the Year struck out seven batters and only allowed two walks on the game.
Weiman was very comfortable on the mound due to the run support the Pack was able to deliver. Sophomore first baseman Hanna Sommer was two-for-two at the plate with a home run and four RBIs on the night.
“Run support, you can’t say enough about that,” Weiman said. “It was really nice to have that little cushion behind me.”
After taking the first game by a five-point margin, the Pack looked to carry its momentum into the nightcap.
Freshman pitcher Courtney Mirabella got the start in the second game of the doubleheader and showed maturity on the mound. Despite giving up a lead-off home run in the first inning and showing control issues early, the talented righty settled down and gave the Pack four strong innings of work, tallying six strikeouts and giving up only one earned run.
“[Mirabella] threw pretty good,” head coach Shawn Rychcik said. “She gave up the home run to the first batter and then was pretty good.”
Mirabella ran out of gas though towards the halfway mark due to a high pitch count, causing the Pack to bring Weiman back to close the second game. Weiman gave fans déjà vu when her performance mirrored the start of Mirabella. The Pasadena, Md. native gave up three runs in her first inning on the mound, allowing the Pirates to tie the game at four apiece in the fifth.
“Our plan was to get Courtney three or four innings and then have the lead and then have Emily come in and close the door,” Rychcik said. “It didn’t work out that way, she came in and had a tough fifth inning.”
However, Weiman proved trustworthy for the remainder of the game, shutting out the Pirates in the final six innings.
Run support was not there for State in the nightcap, as the Pack scored four runs in the third inning and then went scoreless until extra innings.
“Pitchers will tell you that they just get into that mode,” Rychcik said. “I thought Emily got into that mode where she could’ve gone all day, I really feel that if we had 10 more innings to go Emily could’ve pitched all 10.”
State had opportunity after opportunity to end the game and extra innings but couldn’t seem to wrap things up. In the bottom of the 11th inning, the Pack dealt the finishing blow to ECU, as sophomore third baseman Lana Van Dyken delivered her first home run of the year in walk-off fashion.
“It felt amazing,” Van Dyken said. “It was the icing on the cake of the win before it and then just a long game after.”
The walk-off win gives State its best start since 2006 and improves its record at home to 19-1. The Pack will look to improve upon that mark as they travel to Gainesville, Fla. to face Florida A&M and the No. 4 Florida Gators Saturday.
