The N.C. State baseball team’s woes continued Wednesday night, as the Wolfpack was shut out by East Carolina at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville. State was without its team captain, junior shortstop Trea Turner, as the All-American was serving a one-game suspension following an ejection against Clemson Monday.
The two teams played earlier in the season, as the Pack (19-13 overall, 5-10 ACC) edged the Pirates (20-13 overall, 8-4 C-USA) at Doak Field, 3-2, April 2.
However, the Pack’s victory over ECU was not characteristic of the way the State team has played the past month. Since March 14, the Pack has lost 11 of its last 16 contests.
Despite its long term struggles, State was coming off two impressive wins over No. 15 Clemson on Sunday and Monday and was looking to build momentum.
The Pirates came out swinging in the first inning. With runners on first and third, junior right fielder Ian Townsend hit a sac fly to center field, sending a runner home and giving ECU an early one-run lead.
The Pirates positioned themselves to strike again in the bottom of the second, placing runners on first and third. After a wild pitch from junior pitcher Logan Jernigan, freshman second baseman Charlie Yorgen sprinted home to bump the score to 2-0.
State failed to come up with an answer for ECU’s dominance in the first two innings, as the Pack remained scoreless after multiple missed opportunities when having runners on third.
East Carolina’s offensive drive continued in the bottom of the fourth. Base hits from Yorgen and sophomore center fielder Garrett Brooks put runners on first and third, yet again. Junior shortstop Hunter Allen brought Yorgen home after executing an RBI safety squeeze bunt. Directly after, senior left-fielder Dylan Brown hit an RBI single to right center, sending Brooks home to bring the score to 4-0.
“I think our situational hitting is getting better and better,” ECU head coach Billy Godwin said. “Two strikes, less than two outs with a runner on third. We couldn’t have scripted it any better.”
N.C. State’s hitting never clicked, as the batting order failed to gain any rhythm to answer ECU’s aggressive play. From the leadoff spot to the bottom of the order, countless Wolfpack batters continued to fail to make contact at the plate, and the game became characterized by ECU’s one-sided momentum.
In the bottom of the seventh, sophomore pitcher Will Gilbert took the mound for the Pack. After allowing a walk and missing an easy out off a misthrow, the Pirates scored again.
In the bottom of the seventh, senior designated hitter Drew Reynolds drilled a two RBI triple that further expanded the Pirates’ lead, 6-0. After sophomore pitcher John Olczak was called from the bullpen to try and close the inning, senior third baseman Zach Houchins knocked a single to center field, sending Reynolds home.
Notable Wolfpack hitters had weak at bats Wednesday. Junior leftfielder Brett Austin was one-for-five at the plate, junior centerfielder Jake Fincher was zero-for-four, junior outfielder Logan Ratledge was one-for-four and sophomore catcher John Mangum was zero-for-three.
Jernigan pitched six innings against the Pirates. The right-hander allowed six hits, four runs and threw three strikeouts. With the loss, Jernigan’s record drops to 4-3 on the season.
“This was as sluggish as I’ve seen our team ever play,” Wolfpack head coach Elliott Avent said. “Maybe we just needed some rest. Coming back at 4:30 a.m. last night from Clemson may have just turned our clocks around. When we play with energy, we’re good.”
The Pack will look to avoid another slump when it travels to Durham Bulls Athletic Park for a three-game stint against Duke. First pitch of Game One will be at 6 p.m. Friday.
