N.C. State lost its grasp on a six-point lead in the eighth inning, falling to a late comeback from Duke, Sunday at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The 11-10 loss dropped the Wolfpack’s conference record to 6-12.
State (20-15 overall, 6-12 ACC) fell to the Blue Devils in Friday’s contest, 2-0, but rebounded nicely with a 6-2 victory Saturday.
The Pack came out strong in the first inning. After a walk and a stolen base from junior shortstop Trea Turner, sophomore third baseman Andrew Knizner knocked an RBI double to right center.
Junior second baseman Logan Ratledge then hit a double to left field, which sent Knizner home to give State an early 2-0 lead over the Blue Devils. State continued to build on its hot start in the third and fourth, recording one run each of the two innings.
With his team down by three, Duke third baseman Jordan Betts blasted a solo shot in the bottom of the fifth to keep the game competitive. The ball sailed over the 32-foot wall in left field and hit the DBAP snorting bull directly in the nostril.
Duke’s hitting continued to improve in the sixth inning. With runners on second and third, senior center fielder Mark Lumpa was grounded out at first, which allowed freshman second baseman Andy Perez to slip home.
N.C. State kept its composure after Duke’s two unanswered runs, and capitalized off of key at-bats in the seventh inning.
The takeover began with a RBI double to right field from junior catcher Brett Austin that sent Turner in to score. Austin came home after the next at bat, when Knizner singled to left field.
Directly following the two hits, Ratledge drilled a two-run homer over the left field wall to mark his fourth RBI on the day, giving the Pack a comfortable 8-4 lead over the Blue Devils.
The Pack continued its fluid hitting in the top of the eighth, beginning with an RBI single to right field from Turner, which sent Fincher home.
After advancing to second base off a single from Austin, Turner stole third on a throwback to the pitcher, marking his 100th career steal. Turner is the first to reach this milestone in N.C. State history.
Turner was able to make it home after a single from Knizner, giving the Pack a six-point lead and seemingly putting the game out of reach.
However, Duke would not go away quietly. The Blue Devils’ batting order held its ground in the bottom of the eighth and rebounded.
Betts led the comeback with a three-run homer, his second home run of the day, pumping life into the Blue Devils.
“After Betts hit his second home run making it 10-7, I started to wonder what the end was going to turn into,” Turner said. “Before that, I thought we kind of had it all the way. Anything can happen if you’re only down by a few.”
Shortly after, junior shortstop Aaron Cohn launched a two-run homer, shrinking the Pack’s lead to a score of 10-9.
N.C. State’s hitting was silent in the top of the ninth, as the team remained shocked from Duke’s late comeback. The Pack’s fate was in the hands of senior left-hander D.J. Thomas, who took over on the mound.
With a runner on first, Lumpa popped a bunt between the plate and the mound. Austin hastily grabbed the ball and overthrew first base, giving the Duke runner enough time to score.
Thomas proceeded to strike out a batter, but allowed two walks, loading the bases. With one out, Cohn hit a walk-off single up the middle. As the Duke team exited the home dugout to swarm its clutch hitter, Lumpa ran home to conclude the Devils’ wild comeback.
“Its just unfortunate,” head coach Elliott Avent said. “If you’re going to walk nine batters in college baseball and hit two, then you probably should get beat.”
N.C. State will wrap up its time at DBAP Tuesday against UNC-Chapel Hill.
