The No. 8 NC State baseball team dropped its first series of the season with an 8-5 loss to the Northeastern Huskies on Saturday, March 5. After rattling off eight wins to start the season, the Pack has now lost three in a row.
Even with the Iditarod getting underway this weekend in Anchorage, Alaska, a different team of Huskies is making strides on the east coast. Northeastern (5-5) has had the Pack’s (8-3) number in both games of the series so far with a combined score of 14-6.
“We’re just not putting all the pieces together,” said freshman designated hitter Will Marcy. “I think we have all the talent in the world. Northeastern is a great club. I think once we start to put the pieces back together, then we’ll be back on the right track.”
The Wolfpack didn’t do itself any favors either, committing four errors across the afternoon including three in the first two innings. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Matt Willadsen had another rough start on the mound as well, struggling to find the strike zone in six innings of work.
The Huskies also took advantage of the Pack’s inability to get out of innings. NC State allowed Northeastern to bat 4-for-14 with two outs and bring in four runs in those situations. Throw in the Huskies’ 6-for-15 performance with runners in scoring position and the Wolfpack simply allowed too many scoring opportunities for Northeastern.
“They have great team speed and can really, really bunt,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “They put a lot of pressure on you and we didn’t handle that very well. But I was proud of the way we battled back, … but we just got to play a lot better.”
The Wolfpack batters didn’t do much damage to keep their team in the game either. A three-run home run by Marcy brought State within striking distance in the bottom of the eighth, but a pair of runs in fifth was all the Pack could muster prior to that at-bat. Two more calls to the Northeastern bullpen and five NC State outs later, the ballgame was over.
Despite the lack of production, the Pack’s offense showed signs of life throughout the contest. NC State was hitting the ball in the air especially well in the early innings with several deep flyouts, but the ball never quite found its way over the fence until Marcy’s eighth-inning homer.
“[Senior center fielder] Devonte [Brown] hit two balls to right field today and [redshirt junior third baseman Josh] Hood hit one to left field, and last weekend, both of those balls are gone,” Avent said. “The ball just wasn’t going anywhere today. Marcy really crushed the one he hit… but the ball just wasn’t traveling today.”
NC State will have an opportunity to regain some momentum in the series finale on Sunday, March 6. First pitch is at 12 p.m.
