The NC State baseball team lost 13-5 in its series opener against No. 8 Florida State on Saturday, March 19.
A hot start gave the Seminoles (12-5, 3-1 ACC) a 10-0 lead after three innings, and the Wolfpack (10-7, 0-3 ACC) just couldn’t produce enough offense of its own throughout the afternoon.
Senior starting left-handed pitcher David Harrison held Florida State to just one run in the first on a leadoff single and two-out double, but the game was broken open in the second inning with two RBI doubles and a three-run homer to bring the lead to 6-0.
A walk and a controversial ground-rule double call in the third put two on early, allowing three more runs to cross the plate on a groundout and an RBI single before the Pack turned to redshirt junior right-hander Logan Adams out of its bullpen.
Adams allowed one more run on an RBI single before the inning was over but was able to hold down the Florida State offense through the next three and two-thirds innings while striking out four.
Despite loading the bases in the second, it wasn’t until the fourth inning that the Pack offense could bring home a runner, as solo bombs off by sophomore outfielder Dominic Pilolli and freshman shortstop Payton Green gave the Wolfpack two of those runs back.
Having just hit his first collegiate home run, Green continued his success at the plate in the sixth with a three-run shot to left field, bringing the score to 10-5.
The Seminole offense would not be held down for long though, as it loaded the bases to start the seventh, leading NC State to turn to freshman lefty reliever Win Scott. A two-RBI single allowed Florida State to take two more of those runs back, but a quick rain delay directly following stopped any sort of rally that may have been cooking.
Florida State grabbed its last run on a sac fly in the eighth, and the NC State offense could not produce anything else in the last few innings, marking the Pack’s seventh loss in its last nine games.
Still searching for its first ACC win of the season, the Wolfpack will conclude the series against Florida State on March 20 with a doubleheader slated to begin at 12 p.m. in Tallahassee.
