DURHAM, N.C. — What originally appeared to be a pitcher’s duel quickly turned into a track meet in the fourth inning and NC State baseball was left in the dust, suffering a 16-6 loss after just eight innings at Duke.
The Wolfpack’s (18-10, 5-4 ACC) Sunday struggles have become a concerning trend, now dropping each weekend finale in its three ACC series. Each time a new issue has arisen and this week it was fielding errors. The Pack appeared a step slow in the field, with three errors officially. Good teams like the Blue Devils (19-10, 7-5 ACC) will always take advantage of free bases and that’s exactly what happened.
The Wolfpack played clean baseball for three innings, then opened the top of the fourth with a home run. Junior left fielder Josh Hogue hammered the baseball past right-centerfield, helping the Pack punch first. With sophomore right-handed pitcher Ryan Marohn in a rhythm and the bats finally waking up, NC State was in prime position to clinch the series — then disaster struck.
NC State surrendered nine runs over the next two innings, completely throwing away any hope of securing a series victory. It was a death by a thousand cuts for NC State as Duke strung together single after single. Duke started the frame with four hits in a row before Marohn finally managed to strike one out. It was too little, too late as the Blue Devils were swinging the bats with confidence and drove in two more off a double. Down 3-1, the mistakes started to add for NC State as a wild pitch and the first fielding error let two more score before the frame mercifully ended.
If the damage stopped in the fourth inning, maybe the Pack could have rallied. Instead, walks piled up, another error was made in the field and the Wolfpack gave away four more runs. Midway through the inning, sophomore right-handed pitcher Jacob Dudan stepped in for Marohn, but Duke was too hot and kept scoring. NC State was fortunate to escape the inning only down 9-1 since three runners were stranded on base at the end of the frame.
Despite falling behind so quickly, the Wolfpack did its best to fight its way back. Sophomore first baseman Chris McHugh drove in a run with an RBI double in the sixth, while the Wolfpack hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh. Another homer in the eighth helped NC State reach a respectable six runs, but it was too little too late. Duke continued posting runs until they eventually run-ruled NC State 16-6 in the eighth.
Dropping one series is no reason to panic, especially against quality competition like Duke. The important thing for NC State will be maintaining its confidence and finding its way in the field. Baseball can be an unforgiving sport where a single error can be the difference in wins and losses — playing with confidence and focus is the best way to minimize those mistakes.
Next up, NC State will take on UNC-Greensboro Tuesday for a matchup at Doak Field. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. The game will be available on ACC Network Extra.
