NC State baseball looked like it was in for a comfortable win after the seventh inning. With an 11-2 lead going into the eighth, the Pack took its foot off the gas pedal and hoped to cruise to victory.
Instead, the Wolfpack’s pitching staff crumbled, giving up nine runs in the eighth and ninth innings, allowing Canisius to tie it at 11 going into the bottom of the ninth. Despite the Golden Griffins snatching all the momentum, the Wolfpack regathered in the bottom of the ninth as sophomore first baseman Matt Ossenfort brought in the game-winning run for a dramatic 12-11 victory Saturday evening at Doak Field.
“Whether we kind of lost our focus, I don’t think so,” said head coach Elliot Avent. “I don’t really know, but you’ve gotta give our guys credit … a game like that will take a couple days off your life, and for the team to come back and win, I think it says a lot.”
After the Golden Griffins tied the game, they had a chance to take the lead but junior right-handed pitcher Andrew Shaffner came in to retire the next three batters to close the top of the ninth, avoiding giving up a disastrous go-ahead run to Canisius.
“You gotta give a lot of credit to Andrew Shaffner going out there, when they had all of the momentum,” Avent said.
In the bottom of the ninth — after all of the drama, and having no momentum — the Wolfpack did not cower. Freshman center fielder Ty Head got on base with a leadoff walk, and junior shortstop Matt Heavner moved him into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt.
Ossenfort came to the plate and did not shudder — delivering the walk-off hit to avoid an embarrassing loss. Head wasn’t even safe on the initial call. It took a challenge from Avent and the staff for the walk-off to even count.
Before NC State needed a hero in the final frame, it had sophomore first baseman Chris McHugh and senior shortstop Justin DeCriscio getting it done in the batter’s box throughout the game. The fellow transfers and roommates combined for eight of the Pack’s 11 RBIs. McHugh went 4-4 at the plate, while DeCriscio went 2-2 with two walks. Four of their six hits were doubles.
“Me and him will go back home, watch reels and talk about it,” McHugh said. “We got that connection. He was getting on base for me, and I was driving him in.”
McHugh and DeCriscio are ranked one and two in RBIs for the Pack, with 15 and 10 respectively.
Right-handed pitchers sophomore Jacob Dudan and senior Carson Kelly were mostly responsible for blowing the 11-2 lead. Kelly gave up five runs and recorded just one out in his appearance. Dudan also recorded only one out, giving up a three-run homer to end his day.
Dudan was supposed to be the ace of the bullpen but has racked up an ERA of 20.25 and blown two saves in four appearances.
To get back on track, Avent said that Dudan just needs to get through this tough stretch and find his confidence again.
“Life is tough, and baseball is tough,” Avent said. “And you’re talking about a guy who went to Georgia and struck out Charlie Condon when the bases were loaded with one out, in one of the most raucous places to play baseball and on one of the biggest stages. … The whole game is confidence.”
The Pack will finish the series against Canisius tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Doak Field.
