NC State baseball dropped five games in a row early in the season, and some fans were already tuning out. But after its fifth consecutive win with an 11-1 victory over Campbell Wednesday afternoon at Doak Field, the Pack has seemingly climbed out of the hole it had dug itself into.
In a midweek matchup at Doak Field, NC State (8-5) routed the Camels (4-9) with an exclamation point in the fifth inning, where the Pack scored seven runs on a grand slam and a three-run home run.
Surprisingly, the starting pitcher for the Wolfpack was the typical closer, sophomore right-hander Jacob Dudan — the first start of his collegiate career. In his first four appearances this season, Dudan struggled with a 20.25 ERA and had given up seven walks and six hits in just 2.2 innings.
Against Campbell, Dudan looked like the pitcher who was rated the No. 1 reliever in the country by D1Baseball. He pitched three shutout innings on 34 pitches while giving up no hits, and recording six strikeouts.
Head coach Elliot Avent said that the way things started for Dudan, and for the Pack, is just the way baseball is.
“I watched Matt Holiday when he was living here in Raleigh, and he was playing with the MudCats, and Matt was really scuffling,” Avent said. “And obviously, now he’s probably a Hall of Famer — so it just takes time to get going.”
The Pack scuffled in its five-game losing streak, but after coming through in both of its midweek games against in-state opponents, UNCG and Campbell, the Pack has gotten things back on track in time for conference play.
On the offensive side, NC State put together 11 hits, six walks and four extra-base hits; including two home runs. Every Pack batter reached base, with only sophomore first baseman Chris McHugh — the Pack’s best all-around hitter this season — not recording a hit.
Furthermore, the top two run providers for the Pack, McHugh and senior shortstop Justin DeCriscio, the latter of whom did not play, did not record an RBI. NC State is getting offense from players that have been dormant so far this season.
Two of those players were junior shortstop Matt Heavner and junior left fielder Josh Hogue. Before the game, Hogue was batting .216 in 44 plate appearances, while Heavner was batting .071 in 19 plate appearances.
Against Campbell, Heavner hit a three-run homer — his first of the season — and Hogue recorded a grand slam, his second home run in as many games.
“I didn’t start as hot as I wanted to, but just staying confident in myself and doing the little things in the cages,” Hogue said. “I knew I was going to break through at some point. … Having a good approach when you’re struggling and a good mindset, and just staying confident in yourself — It’ll come through.”
Next, the Pack will play a series against Wright State from Friday to Sunday at Doak Field. Game 1 is set for 3 p.m.
