Expectations were high going into his 2024 season. Then-sophomore left-handed pitcher Dominic Fritton was coming off of a stellar Freshman All-American campaign, quickly becoming one of NC State baseball’s best arms.
Fritton boasted a .211 batting average against and had the lowest ERA among starting pitchers with 3.59 in his freshman season. In ACC play, he led all NC State pitchers with 56 strikeouts and recorded two saves. He was everything and more that one could ask for from a young pitcher.
So the expectations were high going into his sophomore campaign but year two held a different story. His production dipped instead of improving. Fritton’s ERA rose to 7.64, and he never seemed comfortable on the mound. Every struggle compounded the pressure. It all came to a head in Fritton’s start in the College World Series when the Florida Gators got to him early in the second inning, putting up four runs to dig the Wolfpack’s grave in an eventual 5-4 defeat.
Fast forward another year, and there was still pressure for him to return to his freshman form. But now, Fritton is the veteran starter with College World Series experience. How would he handle the pressure of being the number one guy?
No matter what, head coach Elliott Avent has stuck with Fritton, knowing that he would get through the challenges — a meaningful deed for a player who was down on his luck.
“It means a lot to me that they stuck with me throughout the year despite all the struggles,” Fritton said at media day in January. “It made it easier to come back here knowing I’d have the opportunity to get better.”
It is safe to say that Fritton has gotten past the struggles of 2024. It is early in the season, but his ERA is just 1.26, by far the team leader. Fritton ranks fifth in the ACC in ERA, while having the second most innings pitched, demonstrating his dominance thus far.
Even as Fritton remained at the top of the conference statistically, the team struggled for a short stretch, posting a five-game losing streak. Giving up five runs and six walks against Ohio State at the Jax Classic, albeit four of the runs unearned, was a low point in the season for Fritton.
“Since that Jacksonville weekend, I think we kind of came together as a team and wanted to have more fun,” Fritton said. “I think we were putting a lot of pressure on ourselves early, and now we’re all just having fun. We’re all enjoying being out on the field and putting the work in.”
Much like his sophomore season, Fritton was feeling the pressure bestowed upon the team by pre-season rankings and the attention that comes with it. Since that loss to Ohio State, Fritton has given up just three runs in 19.2 innings pitched, including a complete-game victory over Virginia Tech, giving up just one run.
“It’s special to me because I know what he turned down last year to come back to NC State,” Avent said. “I know what that meant to him, and I know how hard he worked in the off-season. … So when a player works that hard, you don’t always get rewarded in this game. This game is not an equal opportunity place where — hey, I do this. I want this — that’s not the way baseball works. And to see him get rewarded is pretty special to all of us.”
After his freshman campaign, Fritton ranked No. 56 on D1 Baseball’s draft prospect rankings. And if Fritton continues this stellar season it could put him in a prime position to play in the big leagues.
