Everything went right for NC State baseball as it smothered Cal in a 9-0 shutout victory. From the batter’s box to the pitching mound and everything in between, the Wolfpack looked like the team it was predicted to be in the preseason.
Coming off a statement series win against then-No. 14 Louisville, NC State had to deal with the ACC’s newest obstacle — West Coast travel. With the new additions to the ACC, teams now have to deal with long flights, jet lag and alternating time zones while traveling to the other side of the country, all things that could contribute to a lousy performance.
But instead, NC State played one of its best games of the season. Junior pitcher Dominic Fritton started on the mound for the Wolfpack with a vengeance. After allowing six runs in just three innings in his last start against Louisville, Fritton threw for a full six innings against the Golden Bears, recording six strikeouts and allowing just six hits.
While Fritton anchored the defense with his strong performance, the Wolfpack fired on all cylinders from the batter’s box. Though it went three up, three down in the first inning, senior shortstop Justin Decriscio fought through a 3-2 count and opened up the second inning with a solo homerun.
It marked the California native’s eighth home run of the season. DeCriscio has emerged as one of the Pack’s most consistent batters and shows up when he is needed.
And before Cal could recover, sophomore catcher Alex Sosa crushed a dinger of his own to left field in the next at-bat.
With momentum heavily in its favor on both sides of the ball, the Pack played with confidence. Freshman center fielder Ty Head didn’t see a single strike as he led off the third inning with a four-pitch walk, opening the door for an easy scoring opportunity with zero outs.
With Head on first, sophomore first baseman Chris McHugh blasted a moonshot beyond the left field wall. In fact, McHugh hit the ball 437 feet as it cruised over the building behind the ballpark.
With Cal’s morale completely evaporated, junior right fielder Brayden Fraasman knocked an RBI single to give NC State a 5-0 lead after just three innings.
The next five innings saw a complete offensive standstill. Neither team could get anything going as the pitchers took over. NC State saw one opportunity to score with the bases fully loaded in the seventh inning, but couldn’t capitalize — an issue it’ll need to resolve before the postseason.
But to make up for it, the bats got hot again in the ninth inning. The Head-McHugh connection saw more success as McHugh clobbered an RBI double in the second at-bat of the ninth. Junior left fielder Josh Hogue immediately followed it up with NC State’s fourth home run of the game as the Wolfpack continued to pour salt in the wound.
A final Cal error brought DeCriscio home, marking NC State’s ninth and final run.
The Wolfpack returns for Game 2 and potentially the series-clincher on Friday at 9 p.m.
