A four-hour marathon of a game ended with NC State baseball shutting out Louisville in the final four innings to secure the win.
Despite that, there was still plenty of offense from both teams, as 24 runs were scored in total. The Pack (23-11, 8-5 ACC) took down the Cardinals (25-8, 8-5 ACC) 13-11 in a back-and-forth thriller where each team tallied 11 hits.
Star sophomore pitcher Jacob Dudan put on a clinic when he came on in the sixth, adding a third save to an already impressive resume. Dudan had four strikeouts through four innings, with only one hit. Without Dudan, the game would have lasted significantly longer, as he was mowing through the Cardinals’ lineup from the mound — retiring 12 of 13 batters in the final four frames.
“It was awesome, getting me going there in the sixth inning,” Dudan said. “I tried to do my best to keep them where they were at, throw the slider. It’s really kind of all I need sometimes.”
The Wolfpack pitching crew had its hands full through the first five innings of the game, as they were down 6-1 in the top of the third as Louisville took advantage of junior starting pitcher Dominic Fritton’s struggles. Fritton walked Alex Alicea to start the game, then threw three wild pitches, allowing Alicea to take every base — including home. Louisville scored all 11 of their runs before Dudan came on to pick up the pieces.
Fritton allowed four more runs in the third, prompting head coach Elliott Avent to go to the bullpen and bring in graduate right-handed pitcher Matt Willadsen.
Willadsen wasn’t the answer, as he possibly had a worse performance than Fritton. Willadsen lasted just one inning, giving up four runs on three hits and putting the Wolfpack in an uncomfortable position.
Despite giving up 10 unearned runs early on, head coach Elliott Avent has been impressed with the way they have shown growth through big wins and tough losses alike.
“A couple of arms that started that game are probably going to be high draft picks,” Avent said. “And I thought Fritton threw well. I thought he was unlucky.”
Dudan is a key piece for the Wolfpack as they get deeper into the season and make their case for Omaha.
Sophomore catcher Alex Sosa had himself a game, going 3-3 with three doubles and three walks. Sosa is an on-base threat every time he steps into the batter’s box, and it seemed like he was slugging a grapefruit on Friday night.
“I’ve been working on a lot of stuff,” Sosa said. “Just looking for better pitches to hit, staying within myself and just doing what I can do.”
Working on being patient, Sosa mentioned that he has been working especially on hitting the left-to-right breaking ball, a pitch that he struggled to hit in the beginning of the season.
Tonight, Sosa drove a left-to-right curveball to deep right field to pick up his second double of the game and scored senior designated hitter Josh Hogue.
The offense was stagnant for the first three innings, but in the bottom of the fourth, the Wolfpack would flip the script on the Cardinals. It posted seven runs on five hits, and even left three men stranded that could have pushed the lead even further.
Regardless, the offense and Dudan came through in crunch time, pulling the Pack to a crucial, gritty win.
The Wolfpack will be back Saturday, April 12, for game two against Louisville. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
