NC State baseball junior right fielder Brayden Fraasman didn’t feel like waiting. Fraasman never has. He’s attacked early since he started playing baseball.
It’s a mindset Fraasman still has, and it’s what propelled No. 25 NC State (28-12, 13-6 ACC) to a 14-4 win over No. 2 Clemson (36-8, 13-6 ACC) Thursday night at Doak Field. The JUCO transfer went 5-5, drove in a career-high seven runs and smashed two home runs by swinging early against the Tigers.
“I’ve always been an aggressive hitter,” Fraasman said. “I’ve just carried that through however many years I’ve played baseball, and I just like to go after the first pitch.”
When Fraasman did connect on the first pitch, he sent the ball out of the park both times. On Fraasman’s other three at-bats, he earned a hit on the fifth pitch and third pitch twice, driving in runs each time.
His attacking mindset permeated throughout the rest of the lineup. It had to. Clemson’s starting pitcher, Aidan Knaak, entered the game with an ACC-leading 74 strikeouts and just 16 walks. The Wolfpack couldn’t sit back against Knaak; it had to attack. And that’s exactly what it did.
On eight of NC State’s 12 RBIs, the hit came on the third pitch or sooner in the at-bat. Instead of letting Knaak pound the zone, the Pack’s lineup used his strength against him. In doing so, NC State handed Knaak his first loss of the season. Entering the game, Clemson was 10-0 when he started.
“We just wanted to make sure we stayed in the zone,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “If [Knaak] got in the zone, we were ready to attack, and that’s what we did.”
After falling behind early, 2-0, in the top of the first to Clemson, Fraasman and the rest of NC State’s lineup knew they’d have to strike early and often against one of the ACC’s best.
After an initial four-pitch strikeout of freshman center fielder Ty Head, sophomore first baseman Chris McHugh, junior left fielder Josh Hogue and senior shortstop Justin DeCriscio all tallied hits to cut the Wolfpack’s deficit to one. Following sophomore catcher Alex Sosa’s soft liner to shortstop, Fraasman notched his first hit and first pair of RBIs for the night giving NC State a 3-2 lead it never squandered.
Knaak’s night was one he’ll want to forget. Entering the night with a 3.86 ERA, the sophomore right-hander allowed both a career high in hits and earned runs with 11 and eight, respectively, across only four innings of work. Knaak’s dismal performance raised his ERA nearly two full points to 5.62.
The pitchers in the other dugout, on the contrary, played an entirely different game.
Junior left hander Dominic Fritton opened the weekend series as he quite often has this season and spun four innings of four-run, five-walk ball. After finding itself in a bit of a pickle in the fifth following a solo home run and back-to-back walks surrendered by Fritton, NC State turned to freshman right-hander Anderson Nance.
Although he inherited two runners in the fifth and allowed one to score, Nance nonetheless carved up the Tigers’ lineup from top to bottom as he pitched four shutout innings while striking out seven in the process.
“They’re definitely one of the best hitting teams in the country,” Nance said. “I just trusted my stuff and it worked out.”
This performance is nothing new for the freshman. Over his last three games, Nance has struck out 19 and has not surrendered an earned run or a walk on the way to a team-leading seven wins.
“He’s been pretty special,” Avent said. “You talk about a freshman doing what he’s doing in big situation after big situation, and it seems like he doesn’t even have a pulse.”
Fraasman’s dominance at the plate and Nance’s dominance on the mound handed Clemson its first series-opening loss of the year. The Wolfpack now finds itself on the cusp of taking the series from a Tigers team that has not lost one all season. Friday’s first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
