NC State baseball held on for a critical 9-8 victory over No. 13 Coastal Carolina. After suffering a four-game losing streak, the Pack secured its first ranked win of the season.
“It was a very, very good game, but we needed to come out on top of a game,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “… You can’t keep playing well and playing close without feeling some kind of reward, and these guys needed that reward tonight.”
From the start, it was evident that NC State (13-6, 3-3 ACC) had its hands full in a battle of the bats. Coastal Carolina (17-4) wasted little time by loading the bases in the first inning. Soon after, Graham Brown stepped to the plate and mashed a grand slam to put an early stamp onto the game.
Despite finding itself in a four-run hole before it could even step to the plate, the Pack did not back down to the challenge. With two outs, NC State retaliated with back-to-back homers from graduate third baseman Alec Makarewicz and junior catcher Jacob Cozart. This spark of life helped the Wolfpack keep pace with the Chanticleers.
“Those two solo home runs almost tied the game because we needed something right there, especially with the way things have been going lately,” Avent said.
The Pack continued to find early success at the plate soon after in the third inning as graduate first baseman Garrett Pennington belted a solo shot of his own to help bring NC State even closer. Following him, Makarewicz continued his strong night at the plate by delivering a double. He would eventually be brought home as freshman catcher Alex Sosa singled to help knot the game at four.
In the meantime, freshman left-handed pitcher Ryan Marohn had settled in rather nicely. After starting shaky with the first inning grand slam, he settled in over the ensuing innings. In what would prove to be a 5.1-inning performance, he would prove to be quite efficient as he sat down every batter he faced except for one. He pitched into the sixth inning while preventing any further damage.
“I thought he did a great job getting from that [first inning] to where he turned the ball over to the bullpen, and I thought he did an unbelievable job,” Avent said.
The Chanticleers retook the lead in the sixth inning shortly after Marohn left the game. In what would be the fifth combined homer of the evening, Jake Books hit a home run to give Coastal a 5-4 advantage.
The score remained the same until the bottom of the seventh as the NC State bats came back to life. A pair of walks and a single loaded the bases with only one out for the Pack. A wild pitch advanced freshman second baseman Luke Nixon to tie the game at 5-5. The bases were reloaded once more as Cozart was intentionally walked in favor of sophomore centerfielder Eli Serrano III. He made the Chanticleers pay as he drilled a single to bring home two more runs. The inning continued for NC State as Sosa hit an RBI-single to make the score 8-5.
“He’s got the best tools in the game; I mean everything’s just lanky, he’s got a great swing, flat through the zone,” Pennington said. “He’s a really good player, and he’s gonna be really good when he grows up.”
The NC State lead did not remain very long as Coastal fought back in the top of the eighth. After a solid outing by sophomore righty Shane Van Dam in which he only allowed one run through 1.2 innings, things took a turn for the worse when he left the game at the beginning of the eighth. In a late game situation reminiscent of recent games, a barrage of three-straight singles loaded the bases. A walk followed this up to bring the Chanticleers one run closer. After another call to the NC State bullpen, Coastal tied the game at eight apiece.
The score did not remain tied long as the game entered the bottom of the inning. After collecting a hit by pitch and a walk, the stage was set as Pennington came to the plate. He proceeded to slap a timely double to bring home one run to grasp a 9-8 lead. This was the knockout blow as senior righty Hollis Fanning helped pitch the remaining 1.1 innings, in which he prevented any counterpunch.
“Just being able to lock in, a walk and then a walk, and then there’s your hit.” Pennington said. “So getting our pitches in the zone is the biggest thing we try to do.”
NC State baseball will return to action on Friday, March 22, as it hosts No. 9 Duke. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. and will be televised on ACC Network Extra.
