No. 7 Florida State starting pitcher Jamie Arnold entered the game against No. 20 NC State with the best ERA in the ACC and the seventh-best in the country at 1.79. It looked like Arnold would continue his dominance against the Wolfpack after a 1-2-3 first-inning but NC State did what most couldn’t against Arnold in the second, propelling it to an 8-7 win over the Seminoles in Tallahassee, Florida.
Junior catcher Jacob Cozart led off the second inning and smashed the second pitch he saw deep over the right field wall. Cozart hit the ball so far that Florida State’s right fielder didn’t even move, knowing the ball was well over the wall. It’s the catcher’s ninth home run in as many games and just the third homer Arnold has given up all season.
After Cozart’s homer, the Wolfpack used patience at the plate and well-timed swings to add three more runs in the inning. Sophomore second baseman Matt Heavner hit an RBI single and then junior designated hitter Chase Nixon smacked a high chopper that brought home two due to a fielding error made by Seminoles shortstop Alex Lodise.
NC State continued its attack on Arnold in the second, adding two more runs via a bunt from Heavner and an RBI single by sophomore center fielder Eli Serrano III. After just three innings, Arnold gave up the most earned runs and hits in a start this year. A rain delay prevented him from going further than three innings. Still, he recorded only two strikeouts after entering the contest tied for fifth in the nation in that category.
Graduate right-handed pitcher Sam Highfill started on the mound for the Wolfpack and had a solid outing in his two innings due to the rain delay. He gave up two runs on two hits to keep NC State in the lead after its four-run second inning.
Since both starters had short stints because of the delay, both teams had to rely on their bullpen. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Shane Van Dam took the bump after the delay and struggled in just one inning. Van Dam walked the first batter then gave up back-to-back home runs that took the Pack from a 6-2 lead to a 6-5 lead.
Van Dam was set to start the fourth inning, but hurt his arm warming up, causing NC State to go with the usual Sunday starter freshman left-handed pitcher Cooper Consiglio. Consiglio stepped up for four innings, shutting down the high-powered Seminoles offense before giving up two runs in the eighth.
With a runner on second and one out, sophomore right-handed pitcher Derrick Smith relieved Consiglio. Smith walked his first batter, struck out the second and hit the third to load the bases with two outs. With his back against the wall and holding a slim 8-7 lead, Smith calmly struck out the next batter to get out of the eighth inning with a one-run lead.
Smith came back out for the ninth and secured the win, getting out the first three batters he faced, including two of the best hitters in the ACC. He struck out Florida State third baseman Cam Smith who bats .399 and got a groundout from right fielder James Tibbs III who leads the conference in slugging.
Along with the win, NC State saw the return of senior right fielder Noah Soles after he had missed over a month. In his return, Soles recorded two hits, including a double while also collecting a walk.
Next, the Wolfpack will go for its fourth straight series win in the second game of the series against the Seminoles. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.
