After losing its first two games to Miami, No. 19 NC State Baseball won its series finale against the Hurricanes in dominant fashion, by a score of 14-4 on Sunday, March 12 in Coral Gables, Florida. The win was especially significant as it was head coach Elliott Avent’s 1,200th in his collegiate coaching career.
From the very beginning, it was the Wolfpack (14-2, 1-2 ACC) who truly established its presence in the game right from the get-go. The Hurricanes (10-6, 2-1 ACC) had little answer for NC State’s pitching, which was mostly unstoppable while the Pack’s bats continued to stay relatively warm for the duration of the game.
After a frustrating offensive performance Saturday, the Pack wasted little time in getting going. With two outs in the top of the first, junior third baseman LuJames Groover III clubbed a single and scored in the following at-bat when graduate right fielder Trevor Candelaria blasted a home run to give the Wolfpack an early 2-0 lead.
The scoring continued in the second inning as the Pack put two men on base on a hit-by-pitch and a walk. In what proved to be an impressive day at the plate for graduate center fielder Parker Nolan, he hit a double that brought both runners home to make the score 4-0. A few at-bats later, a passed ball at home plate allowed Nolan to score, extending the Pack’s lead to five.
In the fourth inning, NC State went yard again when sophomore catcher Jacob Cozart drilled a solo home run. Nolan drew a walk right after, and junior second baseman Kalae Harrison hit a double that sent Nolan home and pushed another run across.
In the following frame, the Pack’s offense continued to roll as Cozart hit a double that sent home freshman first baseman Eli Serrano, and Cozart was later driven home by a double from Nolan, who continued to have his way at the plate. At the end of the fifth, the Wolfpack held a 9-0 lead.
As the game went to the sixth, the Pack continued to find success on the offensive front, as Harrison hit a double to lead off the inning, and soon, Groover smoked a single to bring him home. In the next inning, NC State scored yet another run as Nolan crushed a solo homer over the fence, making the score 11-0 heading into the eighth.
Another large factor in the Pack’s dominant showing came from the efforts of freshman left-handed pitcher Dominic Fritton — all throughout the afternoon, the Canes were able to muster very little production against the efforts of Fritton. In 4.1 innings pitched, Fritton faced a few tough stretches with runners on, but was consistently able to work out of it. He finished the afternoon without allowing a single run and tallied a season-high seven strikeouts.
In the fifth inning, Fritton was relieved by junior right-hander Sam Highfill. As the Pack’s offense continued to soar, Highfill continued to hold down the fort, only allowing one run, which came late in the eighth inning. He also recorded a season-high five punch-outs.
In the top of the ninth, the Pack refused to slow down, as it continued to pour on runs. It began yet again with Nolan, who hit another double, and a subsequent groundout from Harrison helped bring him in. The Pack scored two more runs as Candelaria and sophomore shortstop Payton Green each hit RBI singles to make the score 14-1.
In the bottom of the ninth, redshirt junior right-hander Creed Watkins entered hoping to put an exclamation mark on the game. However, Miami had other plans, converting a couple of hits into three runs as the Pack’s lead was trimmed to 10.
Wanting to prevent any more late runs, redshirt senior right-hander Baker Nelson entered the game. He played a very efficient inning, quickly gathering the three outs needed to end the game.
Throughout the entirety of the game, the momentum was undoubtedly in favor of NC State. The offense was able to continually find success at the plate largely behind the efforts of Nolan. In a career day, he converted in each of his at-bats, which included an impressive, season-high three doubles and four RBIs. Strong performances put forth by Fritton and Highfill also helped contribute to the commanding victory.
The Pack will be back in action on Tuesday, March 14 when it returns home to kick off a four-game home stretch against Elon. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be televised on ACC Network Extra.
