Powered by both strong pitching and hitting, NC State baseball steamed ahead to a 9-2 win over NJIT on Friday in the series opener.
After an hour delay due to field conditions, the Wolfpack (10-0) opened the game by immediately putting runs on the board. NJIT (4-4) began to catch up after the third inning, but the Pack slammed the door on any chance of a Highlander comeback in the seventh.
“I just thought they really came ready to play today,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “I thought the focus was good throughout the game. The dugout was good as well as the communication on the field.”
Not wasting any time, junior designated hitter Noah Soles collected a double on the very first pitch in the bottom of the first, and three batters later, graduate right fielder Trevor Candelaria drove in Soles on a single. NC State pushed another run across the plate in the second inning with a deep sacrifice fly off the bat of graduate center fielder Parker Nolan, which helped drive in junior left fielder Carter Trice.
Feeding off the momentum from the Pack’s 2-0 lead, junior third baseman LuJames Groover and Candelaria each collected early base hits in the third. This helped set the stage for another trip to the plate for Trice; without hesitation, he drilled a three-run homer, helping the Pack soar out to a commanding 5-0 lead.
“With a guy on first and third, less than two outs, I was just trying to get a ball I can drive,” Trice said. “Not trying to do too much with it, just trying to get something in the outfield so I could score that guy from third.”
The Pack’s offense cooled off a little after the third inning; in the meantime, redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Logan Whitaker certainly put on a show, holding a no-hitter through the first three innings until the Highlanders hit a home run in the fourth. Despite this, Whitaker had a solid day in 5.2 innings pitched, only allowing two earned runs and tossing a season-high six strikeouts, and he played a crucial role in helping keep NJIT at bay when the Pack’s bats began to cool down.
“I changed up my routine a little bit this week and kinda felt some stuff out because my last outing wasn’t what I wanted it to be,” Whitaker said. “It’s good to see changes that are positively affecting me and the team, and tonight was a byproduct of it. Being able to accept the adaptations of the new routine and being able to trust my pitching coach helped me execute today.”
After three innings of limited success at the plate, the bats began to warm back up in the bottom of the seventh. Continuing an amazing start to the 2023 campaign, sophomore shortstop Payton Green smashed his fifth home run of the season to help get the Pack back on the board, and on the very next at-bat, Groover also went yard to help extend the NC State lead back out to five.
“[Green] matured in the offseason — he got stronger, and he’s playing with so much confidence,” Avent said. “He’s also playing with such good defense, and he’s had some big hits. Even though I didn’t think today was very good for him offensively, he still came up with a big home run, which was much-needed at that point in the game as they were coming back.”
The scoring continued into the eighth inning when junior pinch hitter Dominic Pilolli and Green each hit a sacrifice fly, driving in freshman first baseman Eli Serrano and then Nolan and helping the Pack add another two runs to its lead.
On the other side, pitching also continued to be a strength for the Pack during the back end of the game. Junior right-handed pitcher Justin Lawson relieved Whitaker and had a successful day on the mound, allowing no runs and collecting three strikeouts. In the ninth, redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Creed Watkins came in and closed out the game, limiting the Highlanders’ success at the plate.
“We got a lot of veteran guys that have been around this thing for a while,” Whitaker said. “They come in and are gonna give you their best, so it’s very comforting and makes me confident that I can hand the ball off to the next guy and he can do the same thing.”
NC State will look to secure the series win against NJIT tomorrow at Doak Field. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be televised on ACC Network Extra.
