A 90-minute rain delay was not going to stop NC State baseball from getting a much-needed conference win over Florida State.
A seven-run third inning helped propel the Wolfpack (22-11, 6-9 ACC) to a crushing 14-3 win over the Seminoles (13-20, 4-12 ACC) on Friday, April 14.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Dominic Fritton made his first Friday-night start of his career as the Pack returned to Doak Field after an extended road trip. However, the nerves may have shown in the first couple of innings for the freshman. Although Florida State did not score in the first inning, Fritton’s command was a little off as he gave up some solid contact.
The Seminoles pounced on Fritton in the top of the second, blasting a two-run home run to left field to go up 2-0. That forced the Wolfpack offense to get going after an underwhelming first two frames.
It did not take long for the Pack to answer back as the bats came alive in the bottom of the third. It all started when junior shortstop Kalae Harrison smoked a ball down the right field line for a triple that drove in two runners. The very next at-bat, sophomore left fielder Will Marcy grounded out to third, which allowed Harrison to score.
After three straight walks, NC State had the bases loaded, and sophomore second baseman Payton Green stepped up to the plate and delivered a bases-clearing double. Immediately after, freshman first baseman Eli Serrano ripped a single that drove in Green to give the Pack a 7-2 advantage.
A lead as big as that is exactly what Fritton needed behind him to truly settle in, and sure enough, he put his shaky start behind him and was lights-out the rest of the way.
“You get that lead and it gives you a little extra boost,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “[Fritton] just showed a lot of heart and a lot of guts tonight.”
It turned out to be a career day for Fritton as he threw a career-high 10 strikeouts in six innings. He also threw a career-high 99 pitches, which shows the confidence his coaches have in him to go longer in games going forward.
“Being able to pitch on a Friday night, it was a dream to be able to do that,” Fritton said. “Didn’t have the ideal start that I wanted, but I was able to stay in there, stick it out, and do my thing.”
The NC State bats stayed hot by tacking on another run in the fifth, and the Pack really started to pour it on in the eighth with six runs in the frame.
Sophomore catcher Jacob Cozart started the scoring with an RBI double that drove in Marcy, and junior third baseman LuJames Groover scored off a wild pitch in the next at-bat. Serrano continued his phenomenal night later in the inning with his third hit — a two-RBI single — and by the end of the inning, the Pack scored two more runs to put 14 on the scoreboard.
Meanwhile, the bullpen was lights-out for the Wolfpack. Junior right-handed pitcher Justin Lawson replaced Fritton at the start of the seventh, striking out four batters in two innings of work and giving up no runs. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Carson Kelly came in to close the game and had one strikeout while also giving up no runs in the last inning.
While it was huge for NC State to win the opening game of the series, there is more work to do if the Pack wants to gain ground in the ACC. These two teams will continue the series on Saturday, April 15 with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. on the ACC Network.
