NC State baseball soared to a win in a midweek matchup against the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks 12-3 on Tuesday night.
After falling into a four-game losing streak, the Wolfpack (21-11) put together an all-around performance. The Seahawks (19-12) started to make some noise early, but it was not enough as the Pack truly found a way to control the game.
This was certainly quite the opposite result from the last time these two teams met, which resulted in a nail-biting win by NC State. Whether it be pitching or hitting, the Pack truly got it done to send a packed crowd at Doak Field home happy.
“It’s always good to come out and swing it like we did tonight,” said sophomore pinch hitter Will Marcy. “I think the more that we can just continue to come out and be aggressive at the plate and produce similar results, then it for sure leads to more confidence in the coming future.”
NC State quickly got its bats rolling in the first inning as sophomore catcher Jacob Cozart cranked a double to score freshman first baseman Eli Serrano. Despite the Pack gaining a quick 1-0 lead, however, the Seahawks quickly struck back.
On the mound for NC State was redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Baker Nelson. He was efficient in his 4.1 innings, recording four strikeouts and only allowing two runs. The first of these came from a homer off the bat of UNCW’s Alec DeMartino in the second inning, and the Seahawks scored another run in the top of the fourth to put them up 2-1.
After falling behind, the Pack was ready to respond in the bottom of the inning. NC State quickly put two runners on base, and junior shortstop Kalae Harrison proceeded to hit a two-run RBI double. With the score tied up, the Wolfpack was far from finished.
Cozart singled a few batters later, leading to an infield error and allowing another run to cross. Two batters later, sophomore left fielder Chase Nixon drilled a bases-clearing double as UNCW committed another blunder on the play, and the Pack scored three more. Nixon also scored soon after on a double by Marcy.
Things did not get any easier for the Seahawks as two straight walks loaded the bases for the Pack again, and another walk drawn by freshman second baseman Matt Heavner scored yet another run. After the momentum of the game had begun to shift in favor of UNCW, NC State seemingly took it right back as the Pack sat with a comfortable 9-2 lead after four innings.
“I was just trying to put together good at-bats and just be ready,” Harrison said. “I knew we were swinging it and just putting the ball in play, so I knew I had a good shot of coming back to the plate again.”
In the bottom of the fifth, the Pack struck again when junior third baseman LuJames Groover belted a solo shot over the fences to build off the momentum of the previous inning. The next at-bat saw Cozart single, setting up a big at-bat from Marcy. With one man on and two outs, he drilled a home run of his own to further extend the Pack’s lead to 12-2.
“Later in the game, you’re just trying to simplify things,” Marcy said. “I was just trying to get a good pitch to hit, and I was fortunate enough to barrel up.”
In the meantime, the Pack certainly began to solidify its presence on the mound. After Nelson was relieved in the top of the fifth, junior left-hander PJ Labriola entered the game and helped prevent any chance of a push from the Seahawks. Despite allowing a run in the seventh inning, he only allowed two hits and tallied one strikeout.
Other names were called upon in the bullpen, such as junior left-hander Rio Britton and sophomore right-hander Carson Kelly, who joined forces and struck out a total of five batters, helping the Pack solidify the 12-3 victory.
After suffering four straight losses, tonight certainly showed NC State fans what this team is truly capable of. Despite facing many ups and downs throughout the season, the Pack has a favorable stretch of upcoming games. With 12 of its next 13 games at Doak Field, the team has a great opportunity to build off of tonight’s performance.
“We’re trying to take one game at a time and go on one-game winning streaks,” Harrison said. “We just take one game at a time and not worry about the past or the future, just attacking what’s ahead of us.”
The Pack will be back in action on Friday, April 14 as it takes on the Florida State Seminoles. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be televised on ACC Network Extra.
