Just in case there was any doubt afoot — the Walk-off Wolfpack is alive and well.
After trailing for a majority of its midweek battle with NC A&T, NC State (29-14) baseball walked off the Aggies (17-24) thanks to some ninth-inning heroics from freshman left-handed pitcher Dominic Fritton and junior third baseman Gino Groover. Both pulled off stunning feats at their respective positions, but it was Groover who called game with his no-doubt solo shot that earned the Pack a 6-5 victory — its fifth walk-off win of the season.
“This team shows the ability to come from behind, which is hard to do,” said head coach Eliott Avent. “It just shows they’re resilient and they don’t quit till it’s over. So, hats off to those guys and they’ve done a good job of playing right to the last pitch all year.”
Groover, who’s built up a track record of delivering in clutch spots, was not fazed by two strikes and two outs in the bottom of the ninth. In fact, he didn’t just hit the walk-off homer, he crushed a no-doubter all the way to Lee Hall for his second walk-off hit of the season.
“I was really just trying to get on base that time, it was two outs, just move it on to the next man,” Groover said. “…I laid off a couple good pitches, and if I get something up in the zone I’m gonna put on it and hey, I got it done when it mattered.”
But Groover would not have had his time in the spotlight without Fritton’s own showcase just a half inning earlier. The freshmen phenom has done it all for the Pack this season, and has excelled whenever his name has been called. However, after an up-and-down day on the mound for NC State, Fritton was given an improbable task: get his team out of a no-outs, bases-loaded jam in the top of the ninth.
What happened next was special. Fritton flamed three-straight strikeouts, sending one Aggie batter after another back to the dugout as he fearlessly bombarded A&T’s lineup.
“[I had to] attack,” Fritton said. “I can’t be scared in that situation because if you walk a guy that’s a run, so I just tried to not beat myself and make them beat me.”
There was no beating Fritton in the top of the ninth. Initially brought in to limit the damage, the freshman excelled in the clutch, shutting the door on NC A&T despite the razor-thin margin for error.
“Dominic Fritton, for a freshman, he’s just been unbelievable,” Avent said. “He’s done so many things for us. But what he did today was really, really special.”
While Groover and Fritton had ice in their veins down the stretch, the rest of the Pack struggled to find its footing for a majority of the midweek brawl. The Aggies ambushed NC State’s starter, junior right-hander Baker Nelson from the get-go, nabbing three quick runs in the first inning. That rough first frame prompted a pitching change — the first of five that Avent and his staff made on the day.
Facing an early 3-0 deficit, the Wolfpack was forced to play catch up for most of the afternoon. Junior right fielder Noah Soles responded quickly to A&T’s first-inning rally with a solo home run in the bottom of the frame to get NC State on the board.
Just one inning later, graduate center fielder Trevor Candelaria, who finished the day with three hits, three RBIs and two home runs, hit his first long ball of the day, cutting the Aggies’ lead down to just one.
However, NC State’s progress on offense was stalled due to a two-run homer by NC A&T in the fifth inning. Sophomore righty Carson Kelly tossed a solid 3.2 innings with five strikeouts in relief of Nelson, but the Aggies got one on him with the home run, forcing Avent to dig into his bullpen once again — a microcosm of NC State’s day on defense.
Avent brought in three more pitchers before Fritton’s electric ninth inning, but junior left-handed pitcher Rio Britton shined in his 2.1 innings. He threw three strikeouts on 47 pitches before being relieved of his duties, and played an important role in stonewalling the Aggies down the stretch.
While the Pack’s array of relievers held down the fort, Candelaria smashed his second home run of the day in the sixth. This time, the graduate lined a two-run jack into the opposing bullpen to cut the lead to 5-4. One inning later, Groover earned his first RBI of the day with a game-tying, RBI double, making for a brand new ball game at Doak Field.
After that, Fritton and Groover worked their magic in the ninth. While Fritton preserved the tie in the top of the frame, Groover broke it in the bottom, and their combined clutch efforts moved NC State’s all-time record against NC A&T to 25-0.
“Coming in bases loaded and striking out the side — that’s elite stuff right there,” Groover said. “Moments like that, it just makes you just want to go out there and put it on the line even more for each guy…He came out here, he gave us his best, we need to go out here and give it our best and win it for him, and we were able to do that today.”
It was a special day at the Doak to be sure. However, NC State will need to keep the clutch plays rolling if it’s to earn and solidify a spot in the postseason. That journey will continue in the red-and-white’s series on the road against Notre Dame.
First pitch against the Fighting Irish is set for Thursday, March 4 at 7 p.m. in South Bend, Indiana.
