No. 21 NC State baseball made the three-hour drive to Coastal Carolina for its first midweek game of the 2023 season, blowing out the Chanticleers 16-4 thanks to a high-octane offense that dominated from beginning to end.
The Wolfpack (4-0) clearly didn’t skip a beat after its impressive opening series sweep against Wagner. After putting up 26 total runs and shutting out the Seahawks 9-0 on Sunday, Feb. 19, NC State was determined to keep its offense firing on all cylinders. Right from the very jump, Coastal Carolina (2-2) had no chance to quell the Wolfpack’s bats, especially that of graduate centerfielder Parker Nolan, who put up a monumental day at the plate for NC State.
Meanwhile, junior left-handed pitcher P.J. Labriola and a bevvy of other arms that included junior righty Sam Highfill, joined forces to keep the Chanticleers at bay. But despite Coastal Carolina’s best efforts to claw its way back into the game, the red-and-white had built up a lead too large to overcome.
Before fans had even taken their seats, sophomore designated hitter Will Marcy crushed a home run into center-left field, bringing the score to a quick 2-0 at the top of the first. The effortless score was a sign of things to come for the Pack’s offense.
Soon after, Coastal Carolina dug into the Wolfpack’s two-run lead in the bottom of the second, where the Chanticleers earned three of their 10 hits of the night in three straight at-bats to cut the lead to 2-1. But that one-run difference was as close as Coastal got all night to NC State.
The red-and-white then put on a monstrous fourth inning, amassing three hits, multiple walks and taking advantage of a handful of Chanticleer mistakes to put five more runs on the board. With multiple runners on base thanks to two free passes, Nolan sliced an RBI-double up the left-field line, which was only the beginning of his colossal six RBI performance.
With two runners in scoring position, freshman first baseman Eli Serrano kept the party going, hitting a nearly-identical double in the same spot that tacked on another two runs for NC State. Coastal Carolina only temporarily stopped the bleeding after an RBI-single from junior third baseman LuJames Groover, one that brought the lead to 7-1.
But again, the Chanticleers cut into the Pack’s lead, with the home side bringing the score to 7-3 by the end of the fourth. Just like before, though, NC State was determined to purely outgun its opposition.
One frame later, a Trevor Candelaria triple put another two runs on the board for NC State. The graduate right fielder then scored via a throwing error, quickly bringing the contest to 11-3.
NC State was nowhere near done after that, though. The sixth inning saw four more Wolfpack runs added to the count, most of which came courtesy of Nolan, who blasted a three-run shot into deep left field. Just after, another Candelaria extra-base hit brought in one more run for good measure, giving NC State a cushy 12-run lead at 15-3.
Nolan’s no-doubter was only his first home run of the day, however. Somehow, the graduate topped the spectacle of his first bomb, powering one more out of the park. This time, it was up and over the 20-foot batter’s-eye wall in dead center, a feat only 17, now 18 batters have accomplished.
His second home run scored the Pack’s final run of the game and put the finishing touches on an astonishing day at the plate for Nolan. All in all, he went four for five in his at-bats, tallying four hits, a double, two home runs and six RBI’s.
While Nolan and the offense made a mockery of Coastal’s bullpen, its own pitchers held the Chanticleers to four runs. Labriola made his first start in the red-and-white after transferring from Clemson in the offseason, dishing five strikeouts in just 3.2 innings.
Next came the highly-anticipated 2023 debut of Highfill. After a back injury sidelined him for a majority of last season’s campaign, Highfill was eased back into action, throwing two strikeouts on just 14 pitches and securing the win on his statsheet.
After Labriola and Highfill, three more NC State arms entered to finish the job, but by then it was all but over. Coastal Carolina got one more run on the board, albeit a consolation score, in the eighth, producing a final score of 16-4.
With another stunning display by the Wolfpack offense in the books, NC State turns its attention to its series versus Belmont. First pitch on Friday, Feb. 24 against the Bruins is set for 3 p.m. at Doak Field in Raleigh.
