The NC State baseball team dealt a swift and brutal blow to the Elon Phoenix in a 14-0 shutout victory on Tuesday night at Doak field.
The Wolfpack (13-9, 3-5 ACC) boasted a punishing offense paired with a tight-knit defense to hand Elon (11-12, 3-0 CAA) its first shutout loss in 77 games.
“We swung the bats today,” head coach Elliott Avent said. “We’re a team that’s capable of being good offensively. We’ve sputtered at times, but that comes from confidence, not playing enough, and searching for guys to play certain positions.”
State grabbed the early lead after dishing out a five-run scoring surge in the second inning.
The Wolfpack’s first score came at the hands of Elon’s senior lefty Jake Stalzer, who, with bases loaded, hit freshman third baseman Joe Dunand with a wild pitch.
Senior shortstop Joel McKeithan was next at the plate, and the .189-percentage-hitter bombed the first pitch over the left field fence to give the Pack a 5-0 advantage.
“Joel is a guy who’s gone through so much, and he’s shown a lot of progress,” Avent said. “When I went home last night at around 7:30, I saw him in the cage hitting. Hard work usually pays off in life in whatever you do, and these kids work hard.”
The grand slam was NC State’s first since Feb. 25 of last year against Davidson. The hit also marked the first home run of McKeithan’s college career.
The Pack refused to let off the gas, as the NC State batting order continued its offensive in the third inning.
“The team was seeing the ball very well by getting in deep counts and getting on base,” Dunand said. “We just hit when we were in scoring position.”
Senior right fielder Jake Armstrong led off with a single homer that skied over the left field wall. A pair of RBIs from junior designated hitter Chance Shepard and McKeithan helped the Pack boast an 8-0 lead heading into the fourth.
A successful string of defensive innings from the Wolfpack kept Elon scoreless and desperate. Meanwhile, NC State’s offense remained confident and composed.
The Pack continued to pour it on in the fourth inning. A sac fly to left field by Armstrong allowed Ratledge to score, then a double to right center from Fincher sent Palmeiro home from second.
After three and two thirds innings pitched, Stalzer left the mound with a staggering 11.54 ERA, having surrendered eight hits and 11 runs to the Wolfpack. Elon’s woes continued.
Late in the inning, the deflated Elon team committed a painful error that evaporated any hope that the team had left.
With two outs, Dunand hit a soaring pop fly ball to right center that would have seemingly ended the frame. However, the dazed Phoenix outfielders failed to track and communicate, and the ball did not land remotely close to either of the defenders. The costly error allowed Shepard and Fincher to sprint home for the score, giving State an insurmountable 12-0 lead.
The Wolfpack continued to hammer the already defeated Elon team, as Dunand drilled a two-run homer over left field in the sixth inning.
Both sides were scoreless through the remainder of the game, which ended in a 14-0 rout.
State totaled 12 hits out of the team’s 36 at bats. Dunand showed a remarkable hitting performance, going 2 for 4 at the plate and knocking five RBIs.
Redshirt sophomore Johnny Piedmonte pitched three innings for the Wolfpack, striking out three and allowing just two hits.
NC State takes the field again on Wednesday to face the North Carolina A&T Aggies at Doak field at 6 p.m.
Christian Candeloro contributed reporting to this story.
