The NC State baseball team continued to struggle on the road Tuesday as the Elon Phoenix defeated the Wolfpack in comeback fashion, 7-5.
The Wolfpack (19-11, 7-7 ACC) played coming off of an ACC series against the eighth-ranked Florida State Seminoles at Doak Field, where it lost the series two games to one.
The Phoenix (14-16, 6-3 CAA) came into the game losing five of their last eight games, including a 14-0 shutout loss against the Pack on March 24.
The starting pitcher for State was junior right-handed pitcher Jon Olczak (1-0, 2.16 ERA) while the Phoenix sent right-handed sophomore Mike Krill (1-1, 3.47 ERA) to the mound.
The Wolfpack struck first, as Joel McKeithan hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to drive Ryne Willard during the top of the second inning to take an early 1-0 lead.
The Phoenix struck back quickly, as freshman infielder James Venuto hit a home run during the bottom of the frame to tie the game at one apiece.
After surrendering a second run in the bottom of the fourth inning, Olczak’s night came to an end. The junior was relieved by redshirt junior lefthander Travis Orwig.
Orwig allowed an RBI single, but got the next two batters out to end the inning with the Wolfpack trailing 3-1.
The Wolfpack would not be behind for long, as senior center fielder Jake Fincher hit an RBI single with no outs in the top of the fifth; he later advanced to third on a throwing error and eventually score on a wild pitch. Preston Palmeiro also hit an RBI double to give the Pack a 4-3 lead.
Fincher began to create some breathing room in the top of the seventh inning with a home run to centerfield. The homer was be Fincher’s third on the season and gave the Pack a 5-3 lead in the inning.
After giving up a double early in the bottom of the seventh, Orwig was pulled from the game. Orwigs final stat line included two and two-thirds innings and no earned runs. Orwig was relieved by sophomore right-hander Joe O’Donnell.
After the pitching change, the Phoenix tacked on two runs during the bottom of the seventh and tied the game late at five. O’Donnell would be relieved by junior left-hander Will Gilbert, who would get the last out of the inning to keep the score tied.
The tie would be short-lived, as sophomore right fielder Nick Zammarrelli hit a two out RBI double which eventually would drive in two runs on a throwing error to take a 7-5 lead late in the eighth inning. The Pack failed to score in the ninth inning, falling to the Phoenix by the score of 7-5.
Despite the loss, Pack had solid play from Fincher, who had three hits, including a home run, in four at-bats. He would be the lone bright spot, as the Pack struggled to hit the ball in scoring situations, batting 2-for-10 with runners on base and 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
The Pack has now lost three of its last four games by a combined five runs and now owns an abysmal 2-7 record on the road. With eight of the team’s next nine games on the road, the Wolfpack will have plenty of chances to prove they can win away from Raleigh.
