The NC State baseball team saw its season come to an end with a heartbreaking 9-8 loss to No. 4 TCU in the NCAA Fort Worth Regional Championship.
A barrage of mistakes erased the Wolfpack’s 8-2 lead as the Horned Frogs defeated State in extra innings of the winner-take-all final.
After winning its first two games of the Regional, the Wolfpack (36-23) secured a spot in the final against TCU (47-12), needing only one win to advance to the Super Regional.
State opened the Fort Worth Regional with a 3-0 win against Stony Brook (35-16-1) behind a combined shutout from junior pitchers Curt Britt and Will Gilbert. The two combined to allow only six hits and four walks, while striking out four batters.
“Gilbert has been unbelievable all year,” NC State head coach Elliott Avent said. “He’s been just like Curt. Curt and Gilbert have been our most valuable players out of the bullpen.”
Wolfpack batters struggled early against Stony Brook sophomore starting pitcher Daniel Zamora, registering only two hits through the first four innings. In the fifth inning, the Pack began to find success at the plate.
Senior center fielder Jake Fincher led off the inning with a single up the middle. With one out and Fincher on base, shortstop Logan Ratledge sent a full count pitch over the left field wall to give the Pack a 2-0 lead.
NC State added another run in the eighth to seal the opening contest, advancing into the winners’ bracket.
The Wolfpack faced TCU on Saturday night, with the winner securing a spot in the Regional Final.
Down 1-0 in the fourth, junior second baseman Ryne Willard blasted a two-RBI double down the left field line with the bases loaded and no outs, giving the Wolfpack a 2-1 lead. The Pack scored another run in the inning on a wild pitch.
Heading into the ninth with State trailing 4-3, TCU brought in one of the best relievers in the country, junior Riley Ferrell. He quickly recorded two strikeouts and the Pack’s chances to win looked dim.
The next batter, Willard, was able to draw a walk, putting the tying run on base. Junior designated hitter Chance Shepard waited for a fastball and belted it over the wall in center field, putting NC State ahead 5-4.
“I knew Ferrell was a power guy,” Shepard said. “He’s going to try to make you get yourself out. Ferrell is going to come at you, and I was looking for that fastball.”
The Pack held onto the lead in the bottom of the ninth, winning 5-4. To win the Fort Worth Regional, State needed to win just one more game.
NC State played TCU again on Sunday after the Horned Frogs won a must-win game to make the finals. This game lacked the excitement and competitiveness of the night before as the Pack just couldn’t get much going.
The Pack struggled offensively, failing to record a single hit until the seventh inning. By that time, the team was down 6-0 off of eight TCU hits.
State battled back, scoring in the seventh and ninth innings, but ultimately it dug itself too big of a hole to climb out of as TCU won 8-2.
The two teams met for the final time Monday night in a winner-take-all game to move on to the Super Regionals.
NC State opened the scoring in the third when a Ratledge single to left field drove in a runner. The Pack added two more runs to take a 3-0 lead.
In the eighth, the Pack terrorized Ferrell once again, scoring four runs on two hits and one error.
Heading to the bottom of the eighth, State led 8-1 and fans began leaving Lupton Stadium as it looked like the game was practically over.
Suddenly, things went south for the Wolfpack as TCU scored six runs in the eighth on only two hits. The Pack’s defense produced three errors in the inning and its pitchers struggled to consistently throw strikes.
Despite all the damage done, State still clung to an 8-7 lead going to the ninth.
With a TCU runner on second and one out in the bottom of the ninth, Britt was called for a phantom balk, moving the tying run to third base.
“I’ll watch it over, but he better have flinched more than I thought he had,” Avent said. “If he didn’t flinch, that would be one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen.”
The runner on third from the questionable call would later score on a passed ball to tie the game and send it into extra innings.
In the bottom of the 10th, the game and NC State’s season ended as a single through the right side scored the TCU runner from third, giving the Horned Frogs a 9-8 victory over the Pack.
Despite the disappointing finale, Wolfpack fans can be proud of what this years’ squad accomplished. This team stuck together when they struggled earlier in the year and ultimately exceeded expectations while giving Wolfpack fans many exciting memories.
“I’ve been a head coach 27 years and been in this game for a long time as an assistant as well,” Avent said. “This was probably as proud as I’ve been about any ballclub I’ve been associated with.”
