The baseball team completed a remarkable turnaround as they beat No. 10 Georgia Tech, 8-3, in the third game to win the three-match series, 2-1.
Playing at Doak Field, the Pack (11-3, 2-1 ACC) didn’t have the best of starts, losing 6-14 to the Yellow Jackets (11-5, 1-2 ACC). Senior Ryan Matthews was one of the few standout players for the Pack as he recorded two RBIs and one home run; however, Tech’s 11 runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings ensured his heroics would count for naught. State was looking to start Saturday on top and it did exactly that. Riding on four RBIs by Chris Diaz, the Pack led by as many as 7 runs after five innings. The lead proved to be a bridge too far to gap for the Yellow Jackets who, despite a late comeback, fell 8-5 to leave the series tied at 1-1. With the series going down to the third game, the Pack started strong, scoring two runs in the first inning and similar to their previous outing against the Yellow Jackets, held a solid lead at 8-2 at end of the fifth inning. The Pack, led by freshman pitcher Logan Jernigan, then restricted Tech to just one run in the next four innings, even as State’s batters failed to improve upon their tally, to lead the Pack to their first series win in conference play this season. Jernigan had 9 strikeouts during the game. He felt it was a good experience for him that would prove to be fruitful in the long run. “I felt good about our performance today and through the series,” Jernigan said. “I hit a bump in the road in the third, but overall I was pleased. I think the trouble I had that inning will be good in the long run, though. It’s a good experience to have behind me. “I learned a lot trying to fight and come back from that.” Jernigan felt it required the best out of the team to complete the turnaround following their loss on Friday. “We realized we needed to do the best we could and together as team we got it done on Saturday and Sunday,” Jernigan said. Another player who excelled on Sunday was junior infielder Chris Diaz. Diaz had two RBIs, one run and led all batters with an average of .441. He however refused to take all the credit for the team’s success with the bat. “I feel good, you always got to give credit to the guys that are on base and put you into a situation,” Diaz said. “I was in a lot of good situations and it was a good thing that I could pull through.” Diaz felt it was challenging for the team to bounce back after a heavy loss on Friday but was proud of the way the team responded. “It is always hard, the middle game is always the most important game, so coming out strong after losing that first game was crucial,” Diaz said. “We came out and played really well on Saturday, that was big of us.” The team was fully set on achieving a victory and would settle for nothing less, assured Diaz. “I am just trying to win games,” Diaz said. “I am just trying to help the team out in anyway I can to win games. “Winning games was the number one goal to start off this year.” The Pack next plays away at Elon on Tuesday at 6 p.m and hosts a series against Wake Forest this weekend.
