Andy Musselman
The baseball team scored runs on five different Elon pitchers as N.C. State pummeled the Phoenix 12-0 Wednesday night at Doak Field. The win improved the Wolfpack to 17-9 on the year, and it was the first double-digit run total for State since March 16.
The Pack scored twice in the first inning on Ryan Pond’s bases-clearing double into left center with two on. Pond wasn’t nearly done, though, as he went 4-for-4 with four runs batted in, including a two-run home run in the sixth inning. The senior first baseman said the lopsided victory was welcome, especially coming off of a victory against ECU in Greenville just the night before.
“A lot of times coming off of a big win you have a hangover, but we didn’t do that,” Pond said. “We haven’t had [this] kind of night all year. [It] was pretty cool.”
Junior Devon Cartwright drove in two when he hit a home run in the second inning, and junior Drew Martin had a two-run blast of his own in the fifth inning. Martin mentioned the Pack had been thinking positively during the past few games and felt the resulting runs were the product of the team’s optimism.
“We’ve become more selective at the plate, and that’s helped us out a lot,” Martin said. “Everyone has stayed positive, and we’ve been swinging [the bat] well lately.”
Junior Jeremy Synan capped State’s offensive night when he hit a solo shot that sailed over the right-field fence and Sullivan Drive. His seventh-inning homer ended the Pack’s offensive onslaught against Phoenix pitchers. Coach Elliott Avent attributed State’s run production to it being “just one of those freak nights.”
“It’s something we can build on, and knowing that we’re capable of doing what we did tonight is important,” Avent said. “We played our best game of the year tonight.”
Sophomore Sam Brown collected the win, scattering four hits in five innings of work. The Pack bullpen would not allow a hit in its four innings of relief as redshirt sophomore Alex Sogard, redshirt senior Jeff Stallings, redshirt sophomore Jason Zinser and freshman Jake Buchanan pitched one inning each. Brown (1-1) said having the lead and a great defense made it much easier on the pitching staff as the game wore on.
“It’s easy to throw strikes when you have defense and offense like we had tonight,” Brown said. “Our offense was phenomenal in their approaches at the plate, and it’s only gonna get better as the season goes on.”