The baseball team entered its midweek game against Coastal Carolina on a seven-game winning streak and on an offensive binge, hitting .301 as a team.

On Wednesday night, the Wolfpack could not keep its recent offensive fireworks going, scoring only four runs and losing its first game in two weeks to the Chanticleers.

Despite the loss, coach Elliott Avent said he was proud of his team’s effort.

“I thought we played well,” he said. “We played extremely hard. We competed at a level that I thought was as hard as we have competed all year.”

After the Pack took a 3-0 lead through five innings, the Chanticleers put four runs on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth and took a 4-3 lead they would never relinquish. Senior Ryan Pond said Coastal Carolina was one of the better teams the Pack has faced all year.

“That was two really good teams out there competing pretty hard,” he said. “They got a break here and there that we didn’t get, but overall we played real well.”

After Coastal Carolina took the lead in the sixth, State had several chances to regain the advantage, but solid Chanticleer pitching kept runs off the board. In the bottom of the sixth with the bases loaded, senior Tommy Foschi grounded into an inning-ending double play.

“The guy was a pretty good pitcher,” Foschi said. “I was battling and battling. And I really wanted to get that hit, but it didn’t happen. It’s alright.”

The Pack got one run back in the bottom of the ninth to make the score 5-4, but the game ended when junior Jeremy Synan grounded out.

Coastal Carolina used seven pitchers during the game to stymie the offensive momentum the Pack had enjoyed during its winning streak.

“They threw seven guys who were all their top-notch guys,” Pond said. “They threw their whole staff at us.”

Avent said State had a good night hitting despite not being able to get the victory.

“Our guys battled all night and did what they were supposed to do,” Avent said. “I was so proud of the way our guys battled.”

The loss came in front of more than 1,300 people at Doak Field in an atmosphere that felt like the postseason, according to Avent.

“This game had the flavor of a regional or super regional game,” he said. “If we can compete like this the rest of the year, this is a team that will host a regional.”

The positive attitude Avent showed following the loss carried over to the players, as Pond said the team played very well and could possibly see Coastal Carolina in the postseason.

“Overall we played really well, and I think we’ll see them again down the road,” he said.

State, now 21-10 on the year, will look to keep improving and competing well when it faces Duke for a three-game series this weekend in Raleigh, according to Avent.

“This is starting to become a real special team,” he said. “We’ll be excited Friday when Duke comes to town. I guarantee it.”