N.C. State junior catcher Caleb Mangum said he knew his team should have closed out on the top-ranked team in the country Sunday afternoon at Doak Field.
“I think we were really disappointed because we expected the sweep today,” Mangum said. “Last year, the whole thing was taking two out of three, but now the focus is on sweeping people.”
On Sunday, the State baseball team gave up 11 runs to No. 1 ranked Georgia Tech in the final two innings; five total home runs and a four-run lead on the way to losing the final game of the three-game series, 17-11.
Coach Elliott Avent said he was disappointed in the way they lost.
“It’s just disappointing to lose the game the way we lost today. We can’t lose games like that,” Avent said. “We’ve got to get better.”
The Pack (21-5, 5-1 ACC) developed an 8-4 lead heading in to the top of the fifth inning. The Pack had the Yellow Jackets (18-3, 3-3) reeling in the fourth when junior Brian Aragon reached second on a fielder’s choice to bring in junior Matt Camp.
Junior Jon Still would single to left field on the next at bat to bring in Mangum, and sophomore Ryan Pond doubled to bring in two more runs, forcing Tech starter David Duncan to be pulled early.
However, the Pack’s lead was chipped away by two Jacket solo home runs, one that sent Pack junior starter Gib Hobson to the dugout early. In the eighth inning, the Jackets got red hot at the plate, scoring six runs highlighted by a two-run homer.
Avent said the team has to play through certain spells where their defense loses concentration and playing through those spells will help on the offensive side.
“We’re one of the best hitting teams in the country,” Avent said. “It wasn’t all pitching today. We made some defensive breakdowns, and we broke down because of lack of concentration.
“We got to battle through that, no matter what’s going on, we have got to stick to what we do, because we have a team that can put up runs anytime.”
Any hope of a Wolfpack comeback was dashed after redshirt junior Aaron Bates struck out to end the bottom of the eighth down 12-11, with freshman Drew Martin left on third. The Yellow Jackets then added five more runs to solidify the win.
Despite the loss on Sunday, Mangum said he feels the team played well overall in the series.
“We played very well this weekend, and we did not play bad[ly] today,” Mangum said. “We had some pitching issues, but now we have some hitters that have a little more confidence.”
Pond said he feels the series gives the Pack confidence going into any match-up.
“To me, it just proves that we can play with anybody in the country,” Pond said. “It just shows how great of a team we have. We need to take the success from this weekend, and take it into Clemson next week.”
After the Yellow Jackets hit a home run in the first off of Hobson, the Pack started out on fire in the second with a single by sophomore Ramon Corona which drove in both Still and Pond. Sophomore Matt Mangini and junior Jonathan Diaz would also add RBI to give the Pack a 4-1 lead. The lead did not last as Jackets’ first baseman Whit Robbins hit a three-run home run to tie the game at four.
On Friday, the Pack won 8-1 on Corona’s three hits and two RBI while four Wolfpack pitchers combined to total a four-hitter. On Saturday, the Pack blew a 9-3 lead in the final three innings before Still hit a walk-off single to cap a three-run tenth-inning win.
