Nate Karns finished his night early Wednesday at Doak Field, lasting only two and one-third innings after walking two batters early in the third inning. But the pitchers after him made sure N.C. State’s six runs would be plenty to earn a 6-1 victory, pitching six and two-third scoreless innings.

Coach Elliott Avent said playing multiple pitchers was part of his game plan from the start, though.

“We could have taken Nate out anytime. We were just going to pitch a lot of people tonight, but against a team like UNC-Wilmington, you don’t want to get behind. We just had two heart-breaking losses in Atlanta, and you don’t want to fall behind tonight,” Avent said. “So I actually credit Nate. His command wasn’t great, but he made some pitches when he had to.”

Some of Karns’ best moments of the night came in the second inning, when he worked out of a bases-loaded jam with only one run scored by getting two infield pop fly outs and a fielder’s choice when second baseman Dallas Poulk barehanded the ball and threw out a runner at home.

Catcher Caleb Mangum said Karns struggled but still did a decent job. Karns, a freshman, gave up two hits in his short time on the mound.

“Nate didn’t have his stuff tonight,” Mangum said. “But he battled, showed a lot of guts out there.”

Sophomore Clayton Shunick relieved Karns, giving up no runs in two and two-third innings to earn the win after senior catcher Caleb Mangum’s three-run home run in the third inning gave the team the lead.

Shunick led all Wolfpack pitchers with five strikeouts, which accounted for most of the eight outs in his appearance. It was an improvement for Shunick, as he entered the game having given up 13 runs in his last seven appearances.

“My change-up and split-finger were working really well. I had a little bit of trouble controlling my fastball,” Shunick said. “But I was able to do well with my off-speed pitches, which helped me a lot [to] keep them off-balance.”

He said he was pleased with the bullpen’s ability to come in and finish the game after Karns left the mound early.

“For the most part, we’ve been getting great starts out of our starters all year, and everyone has an off night here and there,” Shunick said. “So we’ve got to be able to come in and close down when they’re having a little bit of trouble.”

In the sixth, sophomore Joey Cutler entered the game and pitched another scoreless stanza. Sam Brown came in for the seventh and eighth innings, pitching two more scoreless innings.

“The main thing that I did was just threw strikes,” Brown said. “Any time you throw strikes, you have a good chance of winning.”

He added the pitchers’ focus heading into the game was also a big part of the staff giving up only one run and four hits.

“We were mentally prepared for this game and just ready to go,” Brown said.

Kyle Rutter, a sophomore right-hander, pitched the ninth inning and kept the pitching staff’s scoreless streak going as he completed the victory.

“Nothing’s going to be foolproof,” Avent said. “But for the most part our bullpen’s been pretty lights-out.”

Mangum echoed Avent’s praise of the four relief pitchers, who gave up only two hits and struck out 11 batters.

“Guys who haven’t really had a lot of innings, for them to come in and throw strikes and pitch with a lead was good for us,” Mangum said.