The No. 6 NC State baseball team fell short to UNC-Charlotte, 6-5, Wednesday at Doak Field in Dail Park.
The Wolfpack (5-3) was unable to hold to its early lead and suffered its third loss of the season. The 49ers (7-2) completed the come-from-behind upset against the Wolfpack with a late seventh inning charge.
“I thought we were terrible,” head coach Elliott Avent said. “They outplayed us, they deserved to win but we gotta get better, I’ve said that all along.”
The Wolfpack gained an early lead as freshman second baseman Will Wilson hit a deep sacrifice fly to centerfield that brought in junior left fielder Brock Deatherage. Junior third baseman Evan Mendoza was able to bring in another run for the Pack, as he tallied an RBI double. Pack led at the end of the first, 2-0.
UNC-Charlotte answered right back by tallying its first run in the second inning off of an error by junior first baseman Tommy DeJuneas. The Pack matched that run as Wilson drew an RBI walk with the bases loaded to give the Wolfpack a 3-1 lead at the end of the second.
“[It was] pretty satisfying,” Wilson said about his RBI walk. “Early in the game, it put us up a little bit.”
The teams continued to put numbers on the board, as Charlotte decreased the lead to 3-2. Junior second baseman Brett Netzer for the 49ers led off the inning with a triple and later scored on a groundout to first base. The triple was originally a double, but the Pack’s center and left fielders collided with each other in order to extend the double into a triple.
“I don’t get it,” Avent said about the mishap. “I don’t understand how they can miscommunicate on that ball and run into each other.”
The 49ers gained their first lead of the match as senior left fielder Zach Jarrett hit a two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning. This gave Charlotte a 4-3 lead at the halfway mark of the sixth inning.
The Wolfpack fought hard and was able to regain the lead as freshman catcher Brad Debo brought in two runs with a double. The Pack led at the end of the sixth, 5-4.
In the top half of the seventh inning, Charlotte freshman catcher Zack Smith hit a deep fly ball to right field which at first looks like an out but the right fielder dropped the ball as soon as he hit the wall. The hit drove in two runs for the 49ers. At the seventh inning stretch the 49ers led, 6-5.
After the 49ers took the lead in the seventh, they never looked back. The Pack was unable to get things back going for them as the bats went silent, going 0 of 9 to close out the game.
NC State will look to bounce back as it faces Rhode Island March 3 at Doak Field in Dail Park at 3 p.m.
