The NC State baseball team fell just short to Campbell, 9-8, Tuesday at Doak Field in Raleigh.
The Wolfpack (12-10) fought hard but came up empty against the Camels (9-12) at home. Junior infielder Stephen Pitarra went 3 for 3 at the plate with a double, a run, three RBIs and a sacrifice bunt.
“Just glad I can get in there and contribute,” Pitarra said. “Wish we would’ve won the game, proud of the way we fought back but in the end just wish we would’ve won the game.”
Campbell opened the game up in the second inning, scoring three runs on three hits. Junior second baseman Christian Jones hit a home run to right centerfield, then freshman centerfielder Matthew Barefoot hit a two-run homer to centerfield. At the end of the second Campbell led, 3-1.
The Camels carried their momentum over to the top of the third as senior designated hitter Cole Hallum hit a homerun to left centerfield. Campbell grabbed a couple of hits and brought in another for a 5-0 lead at the middle of the third.
The Wolfpack found a spark and got back a couple of runs; junior centerfielder Josh McLain hit a two-run homerun in the bottom of the third to cut Campbell’s lead to 5-2.
The Camels continued fighting in the fourth inning as they put together a couple of hits after an error and tallied two more runs to push their lead to 7-2 after the top of the fourth.
Junior shortstop Joe Dunand committed two errors that hurt the Wolfpack early in the game. Dunand dropped the ball on a throw from the right fielder who attempted to throw out the runner trying to advance to second on a double which led to a two-run homerun in the second inning. He also made a fielding error that led to another run for the Camels.
The Pack put together a couple of hits in the bottom of the fourth but did not score any runs and continued to trail 7-2.
Both teams’ bats quieted down until the bottom of the sixth. The Pack hit back-to-back singles to open up the inning then both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Pitarra hit a two-run single to reduce Campbell’s lead to 7-4.
The Pack strung together a hit and two walks to load the bases before freshman left fielder Dillon Cooper hit an infield single to bring in another run in the bottom of the sixth. At the end of the sixth, Campbell held a 7-5 lead.
The Pack came into the seventh inning with the same intensity from the sixth. The first two hitters reached on walks and Pitarra reached on a throwing error by the pitcher to load the bases with no outs. Despite loading the bases, the Pack could not get run home as Campbell got a strikeout and induced a double play. At the end of the seventh Campbell led, 7-5.
“[Campbell] was jumping up and down in their dugout like they thought the game was over,” head coach Elliott Avent said. “I told [State] ‘hey! Still the eighth inning we have two innings left; the game is far from over’.”
Campbell’s bats were re-ignited in the eighth as they added two more runs to their total on two hits with two walks for 9-5 lead.
The Pack broke open a last-inning rally as it tallied three consecutive hits with another RBI single by Pitarra to bring the Pack within three with one out. Freshman designated hitter Brad Debo hit into a fielder’s choice but brought in a run to bring the Pack within two with two outs.
“How he got the hits and the big bunt down, it looked like the [Stephen] Pitarra of last year, that’s who he is,” Avent said. “More importantly, certainly nice to get Pitarra back on the baseball field. What he means to us on that field defensively, [he’s] a leader of this ball club. He makes us a better team.”
Junior catcher Andy Cosgrove continued the rally with a two-out RBI-triple to right centerfield that brought the Pack within one with two outs. The rally fell short as the last batter grounded out to second base to end the ballgame.
“We played 11 games in 16 days, [the team] is tired,” Avent said. “You get mentally tired, but the attitude was good we came back and had a great shot. Really proud of the comeback and proud of the effort, we just got to keep getting better.”
Campbell tallied nine runs on 14 hits with three home runs. The Wolfpack tallied eight runs on 12 hits with one error. Sophomore pitcher Christian Demby recorded the loss tonight which gives him an 0-2 record on the year.
The Wolfpack looks to bounce back when it hosts a weekend series against Louisville, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Doak Field.
