The NC State baseball team dropped the road weekend series to No. 5 UNC-Chapel Hill, but managed to salvage one win Sunday.
The Wolfpack (20-17, 8-10 ACC) lost the first two contests of the series as its bats were stifled by the Tar Heels’ (29-7, 14-4 ACC) pitching, but was able to come away with a 4-2 win in the final game of the series and halt the Heels’ 11-game winning streak.
In the first game of the series between the rivals, head coach Elliott Avent sent senior Sean Adler to the mound. The lefty pitched well, surrendering just two runs and six hits in five and two-thirds innings while punching out four Tar Heel batters, but ultimately was saddled with the loss.
When Adler exited the game, the scoreboard read 2-1 in favor of UNC, but the wheels came off for the Wolfpack in the seventh inning. Redshirt sophomore Austin Staley came in and was charged with three earned runs in just two-thirds of an inning pitched. The Tar Heels would add two more runs on a home run in the eighth off of junior Cory Wilder, putting them up 7-1.
The Wolfpack would add one more run in the ninth, but ultimately fell, 7-2, in the first game.
J.B. Bukauskas, UNC right-hander and probable top-10 pick in the upcoming MLB Draft, continued his excellent season, posting seven innings of work with just one earned run while striking out six batters. Bukauskas moved to 6-0 on the year and was credited with the win.
In the second game of the series, the Pack turned to junior lefty Brian Brown, who has battled injuries throughout the year but has cemented himself in the weekend rotation. The two teams exchanged runs in the second and the game remained scoreless until the sixth, when the Tar Heels struck for three runs, two of them charged to Brown and one to junior right-hander Tommy DeJuneas, who took the mound in relief in the sixth.
Brown tossed five innings in total, surrendering three earned runs, four hits and four walks while striking out three.
UNC would scatter three more runs over the seventh and eighth, pushing the score to the eventual final tally of 7-1.
In the third and final matchup of the series on Sunday, freshman Michael Bienlien got the start, one week after an impressive performance and victory over conference foe Florida State.
The Wolfpack scored the first four runs of the game, thanks to a home run by junior right fielder Brock Deatherage in the third inning, a fielding miscue by the Heels in the fourth inning to score junior Evan Mendoza and a RBI single by freshman Will Wilson and a bases-loaded walk of junior Josh McLain in the fifth inning to put the Pack up 4-0.
UNC would pick up two runs in the fifth off of Bienlien, but redshirt senior Johnny Piedmonte came in to throw five innings of scoreless relief to close out the game and willing the Pack to a 4-2 victory. Piedmonte picked up his third win of the season and has carved out an important role as a midweek starter and a long reliever.
Junior first baseman and leadoff man Stephen Pitarra continued his hot streak, going two for four and raising his average to .287 on the year after a slow start to the season.
The Pack will not have a midweek game after the contest against Elon was canceled, but will travel to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts to take on Boston College next weekend.
