The NC State baseball team’s seven-game win streak was snapped by Delaware on Sunday in a 5-4 loss in the final game of the weekend series.
The Wolfpack (27-21, 11-13 ACC) couldn’t complete the sweep despite starting the day off with the bats flying, scoring three runs in the first. A profitable three-run seventh inning by the Blue Hens (25-20) helped power them to the victory.
“Very disappointed in today’s outcome,” head coach Elliott Avent said. “I thought we were flat, just kind of showed up. I didn’t think we played with a lot of energy. They’ll make that decision. They’ll make the decision whether to come play with energy every day or not play with energy every day. I thought the dugout was dead. We’re in exams, guys are thinking about some things. They’ll figure that out.”
NC State dominated the Blue Hens in the first two games of the series. On Friday, freshman Will Wilson went 4 for 4 on the day, finishing a triple shy of the cycle to propel the Wolfpack to a 7-1 victory. Freshman Michael Bienlien and senior Joe O’Donnell pitched lights out during Saturday’s contest, giving up just four hits and no runs through nine innings as the Pack routed Delaware 7-0.
Delaware got on the board in the first two innings of Sunday’s game, with one run in each, but once junior starting pitcher Brian Brown (2-1, 2.83 ERA) got in his groove down the stretch, the hits came to halt.
Brown started on the mound and threw 98 pitches through six innings. He pitched well for the Pack, giving up just three hits and two runs while striking out six batters.
Avent pulled Brown from the game following the sixth inning, giving the ball to freshman Dalton Feeney. Feeney walked the first two batters he faced before being relieved by redshirt sophomore Austin Staley. Avent had high praises for the performance of his starter.
“I thought he was outstanding,” Avent said. “I’m sure he’s probably wondering why I took him out of the game. Right now, I am too. He’s a battler, he’s a competitor. He gives us a chance to win and walks don’t give us a chance to win.”
Thanks in large part to Feeney’s two walks, the Blue Hens found their way back on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh. After loading the bases with a hit by pitch from Staley, a single brought in two runs to switch the scoreline to 4-3.
Another pitching change brought in junior Cody Beckman to close out the inning, but not before a single brought in Delaware’s Brian Mayer. Beckman finally closed out a lengthy top of the seventh inning with a strikeout, one of two in the inning for the left-handed pitcher.
Junior Evan Mendoza led the comeback attempt, launching a solo home run in the seventh over the left-field wall, his fourth of the season. However, Delaware pitcher Burk FitzPatrick struck out the following two batters and the seventh inning ended with NC State trailing 5-4.
“I was just looking for a pitched drive,” Mendoza said. “Got a middle-in fastball and just tried putting the barrel on it. Really I was just trying to get on base. When you see a pitch elevate like that you just try to barrel it up, crush it.”
The last two innings went by quietly, with neither team able to add any runs and Delaware hanging on for the win.
“Let’s talk about Delaware, I thought they played very good,” Avent said. “They played hard the first two days and everything went our way. Today things went their way. I’m not excited about the way we played, but I thought they played very well.”
Up next for NC State are the Seahawks of UNC-Wilmington. The two teams will meet at 6 p.m. this Wednesday at Doak Field. The Pack continues its conference slate with an away series in Pittsburgh from May 12-14.
