GREENSBORO– The top-ranked NC State baseball team beat NC A&T 12-3 Wednesday night at First National Bank Field in Greensboro.
The game started off with a bang for NC State (25-1); after two consecutive drawn walks by sophomore left fielder Jonny Butler and junior shortstop Will Wilson, sophomore designated hitter Patrick Bailey sent a ball over the right field fence for an early 3-0 lead for the Pack.
Sophomore starting pitcher Nick Swiney had a rocky start of his own as the Aggies (15-10) nabbed two stolen bases to put both baserunners in scoring position with no one out. Swiney responded by striking out the next batter, but then a hard grounder to the right side of the infield sent both of those baserunners home to bring the NC A&T within one.
Head Coach Elliot Avent then called redshirt freshman relief pitcher Cameron Cotter from the bullpen to replace Swiney. Cotter would retire the remaining batters with a fielder’s choice groundout and a strikeout.
“Really, the only thing on my mind was the guys on base,” Cotter said. “Just trying to get out of the inning, I was just trying to get guys out when I could.”
NC A&T began the second inning with a new pitcher, but NC State’s offense kept rolling with a single and stolen base by freshman third baseman Vojtech Mensik and walk by Butler.
The new pitcher for NC A&T, Walfrank Pineiro, failed to stop the bleeding as the first batter he faced, Wilson, blasted a three-run home run over the left-field wall. This second such homer of the game for the Pack put the team up 6-2.
Edwards sent a ground ball between third base and shortstop and stole second base in the top of the fourth; freshman center fielder Tyler McDonough hit a line drive into right-center field to send home Edwards, making the score 7-2 in favor of the Wolfpack.
The scoreboard would see its next addition in the bottom of the fourth as A&T ran the bases well to score one run and load the bases with only one out. Cotter responded by inducing a strikeout and a pop out to leave three Aggies left on base.
“They got the bases loaded and I just tried to minimize the damage at that point,” Cotter said of the fourth-inning jam. “I think they got one run across, but I was able to strike out a guy and they made another great play behind me.”
The scoring continued as Mensik smashed a no-doubt home run into the left field stands with two outs in the top of the fifth, making the score Wolfpack eight to the Aggies’ three.
After Butler drew a walk to extend the inning, Wilson sent a high fly ball into left-center field which bounced off the top of the wall, resulting in an RBI double for him. Bailey would follow with a single into center field to score Wilson, making it 10-3 Wolfpack. The two-out rally would end with a flyout to left-field.
NC State would continue to score in the top of the sixth, as Mensik delivered an RBI single to set the score at 11-3 in favor of the Wolfpack.
“I was so proud of him, he’s from right around here so for him to come in and do that in the first extended outing of his career, I thought it was outstanding for Cotter,” Avent said.
Sophomore pitcher David Harrison would come on in relief for NC State to start the top of the seventh, and finished the inning by retiring the side. Cotter pitched 5.2 innings of relief for the Wolfpack, giving up one earned run on five hits while striking out five Aggie batters.
In the top of the eighth, the Wolfpack added another run to its total with a single by sophomore pinch hitter Devontae Brown, followed by a hit by pitch, wild pitch and a passed ball that resulted in a run scored for NC State, putting the Pack up 12-3.
Redshirt senior pitcher Nolan Clenney came on in relief in the top of the ninth, retiring the order in order to end the contest.
The Pack will play their next game against Virginia at Doak Field on Friday, March 29th. First pitch will be at 6:30 p.m.
Junior infielder Will Wilson bats the ball during the game against NC A&T on Wednesday, March 27, at First National Bank Field. The Wolfpack beat the Aggies 12-3, with Wilson went 4-2 with one home run, one double, three runs scored, and four runs batted in, and one strikeout.
