NC State came back to beat North Carolina Central 11-10 in 10 innings on Thursday night at Durham Athletic Park in downtown Durham.
The dramatic roller coaster game was sent to extra innings and was ended by a home run from sophomore catcher Patrick Bailey in the tenth inning, giving the Wolfpack (12-0) a lead that it would not give back to the Eagles (5-8).
The Eagles’ bats started hot in the first inning when Corey Joyce, the Preseason MEAC Player of the Year, hit a solo home run to right-center field to give Central a 1-0 lead.
The starting pitcher for the Pack, junior Alec Barger, was pulled from the game early after only recording two outs, walking three and allowing two hits, including the home run. NC State head coach Elliott Avent called on freshman Baker Nelson to take over for the Wolfpack in a bases-loaded jam. The Eagles’ Caleb Coyle drew a two-out walk off of Nelson to give them a 2-0 lead.
The Eagles extended their lead in the second inning, when Carter Williams hit a two-run home run to right field to bring the score up 4-0.
NC State got its first run of the game in the third inning on a single to center field by junior shortstop Will Wilson, scoring sophomore outfielder Terrell Tatum, which cut the deficit to a 4-1.
Sophomore pitcher Nick Swiney came in for NC State in the third and was efficient out of the bullpen, striking out the first six batters he faced. However, in the fifth inning, he ran into some trouble in a bases-loaded, one-out jam.
A fielder’s choice to second base made it 5-1, and the next batter for the Eagles hit a clutch three-run homer to give them an 8-1 advantage.
The Wolfpack came back in the sixth and added two runs of its own to make it an 8-3 game on a double to left-center field by sophomore David Vasquez, scoring freshman Vojtech Mensik and junior Brad Debo.
NC State was at it again in the seventh inning, when senior first baseman Evan Edwards scored on a fielder’s choice to make it 8-4. Then, on an infield single by sophomore Devonte Brown, Bailey scored to make it a three-run game.
In the eighth, Wilson smacked a double to deep left-center field to score sophomore Jonny Butler. The very next batter, Edwards, hit a single to left-center that scored Wilson, and a freshman outfielder Tyler McDonough sac fly to center field scored Edwards to complete the seven-run comeback and make it an 8-8 game.
With two outs in the ninth inning, Wilson hit a double to left field, scoring Butler and Brown, to give the Wolfpack a 10-8 lead, its first lead of the game. Redshirt sophomore Dalton Feeney came in to close out the game, but the Eagles put the ball in play, forcing NC State into two errors. A single made it 10-9, then a single off junior relief pitcher Kent Klyman tied the game.
Central would’ve won the game if it wasn’t for the throw from Brown that made it home in time to get the runner trying to score from second. Klyman was able to record a strikeout and a pop out to send the game into extra innings.
The leadoff batter for the Wolfpack in the last inning was Bailey, who hit a monstrous home run to right field to give his team an 11-10 lead. It was Bailey’s second go-ahead home run in extra innings this season.
In the tenth inning, Klyman gave up a two-out single but was able to shut it down. The Wolfpack was led by Wilson, who had a game-high four hits.
NC State is back at it this Friday when it begins ACC play with a home series against the Pittsburgh Panthers.
