It was a tough day for the NC State baseball team Saturday at Doak Field, as the Wolfpack dropped both legs of a doubleheader to ACC Atlantic Division foe Louisville. In game two, the Cardinals completely outmatched the Wolfpack, winning 14-2 and out-hitting NC State 18-6.
The Pack (29-7, 12-5 ACC) dropped game one of the doubleheader 14-10 in a game where it trailed 9-1 early, and didn’t fare any better in the nightcap, moving its losing streak to four games. The Cardinals (27-8, 12-5 ACC) exploded offensively, tallying seven runs in the fourth inning to propel a big scoring night.
“In that second game they just kind of beat us,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “Everything we threw up there they hit … They hit us. They hit with two strikes, they hit early in the count, they hit with men in scoring position.”
Shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald drove in four runs for the Cards, including a three-run double in the fourth. First baseman Logan Wyatt also had a standout game, going 3 for 5 with three RBIs. For the Pack, the biggest bright spot was freshman outfielder Tyler McDonough, who went 3 for 4, tallying three hits off of high school teammate Nick Bennett.
“I was just looking for fastball the whole game until I got two strikes,” McDonough said. “I’ve had experience hitting off him in the cages in high school.”
Freshman designated hitter Luca Tresh provided all the runs for the Pack, blasting a two-run homer in the sixth inning for NC State’s only score.
Bennett (5-2, 3.35 ERA) pitched a gem for Louisville, as the lefty absolutely shut the Pack down for five innings before allowing the Tresh homer in the sixth. Bennett finished the game with the win, allowing six hits and two runs over six innings of work while striking out eight.
“I thought he was mixing really well, working up in the zone and in and out on guys,” said junior shortstop Will Wilson. “He had his stuff. We’ve just got to put together some better at-bats than we had tonight.”
For the Pack, sophomore righty Reid Johnston (5-1, 4.02 ERA) had a rough outing, lasting just 3.1 innings after giving up 10 hits and nine runs. Johnston picked up his first loss of the season.
Like it did in game one of the doubleheader, Louisville jumped on the Pack early in the game. The Cardinals scored two runs in the third inning, as a triple from outfielder Trey Leonard and single from outfielder Jake Snider brought two across.
Louisville broke the game open in the fourth inning, tallying seven runs on eight hits to jump out to a 9-0 lead. The Cardinals started the inning off with three straight singles off Johnston, scoring one run, before a sacrifice bunt put two in scoring position with one out.
From there, Louisville linked together three base hits and a walk, with a bases-clearing, three-run double off the bat of Fitzgerald chasing Johnston from the game with the Cards up 8-0.
Johnston made way for sophomore lefty David Harrison, who surrendered back-to-back singles, allowing Fitzgerald to score. Harrison finally worked his way out of the inning, but not before Louisville had done significant damage. It was the second time the Cardinals plated seven runs in a single inning Saturday, as Louisville also tallied seven in the third inning of game one.
The Cardinals tacked three more runs onto their lead in the sixth inning, highlighted by a solo blast from Wyatt. Harrison gave up all three runs in the inning, and made way for junior righty Mathieu Gauthier after giving up an RBI double, the Cards’ fourth hit of the inning.
The Wolfpack got to Bennett for the first time in the sixth inning, as Tresh blasted a 2-0 pitch over the wall in left field for his third long ball of the year, scoring McDonough to make it a 12-2 game.
Louisville answered right back to keep its lead at 12-runs, plating two in the top of the seventh thanks to a couple of base hits and two productive outs.
With the two losses on Saturday, NC State dropped its first ACC series of the season. The Wolfpack also saw a two-game lead on the Cardinals in the ACC Atlantic Division slip away, as the teams now sit tied atop the division with Clemson one game back.
The Wolfpack and the Cardinals will be back at Doak Field Sunday afternoon for the series finale, with NC State looking to salvage a game from the series and regain the Atlantic lead. First pitch will be at 1 p.m.
“They’ve got to handle it personally themselves,” Avent said. “You’ve got to understand how good you are, and understand that when you play this game you’re going to get beat. There’s going to be nights like this. Everyday you’ve got to be ready to play, and we’ll see if they’re mentally tough enough to go to sleep tonight and get up for a quick turnaround after being in the ballpark all day with this disappointment.”
