Sarah Cochran
Sophomore pitcher Canaan Silver pitches towards home plate in the game versus Bucknell on Saturday, Feb. 16, in Doak Field at Dail Park. The Wolfpack beat the Bison 14-2.
NC State baseball lost 3-1 to Boston College in the third game of its weekend series in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
The Wolfpack (29-4, 12-3 ACC) entered Sunday’s game against the Eagles (15-17, 6-9 ACC) with an opportunity to sweep its third out of five ACC weekend series.
Junior shortstop Will Wilson got the Wolfpack started on the day with a one-out single to center field, but the Eagles escaped the top of the first without giving up a run following a pair of Wolfpack pop outs.
Junior right-handed pitcher Andrew Blake got the start on the mound for the Wolfpack. Blake walked the first batter he faced, hit the second with a pitch and walked the third to load the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first. Blake’s erratic start forced head coach Elliot Avett to bring in sophomore left-handed pitcher Canaan Silver.
Following Avent’s call to the bullpen, Silver managed to get two batters to fly out, one of which resulted in the Eagles lone run in the inning, and struck out the third batter to end the inning.
Avent’s pitching change paid off for the Wolfpack beyond the first inning as the next two innings turned into a pitcher’s duel between Silver and the Eagles’ Mason Pelio. The second and third innings saw no action from the plate as neither team managed to get a man on base.
The pitching deadlock, however, was broken in the top of the fourth by sophomore catcher Patrick Bailey who led off the inning with a bomb to right-center field, evening the score at 1-1.
The Eagles responded with a one-out double but the Wolfpack managed to get the lead runner on a fielder’s choice and escape the inning without giving up a run.
Silver made it to the bottom of the seventh before being pulled for redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher Cameron Cotter. Silver went six full innings giving up no runs and just two hits.
The Eagles scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth after Chris Galland was brought home by a Jake Alu RBI single. A sacrifice fly by Sal Frelick saw the Eagles double their advantage in the inning.
The Wolfpack entered the decisive top of the ninth with the fourth batter in its order, senior first baseman Evan Edwards, leading off. Edwards singled to start the inning and was advanced to second after freshman center fielder Tyler McDonough was hit by a pitch. Despite the good start to the inning, the two-run deficit was too much for the Wolfpack to overcome as the Eagles took the third game of the series 3-1.
The Wolfpack will be back in action on Tuesday where the team will host Coastal Carolina, a team it defeated 7-6 after 11 innings earlier in the season. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.