Unable to capitalize on multiple run-scoring chances offensively, the NC State baseball team fell to Louisville 6-3 at Doak Field Sunday afternoon to suffer its first series sweep of the season.
The Wolfpack (29-8, 12-6 ACC) picked up just five hits and made three errors in the field while Louisville (28-8, 13-5 ACC) vaulted into sole possession of first place in the ACC Atlantic Division with the win.
“Louisville probably played their best series of the year by far,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “I thought their pitching was outstanding and I thought they played tremendous defense.”
Louisville starter Bobby Miller held the Wolfpack to just two hits in five innings to secure the win but did walk six batters. Sophomore left-hander Canaan Silver had a solid start of his own despite being tagged with the loss, tossing 5.2 innings and giving up just two earned runs.
“I thought their pitching was very, very good,” Avent said. “Starting pitching and bullpen, that’s the best we’ve seen all year.”
Junior shortstop Will Wilson notched his 12th homer of the season, junior first baseman Evan Edwards picked up an RBI with a 2-for-4 effort and the team collectively drew eight walks, but some timely hitting from Louisville along with excellent pitching proved to be the difference in not only the game but the series as a whole.
It was a frustrating day for the Wolfpack offense, especially with runners on base. The Wolfpack left 10 runners on base and got just one hit with runners in scoring position.
“We didn’t get the timely hits at the key times when they did,” Avent said.
Louisville got on the board in the third inning, using a bunt single by second baseman Justin Larvey to get on base. Larvey stole second, and an overthrow by sophomore catcher Patrick Bailey on the play allowed Larvey to advance to third and eventually score on a sac fly to make it 1-0.
The Cardinals picked up another run the next inning after two consecutive hits and a groundout made it 2-0. Later, in the sixth inning, Louisville pushed the score to 3-0. Silver nearly got out of the inning to cap his more-than-adequate performance after 5.2 innings pitched, but surrendered a two-out double to Alex Binelas. Redshirt freshman right-hander Cameron Cotter came in to try and get out of the inning but promptly surrendered an RBI single.
Multiple bases-loaded opportunities came and went without NC State being able to plate a run. In the fifth, Wilson came to the plate with the bases full and two outs but struck out swinging to end the inning. The very next frame, the Pack drew three straight walks to start the inning, but two strikeouts and a groundout left the Wolfpack scoreless yet again.
Louisville added an insurance run in the seventh frame on a home run by Tyler Fitzgerald off of Cotter, putting the Pack in a 4-0 hole.
The bottom of the seventh inning saw the Pack finally break through. With runners on second and third, Edwards notched an RBI with a single to right field and Bailey drove in another run with a sac fly to center to cut the Cardinal lead to 4-2.
Junior left-hander Kent Klyman came on to weather the storm, but the Cardinals tacked on two unearned runs in the eighth inning to push the score to 6-2.
Wilson hammered a home run off Louisville’s Michael Kirian for his eighth of the year, but it ultimately wasn’t enough as the Wolfpack fell 6-3.
“They did every aspect of the game well,” Wilson said. “Like coach told us, you’ve just got to tip your hat to a team like that. They put everything together at the right time.”
The Wolfpack will look to right the ship when it takes on UNC-Wilmington Tuesday on the road and then heads to Winston-Salem for a weekend series with Wake Forest.
