NC State baseball won its first road game 5-0 over Elon on Tuesday evening despite a late start from the Wolfpack’s explosive offense.
The Pack (4-0) bullpen escaped a number of tough jams to keep Elon (3-1) off the board but junior shortstop Will Wilson hit a solo home run to break the tie and win the game in the sixth inning before four more runs were tacked on in the final two innings.
NC State junior starting pitcher Michael Bienlien ran into his first jams in the first and third innings when he walked two batters in each. Bienlien was able to get out of the mess in the first but freshman Baker Nelson came in for the last two outs of the third.
Bienlien only gave up one hit in his 2.1 innings of work but walked four which got him into some trouble early. Nelson pitched an excellent 2.1 innings where he struck out two and gave up just one hit.
Nelson gave the ball to sophomore Evan Justice in the fifth inning with two outs and he cruised until the seventh inning when he gave up two singles with one out. Justice got the second out on a fly ball to sophomore outfielder Terrell Tatum and the last out of the inning on a huge strikeout. Justice was the third straight Pack pitcher to throw 2.1 innings in the game and was credited with the win.
On the other side, Elon starter Jared Wetherbee pitched phenomenally against the powerful NC State bats. His only mistake came on a high fastball with two strikes to Wilson in the sixth, who made him pay with the only home run of the game. Wetherbee threw 5.2 innings and gave up just three hits while striking out seven.
After Wetherbee came out, the Pack lineup had better luck against the Phoenix relievers. In the eighth, senior first baseman Evan Edwards sealed the game with a two-RBI double after Elon walked the bases loaded. Edwards later scored on a passed ball to make it 4-0 Pack.
Freshman third baseman Vojtech Mensik added the fifth run by himself in the ninth inning by drawing a leadoff walk, stealing second base, advancing to third on a Tatum grounder and then scoring on a wild pitch.
Junior pitcher Mathieu Gauthier came in for Justice after a leadoff walk in the eighth and Gauthier strolled through the final two innings, just giving up a single in the ninth. Out of the four pitchers, he was by far the most efficient, throwing just 19 pitches in two full innings.
The pitching staff showed a lot of depth in what could be considered as a bullpen day. Every pitcher through 2.1 innings except for Gauthier, who tossed just two. Despite the hot offense, if Nelson, Justice and Gauthier can be consistent contributors to the pen this year, the Pack’s strength could be on the mound.
NC State will continue nonconference play of the 2019 season in Myrtle Beach, SC and Conway, SC where it will take on Kent State, Michigan State and Coastal Carolina Feb. 22-24.
