The NC State baseball team ended its four-game losing streak on Tuesday, March 2, against Campbell. The Wolfpack held the Camels scoreless until the eighth inning, giving up a handful of runs before finally winning 14-6.
Junior David Harrison (3.0 IP, 3 H, 2K) started out pitching for the Wolfpack (3-4, 0-3 ACC), and the Camels (4-3) weren’t able to do much in the first inning. Campbell’s Waldy Arias had the first hit of the game, but was unable to score. In the bottom of the first, on the first at-bat of the game for NC State, junior first baseman Austin Murr (1-2, 3 RBI, HR) hit a home run. Then, after another hit from sophomore center fielder Tyler McDonough (2-5, 2 RBI), sophomore catcher/outfielder Luca Tresh (2-4, 4 RBI, HR) hit a home run, earning three early runs for the Pack.
Campbell once again wasn’t able to put any runs on the board in the second inning, but NC State was able to score two more runs from junior right fielder Devonte Brown (2-4) and sophomore third baseman Vojtech Mensik (2-4, RBI), bringing the score to 6-0, followed by an uneventful third inning.
Freshman Matt Willadsen (4.0 IP, 3 K) subbed in on the mound for Harrison at the beginning of the fourth inning. Willadsen struck out the first three batters from Campbell, keeping them from scoring any runs. Freshman shortstop Jose Torres (1-2, 2 BB) had one hit for the Pack in the fourth, but nothing else happened offensively for NC State.
Willadsen struck out three batters again in the fifth inning, the same inning junior left fielder Jonny Butler (1-4) scored the Pack’s seventh run of the game.
In the top of the sixth inning, Willadsen struck out another three batters. For Campbell’s bullpen, the sixth inning was brutal; the Camels started the inning with a new pitcher, Jonathan Tyler, who immediately allowed three walks to load the bases. Brendan Wright took the ball from Tyler, and immediately allowed another walk, scoring Brown from third. After back-to-back hits, NC State scored three more runs. Campbell had one more pitcher substitution, swapping in Kevin Westlake for Wright, but that was also unsuccessful as the Pack scored three runs after the substitution, bringing the score to 14-0.
While Campbell struggled in the sixth inning, the NC State defense struggled in the eighth, allowing five runs to Campbell. With multiple pitcher substitutions, this inning showed the Pack performing similarly to its last games against Georgia Tech and UNC-Greensboro and brought the score to 14-5.
Despite a mild comeback in the eighth, Campbell was only able to score one more run in the ninth inning, bringing the final score to 14-6.
The Pack came ready to play with bats ready to go. In addition to Willadsen’s performance in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, NC State let its offense drive it toward a win after a frustrating start to ACC play this past weekend.
NC State will be back in play with a weekend series against Miami on March 5-7 at Doak Field. The games will be broadcast on ACCNX. Follow @TechSports on Twitter for live updates.
