The NC State baseball team was defeated by No. 7 Louisville 8-3 Sunday afternoon at Doak Field. The Cardinals’ win completed the three-game sweep of the Wolfpack, which is now 2-9 in its last 11 games.
Late in the game the NC State (4-9, 1-8 ACC) bullpen imploded in the eighth inning. With a one-run lead, a combination of junior left-handed pitcher Canaan Silver (0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER), redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Dalton Feeney (0.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER) and senior left-handed pitcher Kent Klyman (0.1 IP, 2H, 1 ER) gave up five earned runs to the Cardinals (14-5, 7-2 ACC).
“We’re playing hard enough and well enough at times to get a win, but the competition we’re playing right now makes that difficult,” said NC State head coach Elliott Avent.
NC State’s starter, freshman right-handed pitcher Matt Willadsen (6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 7 K), was the workhorse on the mound that NC State needed against a tough Louisville lineup. The 6.2 innings pitched and sevens strikeouts were both career highs for the Holly Springs native and certainly good enough to win.
“I thought [Willadsen] was outstanding right until the end,” Avent said. “Matter of fact, he probably could have gone a little longer.”
In the second inning, Louisville opened the scoring. With runners on first and third base, sophomore catcher Luca Tresh (0-4, 1 RBI) overthrew second base on a steal attempt that allowed the runner on third to score.
The Wolfpack responded in the bottom of the frame tying the ball game on an RBI double off the left-center field wall from freshman shortstop Jose Torres (1-4, RBI) that scored junior left fielder Terrell Tatum (1-4, BB).
“To have [Torres] back swinging the bat this well this early from his return [from injury] is a bright spot,” Avent said. “Obviously, once we get everybody else going it’s going to help his lineup.”
In the fifth inning, NC State took control of the game for the time being. Junior second baseman J.T. Jarrett (1-3, RBI, BB) ripped a RBI double down the left field line, then later in the inning, scored on a sacrifice fly to left field off the bat of Tresh to give the Wolfpack a 3-1 lead.
Louisville’s Alex Binelas crushed a home run over the right field wall in the seventh inning to draw his team to within one run. With two outs in the inning and a runner on second base, Silver came into the game on the mound. Then, he recorded a groundout to keep his team in the lead momentarily.
The Wolfpack threatened in the seventh inning to extend its lead as it had the bases loaded with two outs. However, junior right fielder Devonte Brown (0-3) struck out on three pitches to end the threat.
It was the eighth inning where the bullpen folded, costing NC State the game. Six hits in the inning led to five runs. The biggest hit of the inning was a two-RBI double down the right field line from Henry Davis off Feeney. It took NC State four pitchers to get out of the inning.
With freshman right-handed pitcher Cooper King (1.1 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 1 BB) in the game, Louisville added one more run in the ninth inning on a sacrifice fly to center field off the bat of Christian Knapczyk.
The Wolfpack will be back in action Tuesday, March 23 on the road in a nonconference tilt against UNC-Wilmington. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. with the game being televised on Flo Baseball.
