NC State baseball lost its ACC opener 9-2 to Georgia Tech, playing the first eight innings under the rain at Doak Field Friday, Feb. 26 afternoon and finishing the ninth Saturday, Feb. 27. The Yellow Jackets put up three crooked numbers in the second, fourth and seventh innings to seal the deal.
For the Wolfpack (2-2, 0-1 ACC), it was a really rough game at the plate as nobody was able to collect more than one hit. Georgia Tech’s Brant Hurter threw six fantastic innings, giving up only two hits and one unearned run while striking out six.
After a scoreless first, Georgia Tech’s high-powered offense jumped on the board with a three-run second inning, all three coming off junior lefty Evan Justice (4 IP, 6 H, 5 ER). Justice gave up a leadoff double, then with two outs, he allowed a single, a walk and another single in three consecutive at-bats. Two wild pitches also aided the Yellow Jackets’ offense.
NC State was able to get one of those runs back in the bottom of the frame as junior left fielder Jonny Butler (1 for 3, HBP, R) was hit by a pitch and then advanced to third on a throwing error. Junior second baseman J.T. Jarrett (1 for 4, RBI) knocked him in with a groundout to shortstop.
In the fourth, Georgia Tech tacked on two more with a two-RBI single, but it wasn’t until the seventh inning that it blew it open. Against a new pitcher, sophomore righty Baker Nelson (2.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER), the three-run seventh was the cherry on top as after a single and a walk, a one-out triple to right-center from catcher Kevin Parada scored two runs. Parada later scored on a groundout to make it 8-1 in favor of the visitors.
Just like the second inning, the Wolfpack was able to get one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning. Sophomore shortstop Vojtech Mensik (1 for 3, RBI) knocked in freshman pinch hitter Eddie Eisert (0 for 1, BB, R), who walked.
Freshman righty Cooper King came in and finished the last 1.2 innings Friday, giving up no hits and no runs in his collegiate debut before the umpire decided the rain was too much to continue.
After the small break of around 21 hours, Georgia Tech seemed to pick up right where it left off, adding another run in the top of the ninth to make it 9-2 off freshman lefty Cameron Arnold, who also made his collegiate debut. After a leadoff single by junior center fielder Terrell Tatum (1 for 4), Jarrett and Eisert struck out, and freshman pinch hitter Jose Torres (0 for 1) flew out to center to end the game.
Even with great pitching on the other side, games like this come few and far between for an offense like NC State’s. The Pack has been an offense-first team for years now and should get back on track soon. At the top of the lineup, 0-for games from junior first baseman Austin Murr, sophomore third baseman Tyler McDonough and junior right fielder Devonte Brown, especially all at the same time, are anomalies.
Game two of the series starts 30 minutes after the conclusion of this game on ACC Network Extra as the Pack tries to set up the rubber match. Follow @TechSports on Twitter for live updates.
