The NC State baseball team took three of five games during spring break as it swept the Fairfield University Stags but lost two of three games against the Boston College Eagles to open conference play.
Going into the break, the Wolfpack (13-4, 1-2 ACC) was on a tear, defeating seven-straight opponents, including a 2-1 win over the No. 23 Alabama Crimson Tide during the Irish Classic Tournament. In three of the Wolfpack’s four losses this year, including the two against Boston College, NC State was shut out against its opponents.
The Wolfpack got started against the Stags (1-7) with a 4-2 win on Tuesday for the team’s eighth-straight win.
The game was highlighted by solo home runs from sophomore Shane Shepard and junior Preston Palmeiro, as well as a solid pitching performance from redshirt senior pitcher Chris Williams. Sophomore closer Tommy DeJuneas held off a late rally from the Stags to get the save and seal the win for NC State.
The Wolfpack followed up the solid performance by sweeping the Stags on Wednesday with a 4-0 win to move its winning streak to nine.
The scoring didn’t get started until the bottom of the fifth inning when sophomore Brock Deatherage tripled to bring DeJuneas home. The Wolfpack added three more runs between the fifth and the eighth to blank the Stags and got the Wolfpack’s 12th win going into conference play.
The Eagles (12-3, 2-1 ACC) halted the Wolfpack’s momentum on Friday with a 7-0 drubbing of the Wolfpack, ending NC State’s nine-game winning streak.
Despite having eight hits in the game, the Wolfpack failed to score any runs and registered four errors on the day. Reigning ACC Player of the Week and senior Chance Shepard recorded three strikeouts during the loss to the Eagles.
The Wolfpack rebounded on Saturday with a 3-2 win over the Eagles, giving NC State its first conference win of the season.
Despite looking like an offensive-dominated game, the pitching settled down after the third inning with sophomore Brian Brown registering his second win of the season and DeJuneas acquiring his fifth save of the season.
Chance Shepard rebounded in a big way during the game Saturday. He registered two RBIs and two hits and only had one strikeout for the game. Junior catcher Andrew Knizner had a solid performance as well, registering two hits and a home run in the first inning.
The Wolfpack failed to claim the series against the Eagles, losing the rubber game of the series 1-0 on Sunday at Doak Field in a defensive contest. The loss was redshirt junior Johnny Piedmonte’s first start since the opening game of the season against Old Dominion.
The deciding run was brought in when NC State walked Eagles catcher Nick Sciortino with the bases loaded in the top of the sixth. The Wolfpack loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth inning but failed to bring any of them home.
The Wolfpack will be back in action Tuesday when it opens a two-game series against the Indiana State Sycamores before a weekend series with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
