The NC State baseball team is coming off its first-ever series sweep of Miami, ending in another ninth-inning comeback in game three as the team continued to find a way to get the job done late in games.
The Pack, after taking an early lead, found itself down two runs going into its last at-bats. Sophomore second baseman David Vazquez started things off with one out by reaching on an error before junior pinch-hitter Lawson McArthur doubled to score Vazquez and represented the tying run at second base.
McArthur continues to come in and get a big pinch hits in big situations. He is 6-for-18 (.333) this season, with four extra-base hits and nine walks in only two starts. Most fans will remember him this season for his pinch-hit, go-ahead grand slam against Bucknell back in February.
Although he hasn’t gotten many chances, maybe it is time to give him consistent starts at a corner outfield position to see what he can bring to the table. Sophomore Jonny Butler seems to be in control of left field with freshman Tyler McDonough tearing it up in center, so right field is the only possible question mark.
The most consistent starter in right has been sophomore Terrell Tatum, who is batting .246 with two extra-base hits, but he has struck out 26 times, a similar strikeout rate from last year. There is no doubt that Tatum could be a huge producer for this team in the future, but for this season the strikeouts are quite alarming.
After McArthur’s double that scored Vazquez on an error, another pinch-hitter, freshman Luca Tresh, followed up with a single, advancing McArthur to third. Butler then tied the game at with an RBI bloop single, moving the go-ahead run to second base.
It wasn’t quite the solid contact the Pack hoped for, but junior shortstop Will Wilson got on base by an error, scoring sophomore pinch-runner J.T. Jarrett, who came in for Tresh. After walks to sophomore catcher Patrick Bailey and McDonough, it was a 6-4 lead in favor of NC State.
The team, and fans for that matter, has developed a mindset that this team can come back from any deficit. Head coach Elliott Avent’s team has trailed in 14 games and has come back and won 13 of them. The Pack has won more come-from-behind games than games it never trailed in.
Not only does the team come from behind, but it comes back from large deficits. Of those 13 wins, only three of them were from one-run deficits and only three were from two runs. The Pack has come back from holes of three runs or more seven times, and its largest was seven runs against NC Central.
Speaking of comebacks, it always seems like sophomore catcher Patrick Bailey is involved in starting or finishing the rally, coming up with clutch hits multiple times this year. Bailey has hit go-ahead home runs against Coastal Carolina in the 11th inning and NC Central in the 10th inning this season.
He also hit a walk-off bloop single down the left-field line to beat Kent State in the 11th inning, launched a three-run no-doubt missile to right field against UNC-Charlotte to tie the game in the eighth inning and knocked in the go-ahead run on a fielder’s choice in the seventh inning versus Pittsburgh.
Needless to say, Bailey will have to step up late in games if the team wants to continue to come from behind. Although there were early-season heroics, there was still pressure as NC State was trying to extend its undefeated winning streak in all of those games. It doesn’t compare to May and June baseball, but it’s the closest comparison so far.
The other factor to a comeback is keeping the other team off the board, something NC State has done fairly well out of the back of the bullpen. Redshirt sophomore Dalton Feeney has a 1.10 ERA in 16.1 innings and 12 appearances. Sophomore Evan Justice boasts a 2.60 ERA in 17.1 innings over 11 appearances.
Junior Kent Klyman and freshman Baker Nelson have pitched important innings as well while having slightly higher ERAs. All of these relievers, and more, have been crucial in the success of the team, but to get to the next level, improvement should come out of the starting rotation.
Junior Jason Parker has made six starts while posting a 1.19 ERA in 30.1 innings. If sophomore Reid Johnston settles in like he did last season and someone, maybe sophomore Canaan Silver, steps up in the Sunday spot, this team will be as well-rounded as any team in the country.
It’s a busy week for NC State baseball as it will face Elon at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26, before traveling to Greensboro to play NC A&T on Wednesday, March 27. The Pack will host Virginia this coming weekend.
