Wolfpack sweep Wright State, extend winning streak to 8

NC State improves to 11-5 on the year

There’s plenty more going on around NC State’s athletics programs right now, but the Wolfpack baseball team did their part over the weekend, sweeping Wright State to extend their winning streak to eight games. With the sweep, the Wolfpack now sit at 11-5 on the year.

The bats stayed hot (Sunday notwithstanding), the starting pitching was outstanding, and the bullpen was generally strong. If you’re going to nitpick, there were four errors committed over the first two games, but overall the team is playing better in the field now than they were a couple weeks ago.

Dominic Fritton (6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 K) turned in another solid start, again showcasing improved control. His line over his last two starts heading into ACC play is now 12.2 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 22 K. Andrew Shaffner (0.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K) had a bit of a rough time in relief of Fritton, surrendering two home runs over the span of four pitches, but his outing was the only bad one of the weekend for State, which is fantastic. Jacob Dudan (2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K) closed things out for the Friday win, earning his first save of the year in the process.

NC State grabbed the lead in the Friday opener on a 2-RBI double from Josh Hogue in the 3rd inning, then put up a 3-spot in the 4th to push the game in their advantage for good. Wright State would threaten at times the rest of the way, but the Pack were able to lock it down. Hogue (3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI) and Luke Nixon (2-for-5, 2B, 3B, 2 R) were the only State hitters with multiple hits, although the Pack did pound out 10 hits and work 7 walks (against just 2 strikeouts) in the game. It was a solid offensive showing in the 6-4 win, the closest game of the weekend.

Here are some highlights from Friday’s win.

The Pack put away the Raiders on Saturday with a run-rule shortened 14-4 win. Wright State jumped ahead in the top of the first on a J.P. Peltier solo home run, but that lead was short lived as NC State responded with a 3-spot in the bottom half of the inning thanks to RBI doubles by Hogue and Alex Sosa.

State put up three more runs in the 3rd inning before Wright State put up 3 of their own in the top of the 5th to make it a 6-4 ballgame. From there, NC State thoroughly controlled the game. The Pack scratched a single run in the 5th and then popped off six runs in the 6th, highlighted by a Jet Gilliam 3-run home run and a Nixon 2-RBI double. State scored the “walk off” run in the bottom of the 7th on a bases loaded walk by Nixon.

Hogue (3-for-4, 2 2B, 3 R, RBI, BB), Sosa (3-for-4, 2 2B, R, 2 RBI, BB), Nixon (2-for-4, 2B, R, 3 RBI, BB, HBP, 0-1 SB), and Gilliam (2-for-2, 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB) each had multiple hits in Saturday’s game. Overall, Wolfpack hitters pounded out 14 hits while working 12 walks against 6 strikeouts.

Heath Andrews (5.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) wasn’t the sharpest or most effective, but he was able to secure his second win of the season. Anderson Nance (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K) was excellent in relief, never letting the Raiders sniff a chance at mounting any momentum towards a comeback.

The play of the game Saturday was Ty Head robbing Peltier of what would have been his third home run of the day. It was an excellent play, demonstrating an advanced awareness of body positioning, ballpark dimensions, and timing. Incredible play for a freshman this early in his first year.

Here are some other highlights from Saturday.

Sunday’s series finale was all about Ryan Marohn. The sophomore lefty tossed a complete game shutout to earn his third win of the year: 9.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 14 K. Over his last two starts, Marohn has now posted a line of: 16.0 IP, 9 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 25 K. Thanks to last weekend’s run-rule shortened game against Canisius, Marohn has back-to-back complete game shutouts to his credit.

The offense wasn’t nearly as sharp on Sunday (4 H, 0 BB, 5 K), but one of those hits was all it took: a no-doubt 2-run home run from Chris McHugh.

Head saw his career opening 15-game on-base streak come to an end on Sunday.

NC State will be back in action Tuesday at 6:00pm in a home game against NC A&T.