Winston-Salem was a house of horrors for NC State across Friday and Saturday, with the Wolfpack getting absolutely hammered in both games. The series opener was a 22-1 beatdown with Pack pitchers surrendering six homers in that overly carpeted Cracker Jack stadium that Wake Forest calls home. The Demon Deacons teed off on five more home runs in the series middle game that resulted in an 18-7 loss for State. At least the Pack bats showed up in that one.
With those first two games putting a major dent
in NC State’s postseason at-large Regional odds, Sunday was a must-win for the Wolfpack. State scored first with a single run in the top of the first on a Ty Head RBI infield single, but Wake Forest responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame, and then added another run on a solo home run – imagine that! – the 3rd inning.
Down 3-1 heading into the 5th inning, this felt like a game slipping away from State’s fingers with an offense in neutral. Thankfully, Mike Ryan doubled to start off the inning then advanced a bag on a Dalton Bargo groundout and scored on a Drew Lanphere groundout to cut the deficit back to a single run.
Wake extended the lead back to two with another home run in the bottom of the 7th inning, and a sense of doom again settled in. Rett Johnson led off the 8th with a single, advanced on a wild pitch, and Luke Nixon put two men on with a walk. Chris McHugh reached on a fielder’s choice to put runners at the corners. Rett scored on a Head fielder’s choice to cut the lead back down to one run.
After Head stole second base, Sherman Johnson singled down the left field line on a ball that seemed like it would be a double, but Sherman stumbled around first base, hyperextended his left knee, and was forced the leave the game. Obviously, that’s a loss that an already hobbled Wolfpack squad can ill afford. Sherman’s single tied the game.
Anderson Nance kept Wake off the board in the 8th and 9th while Marcelo Harsch did the same for Wake against State’s bats in the 9th, sending the game to extra innings, the first extra-innings game of the year for both squads.
In the top of the 10th, Head led off with a walk and stole second base. Wyatt Peifer, who had come into the game for Sherman Johnson, laid down a bunt single that was promptly thrown down the right field line, allowing Head to score the go-ahead run. Peifer was thrown out at third base trying to stretch the E5 an extra bag, although it looked to be an incorrect call, but one that stood due to a lack of clear video evidence to overturn it.
Ryan walked and stole both second and third bases, a huge development as he was able to score on a Vincent DeCarlo RBI groundout, extending State’s lead to two ta 6-4.
Nance retired the first Wake batter of the 10th, but a big 2-2 ball call on an outside fastball extended Luke Costello’s at-bat with one away. On 3-2, he landed a ball just inside the left field line for a double, then scored on a Kade Lewis single to cut State’s lead to one. A single put runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out, but thankfully Nance was able to induce an unassisted groundout to first base and a flyout to right field to end the game.
At the time of this writing, State’s RPI remains in the exact same position (53rd) that it was in when the series started, but it is up 8 spots from the start of Sunday’s action.
Rett Johnson (5-for-5, 2 R, 1-1 SB) set a new career-high in hits in the game and extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Ryan (3-for-4, 2B, 2 R, BB, 3-3 SB) also had a huge game and was the only other Pack batter with multiple hits on Sunday. Head (1-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2-2 SB) and Nixon (1-for-3, 2 BB) also reached base safely in the game as State batters registered 9 hits and 7 walks in the game.
Nance (3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K) earned his second win of the season as the last of three Wolfpack pitchers on the day. Ryder Garino (3.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) continued to look impressive in his relief role after taking over from starter Luke Hemric (3.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K).
State’s best offensive day in the series was actually Saturday when the Pack scored 8 runs on 11 hits and 6 walks. Ryan (3-for-4, HR, 3 R, RBI) had a hot bat in that one as well, with Lanphere (2-for-3, 2B, R, RBI, BB) also having multiple hits and Rett Johnson (1-for-4, RBI, BB), Nixon (1-for-4, 3B, BB), Head (1-for-3, BB), and Brayden Fraasman (1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB) also reached base safely multiple times Saturday.
Head (2-for-4, RBI) was the only State hitter with multiple hits in Friday’s game, although Rett Johnson (1-for-3, BB), Nixon (1-for-3, R, BB, 1-1 SB), and Sherman Johnson (0-for-1, 2 BB) reached base safely multiple times in that one.
No use talking about the pitching in either of those games.
With NC State having no midweek game before next weekend’s series at Virginia Tech, the big question around the baseball program will be that of health. What are the health statuses for Ryan Marohn and Sherman Johnson? Marohn was listed as “week-to-week” when it was made aware that he would be unavailable for this weekend. If he’s unable to return to the weekend rotation, it… well… [motions generally towards this weekend’s results]… doesn’t bode well. Sherman Johnson was able to walk off the field under his own power, but had to be carried down the dugout steps. If he’s unable to return, it takes his .316/.421/.447 bat out of the lineup and will force Peifer into a more significant role in the lineup.
With the RPI dragging them down and a DSR (37th) not too much better, the Wolfpack will likely need to play above-.500 ball in ACC play the rest of the way while also winning both their remaining midweek games (vs ECU, vs NC A&T) to feel good about an at-large bid to an NCAA Regional heading into the ACC Tournament.
