Indiana State was no match for NC State on Saturday morning in Puerto Rico. The Wolfpack jumped out to 10-0 lead after five innings and cruised to a good-buddy, 10-4, victory. NC State now stands at 2-0 on the year while the Sycamores fall to 1-1.
The story around Jacob Dudan this offseason was how well he could adapt to a starting role, specifically whether he could make the adjustment from a fastball-slider strikeout-oriented pitcher to a multi-look contact-oriented approach to allow him to go deeper
into games. At least for one game, Dudan responded with an emphatic yes, tossing five shutout innings of 2-hit ball in earning the win, walking none and striking out 2 while tossing just 68 pitches. That’s an efficient and effective outing, even if against a lineup that’s not ACC caliber.
A trio of NC State hurlers made their Wolfpack and collegiate debuts following Dudan on the mound. Freshman Sam Harris allowed a pair of runs on a pair of hits with one strikeout in the 6th inning. Freshman Aiden Kitchings looked the part of a future stud over 2.2 innings, striking out four, although he did have a “welcome to D1” moment in the 9th thanks to a 2-run bomb from Jorge Cartagena. Redshirt-freshman Truitt Manuel came on for the last out of the game.
At the dish, NC State used a mix of power and patience in the 2nd inning to jump out to a 5-0 lead. Dalton Bargo led off the frame with his second home run of the season, a no-doubter out to right.
Brayden Fraasman followed with a single and then the walk parade started. Andrew Wiggins, Wyatt Peifer, Drew Lanphere, and Ty Head each walked to drive in two more runs. Chris McHugh lofted a soft single into right-center to plate another run before Luke Nixon capped the scoring for the frame with a fielder’s choice.
The Pack would plate two more in the 3rd inning. Fraasman singled to start off the frame, stole second base, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and then came home to score on a Wiggins double. After failing to tag up on a deep Peifer flyout to center field, Wiggins would steal third base before scoring on a rather generously-ruled infield single from Lanphere.
Another pair of runs were plated in the 4th for State. McHugh led off with a double and advanced to third on an infield single from Nixon. Nixon then stole second base to put two runners in scoring position with no outs. A wild pitch plated McHugh, while Nixon scored on a Fraasman double.
The Pack would cap their scoring for the day in the 5th, plating their final run without a hit. Peifer reached on a fielding error to start the frame, advanced to second base on a Lanphere walk, moved up to third base on a Head flyout, and scored on a McHugh fielder’s choice.
Indiana State would score four runs from there but never actually threatened as the Wolfpack simply ran out the clock, so to say, in this one. Another run-rule shortened win would have been nice, but the showing through the first two games is still strong. There are worse places to be than a 2-0 record while outscoring your opponents 23-to-4.
The Wolfpack showed a nice blend of patience at the dish (7 walks) and aggressiveness on the bases (5 stolen bags), taking advantage of weaknesses from their opponent. As a team, NC State registered 12 hits, their second consecutive game with a double-digit hit total.
Three Pack hitters had multi-hit efforts in the win: Fraasman (3-for-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI, 2-2 SB), Bargo (2-for-5, HR, R, RBI), and McHugh (2-for-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI). Four more Pack batters reached base safely multiple times in the game: Wiggins (1-for-3, 2B, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, 1-1 SB), Head (0-for-3, RBI, 2 BB), Lanphere (1-for-1, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB), Peifer (1-for-4, 2 R, BB).
Preston Bonn (0-for-1) made his Wolfpack debut in the game while Devin Mitchell came on as a late-game defensive substitution for the second straight day.
The Wolfpack will finish out their participation in the 2026 Puerto Rico Challenge with an 11:00am ET Sunday morning tilt with Seton Hall. The Pirates lost their opener to Boston College by a 4-6 final score and are set to take on Manhattan Saturday evening.
