CHAPEL HILL, NC — NC State baseball suffered a devastating sweep against the rival UNC Tar Heels on Saturday. The Pack9 cruised through most of the series, leading through the first eight innings of Game 1, but never came close to winning again.
After blowing a 5-0 lead in the series opener, the Wolfpack (31-18, 10-16 ACC) lost all momentum in games two and three. State fell behind early in the last two games, never giving themselves a chance in a 9-3 loss on Friday and a 12-2 loss on Saturday. The Heels (33-17, 14-11 ACC) pummeled the Pack’s pitching staff with a caravan of base hits, taking full advantage of a hapless NC State lineup.
“Thursday night’s loss, of all the losses I’ve had in 40-plus years of coaching, probably the worst regular season loss I’ve had,” head coach Elliott Avent said. “We won the game several times, stupid things happened that got them back in the game and they pulled it out. You have to give them credit, but it was a tough loss. We didn’t bounce back from that loss.”
The wheels couldn’t be falling off at a worse time for the Pack. NC State is 12th in the conference with a streak to go, on the ACC Tournament bubble, never mind the NCAA Tournament. Even though the final series comes against Pitt, another struggling ACC team, the Wolfpack’s momentum has all but evaporated.
The Heels played their part in NC State’s overwhelming spirit. Wolfpack pitchers rarely got up despite allowing 30 runs in the series. Carolina employed a “death by a thousand rolls” approach, driving single after single through the infield and into the shallow outfield to keep the pressure on. Only 13 of the Heel’s 43 hits allowed were for extra bases, and seven of those came in Game 1, the only close contest of the series.
UNC also took full advantage of its numerous base runners, converting on 44 of its 81 leadoff opportunities throughout the series. Going 19 for 50 with runners in scoring position also helped get runners on base. State couldn’t stop the Heels from moving on the basepaths and paid dearly.
NC State also had trouble closing down innings to limit inning-to-inning damage. The Tar Heels hit 17-for-41 with 2 outs throughout the series, keeping the offense going for longer stretches and wearing down the Wolfpack pitchers.
On the other hand, the Wolfpack offense was almost completely disbanded for the majority of the series. NC State posted nearly identical hitting numbers with two outs, a runner on base and runners in scoring position in the first game, but those similarities disappeared in the final two games. The Pack was shut out by Max Carlson in the second game, getting just three hits from the Heels starter and four for the game. The end of the series was a foregone conclusion. Facing a 10-0 hole through four innings, State’s offense had no illusions of mounting a comeback against Jake Knapp, who pitched six innings of two-run ball for the Tar Heels.
The Wolfpack bats hit the ground running, scoring five runs in the first frame of the first game, but quickly saw their fortunes take a turn for the worse. Carlson’s two game heroics stifled the Pack9’s bats in the series loss, and line plays seemed to find their way into Carolina’s gloves throughout the series. NC State put together four home runs in otherwise fruitless games two and three, but hard-hit balls took unfortunate trajectories from State’s bats more often than not. While BABIP luck went UNC’s way throughout the series, NC State’s ability to one-up their opposition marks a silver lining in a miserable series.
“We hit a lot of balls on the screws today,” Avent said. “Eli, I thought he threw every ball he hit. We hit a lot of balls on the screws. The one Cozart hit up the middle, they gave a good double play. But when you play with confidence and you’re playing with the house money , make plays like them. The credit plan is we hit a lot of balls on the spinners today and had good at-bats, but nothing to show for it.”
The pitching staff didn’t get much support, but this series was one to forget. Logan Whitaker enjoyed a five-run cushion over two innings before the Tar Heels cut the lead to one in the third inning of the opener. An overachieving Dom Fritton saw the Pack’s game dwindle to one lead, allowing two runs in each of the final two innings.
Matt Willadsen became the first victim of Carolina’s “death by base hits,” with four earned runs on eight hits in four innings of work in the second game. Only one of those hits came off multiple bases, a third-inning double by Casey Cook. Rio Britton allowed the game’s only other extra-base hit, a fifth-inning solo home run off Mac Horvath. Between Britton, Andrew Shaffner, PJ Labriola and Jacob Halford, NC State’s bullpen allowed five earned runs on three hits and five walks Friday.
Sam Highfill started on Saturday, suffering a similar fate to Willadsen. Highfill was rattled for three runs in the first inning on five hits, all singles. Highfill was ejected after 2.1 innings as Carolina’s hit parade continued. NC State threw five pitchers late in the series, but nothing seemed to stick. John Miralia pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, but by then the game was well out of reach.
With its back against the wall, NC State turns its attention to its final regular-season matchup, a home series against Pitt. The Panthers are also vying for one of the last spots in the ACC Tournament, so the Wolfpack will have to go into do-or-die mode to try and make some noise heading into the postseason. While many look at the conference standings and tune in to games around the ACC, the Pack9 is focused on playing good baseball.
“You have to play,” Avent said. “You can look at the results if you want, and obviously we need some help, but this team has to play well next weekend. Win two of three, get into the ACC Tournament, get to the championship game, maybe win it . Our RPI is so good that we’ll probably still go there, but we have to play well. We didn’t play well yesterday or today.”
The series opener against Pitt is scheduled for Thursday, May 18 at 6:00 p.m. Games two and three will follow on Friday at 6pm and Saturday at 1pm. All three games will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
