This NC State baseball team has battled adversity all year. It turned a 4-9 start to the regular season into a 24-6 finish. So, it was only natural that the Wolfpack’s victory that sent it to a Super Regional for the first time since 2013 wouldn’t come easy.
NC State roared back from an early 4-0 deficit and topped Louisiana Tech 14-7 Sunday night, going 3-0 in the Ruston Regional to advance to the next round. NC State will now face either Arkansas or Nebraska in the Super Regional Round next weekend.
Here’s a few key takeaways from the Wolfpack’s regional-clinching victory:
Offensive explosion
All season, NC State’s deep, talented lineup carried the way, ultimately sparking the team’s turnaround from its 4-9 start. It was on another level in this regional. The Wolfpack fought back from an early 4-0 deficit Sunday, ultimately piling up 14 runs on 19 hits.
Every batter in the lineup had at least one hit, which was fitting for a team that’s been so productive one through nine all season. Devonte Brown had the game’s biggest hit, a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth that gave NC State its first lead- one the Wolfpack would not relinquish. He finished the game 2 for 4 with five RBIs.
As it has done all weekend, the Wolfpack’s top four of the lineup led the charge, with Austin Murr going 3 for with 6 with a run scored and an RBI, Tyler McDonough 3 for 5 with two runs, Jonny Butler 2 for 4 with two runs two RBIs and Terrell Tatum 3 for 5 with two runs and two RBIs. It wasn’t just that trio, however, with others, such as J.T. Jarrett (three hits, at least one hit in every postseason game so far) making their mark as well.
That top quartet finished the regional a combined 24 for 51 with 15 RBIs and 15 runs socred, leading the Wolfpack’s bats as they racked up 30 runs on 42 hits over the weekend and pushed the team into the next round.
Willadsen battles
While Matt Willadsen found himself in trouble early, allowing a two-run homer to Parker Bates in the first - his first of two two-run shots (he also homered in the third to put the Wolfpack down 4-0), he ultimately fought his way through six innings and limited the damage against a very dangerous Louisiana Tech lineup, allowing NC State to stay in the game until the bats could get going.
Willadsen allowed five runs on six hits while striking out five and walking three, and got better as the game went along, retiring the side after NC State took the lead in the fifth inning. The Wolfpack’s starting pitching played a key role in its regular-season turnaround, and was excellent in the regional, with Willadsen, Reid Johnston and Sam Highfill combining to allow just six runs in 19.1 innings pitched.
So often, starting pitching is the difference between winning and losing a regional. Not having enough of it has ultimately sunk the Wolfpack in past regionals, and having three rock-solid starters helped see the Wolfpack on its way this time around.
Pack battles back, take control with big fith, sixth innings
Thanks to the aforementioned big hits from Bates, the Wolfpack found itself trailing 4-0 in the bottom of the third, and 5-3 in the bottom of the fifth. NC State first began to claw back with a two-run RBI single from Tatum in the bottom of the third, followed by a brief rain delay, to get within two.
A solo shot from Luca Tresh in the bottom of the fourth then made it a one-run game.
After Bates pushed the Bulldogs’ lead to 5-3 with a triple in the top of the fifth, the Wolfpack went to work with a huge bottom of the inning, plating six runs on six hits and sending 10 to the plate to take a 9-5 lead. After Murr and McDonough led off the inning with base hits, Butler brought them both home with a single to right to tie the game at five.
Tatum then singled to keep the line moving, and Torres came up with a phenomenal 11-pitch plate appearance, drawing a walk to load the bases with nobody out. With one away, Brown came through with his third big fly of the regional, a grand slam to right that put his team up by four.
Just like that, a team that had trailed 4-0 led by four runs. This is an NC State team that’s had a knack for stringing hits together all season, and it did so in the biggest moment of this game.
NC State wasn’t done extending its lead, however, again loading the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the sixth. Torres brought home two more with a double to make it 11-5, and NC State added two additional runs with productive outs to go up 13-5.
Villaman, closes the door
After Willadsen gutted his way through six and the Pack took the eight-run lead through six, Elliott Avent turned to Chris Villaman, who pitched a scoreless ninth Friday and was excellent in the ACC title game.
He wasn’t quite perfect, surrendering a two-run homer in the seventh, but did more than enough to preserve the lead and slam the door, allowing two runs on four hits and striking out five in three innings.
The streak is over
Since its run to the College World Series in 2013, NC State has found some brutal, painful ways to fall short in the regional round. A blown 8-1 lead in the eighth inning, which included a controversial balk call, against TCU in 2015. Being a strike away against a Coastal Carolina team that won it all in 2016, before hitting the batter and eventually losing. Whiffing on two chances to close it out against Kentucky in 2017.
This team, however, simply took care of business, getting that all-important 2-0 start and then coming from behind in Sunday’s final to leave no doubt that it would head to a Super Regional for the first time since Carlos Rodon and Trea Turner wore Wolfpack uniforms.
This is a team that started 4-9 and went through an early COVID pause before finishing the regular season 24-6 and falling a run short against Duke in the ACC title game. The Wolfpack didn’t have to wait long to make up for that disappointment, putting eight years of heartbreak behind it and securing a chance to play for a trip to Omaha.
The Pack will now move on to face either Arkansas or Nebraska in next weekend’s Super Regional Round. A possible matchup with the No. 1 overall seed Razorbacks would be a tall task, but this NC State team has already shown that doubting it is not a wise choice.
