NC State's ninth-inning rally came up short in Tuesday night's 5-4 loss at UNCW.
Faced with a 5-3 deficit entering the ninth,
Brandon Butterworth drew a one-out walk before
Garrett Pennington roped a single to center field to put runners at the corners.
Alec Makarewicz, who finished the night 4-for-5, singled to right field to bring home Butterworth and make it a 5-4 game.
After a lineout put two down in the ninth, Makarewicz and Pennington advanced to second and third, respectively, on a wild pitch to put the tying run at third and the go-ahead run at second.
Josh Hogue worked into a hitter's count at 2-0 before scalding a line drive to UNCW shortstop Kevin Jones, who knocked Hogue's line drive up into the air before hauling in the final out to seal the win for the Seahawks.
UNCW (20-13) struck first when John Newton lifted a sacrifice fly to right field in the bottom of the first, giving the Seahawks a 1-0 lead. The Seahawks stretched their lead to 3-0 with a pair of runs in the second, scoring their first run via a balk before leadoff batter Aiden Evans delivered an RBI single.
Makarewicz cut the Wolfpack's deficit to one with a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the third. NC State (18-12) kept the inning alive when Pennington singled with two outs. Makarewicz then crushed a 424-foot shot over the scoreboard in right field to make it 3-2. Makarewicz's 12th homer of the season set a new single-season career high, besting his previous high of 11 homers in 2022 and 2023.
UNCW plated one in the third and fifth frames to re-establish its three-run lead. The Wolfpack stranded runners at second and third with two outs in the fifth as Case Stroup battled back from a 3-0 count to get a groundout to end the inning.
Makarewicz homered for the second time in the top of the seventh, smacking a homer from the right side to log home runs from both sides of the plate. Makarewicz's solo shot trimmed the Wolfpack's deficit to 5-3 heading to the seventh-inning stretch.
Bullpen efforts from
Win Scott and
Derrick Smith kept the Wolfpack within striking distance the entire night. Scott set a new career-high with 4.2 innings pitched as the first NC State pitcher out of the bullpen, allowing just three hits and two runs with three strikeouts. Smith then retired six straight batters in his two innings pitched, striking out five consecutive UNCW hitters to cap off his performance. Smith's five strikeouts marked a new career-high for the sophomore.
NC State starting pitcher
Hollis Fanning suffered the loss, dropping to 2-1 on the season. Case Stroup (1-0) earned the win for UNCW, while Cody Benton recorded the save.
UP NEXTNC State concludes its season-long seven-game road trip at No. 2 Clemson this weekend. The Wolfpack's series at Clemson begins Friday night at 6 p.m. at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
https://gopack.com/news/2024/4/9/baseball-pack9s-ninth-inning-rally-falls-short-at-uncw