Pack Sweeps Baseball at the Beach
CONWAY, S.C. — Invited to the 20th Annual Brittain Resorts Baseball at the Beach tournament, No. 21 NC State (7-0) defeated Kent State (1-5), Michigan State (1-6), and No. 19 Coastal Carolina (7-1) over the course of the weekend. The Wolfpack needed extra innings to win two of the three contests.
NC State 3, Kent State 2 (11 Innings)
Playing as the home team, the Pack played its first game Friday at TicketReturn.Com Field in Myrtle Beach, S.C. where it tasted victory over Kent State in 11 innings, 3-2.
Junior left-handed pitcher Kent Klyman (3-0, 2.70 ERA) picked up his first of two wins over the weekend after 1.1 innings of work. Zach Schultz earned the loss for the Golden Flashes.
With Kent State scoring two runs in the top of the third inning, NC State drove in its first run in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by junior shortstop Will Wilson that plated sophomore right fielder Devonte Brown. Wilson then struck again in the eighth with a game-tying solo home run.
Sophomore catcher Patrick Bailey ended the game in the 11th in bizarre fashion. After a walk to junior outfielder Lawson McArthur, who later advanced to second on an errant pickoff attempt, Bailey hit a high fly ball near the left-field line. After drifting from foul territory into fair, the pop-fly dropped after McArthur crossed the plate.
NC State 5, Michigan State 0
Despite an early pitcher’s duel, the Wolfpack shut out Michigan State at Springs Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C. Saturday afternoon, 5-0.
After coming in for sophomore left-hander Canaan Silver, sophomore righty Reid Johnston (1-0, 0.00 ERA) was credited with the win after striking out seven Spartans while only allowing two hits in 4.2 innings. Mitchell Tyranski picked up the loss for Michigan State.
The Pack opened up the scoring in the top of the seventh with freshman center fielder Tyler McDonough scoring on a passed ball. Later, sophomore infielder J.T. Jarrett drove redshirt freshman outfielder Thayer Thomas home with a double. Butler then plated Jarrett with an RBI single. Two batters later, senior first baseman Evan Edwards doubled to bring Butler in to score.
After State’s four-run seventh, the Pack would plate its final run in the top of the ninth. Butler reached base on a one-out walk and, after moving to second on a wild pitch, scored on a Wilson single.
NC State 7, Coastal Carolina 6 (11 Innings)
After two neutral-site games, the Pack played its second true road game of the season, managing to slip past Coastal Carolina in extra innings Sunday afternoon, 7-6.
Relieving Feeney after four innings of shutout pitching, Klyman picked up the win after escaping tight jams in the ninth, 10th, and 11th innings. Scott Kobos was the Chanticleers’ losing pitcher.
With Coastal ahead by four after two innings, State’s first runs came in the third as Edwards drove Butler and Wilson home with a two-run single. Wilson helped catalyze the Wolfpack’s five-run rally in the fifth inning with an RBI double to bring Jarrett home. After a sacrifice fly by Bailey that plated Butler, Edwards tied the game with a two-run homer that brought Wilson in with him.
Both teams were kept in check before Bailey led off the top of the 11th with a solo home run to give the Wolfpack the lead. The Chanticleers managed to put runners on the corners with two away in the bottom of the frame, but Klyman induced a fly-out to right field that sealed the NC State win.
The Wolfpack will return to action Wednesday afternoon as the team travels to Buies Creek, N.C. to take on the Campbell Camels. First pitch is slated for 5 p.m.