No. 2 NC State (18-0, 4-0 ACC) legitimized its claim as the Atlantic Coast Conference's top team with a dominant win over No. 1 Florida State (13-3, 2-2 ACC) Friday evening at Doak Field, 16-0.
Junior right-handed pitcher Jason Parker (3-0, 0.68 ERA) continued his strong debut season for the Wolfpack with seven shutout innings against the Seminoles. The New Bern, N.C. native struck out 10 batters while only allowing five hits and two walks. Sophomore southpaw David Harrison completed the shutout by pitching the final two innings.
Senior first baseman Evan Edwards started the Pack's scoring in the bottom of the second inning with a leadoff home run for his fifth bomb of the season. NC State followed that moonshot with seven more runs in the inning.
Freshman center fielder Tyler McDonough succeeded Edwards by reaching base with a double. Junior designated hitter Brad Debo and sophomore right fielder Devonte Brown then hit back-to-back RBI triples. Sophomore third baseman David Vazquez followed with a single that brought Brown home. Sophomore second baseman J.T. Jarrett then bunted his way aboard with Vazquez moving to second. Sophomore left fielder Jonny Butler then walked to load the bases.
Two batters after Butler's free pass, sophomore catcher Patrick Bailey doubled Vazquez and Jarrett home. With NC State batting around, Edwards came to bat again and drew a bases-loading walk. McDonough then reached on a two-run single that saw Butler and Bailey crossing the plate for the final scoring play of the frame.
Another run for the Wolfpack came in the bottom of the fifth. Debo reached on a fielding error by the Seminole first baseman. Two batters later, Vazquez doubled, moving Debo to third. Jarrett then plated Debo with a sacrifice fly to center field.
With Florida State starting pitcher Drew Parrish (2-1, 5.54 ERA) replaced on the mound, NC State jumped further ahead in the bottom of the sixth with five more runs. Bailey and Edwards drew back-to-back, one-out walks before McDonough singled to bring Bailey home. Debo followed with a ground-rule double that brought Edwards and McDonough in to score. Junior outfielder Lawson McArthur, pinch-hitting for Brown, followed with a single. Vazquez then reached on a fielder's choice with Debo scoring on an errant throw by the Seminole shortstop. Jarrett followed suit with another fielder's choice that brought McArthur home.
The game's scoring ended with the Pack scoring two runs in the seventh. Junior shortstop Will Wilson led off with a double. Bailey followed with his fourth homer of the season, bringing Wilson home in the process.
The Wolfpack will continue its series against the Seminoles Saturday evening. First pitch from Doak Field is set for 6:30 p.m.
