Tresh, Wolfpack walk off Seminoles to open final regular-season series
RALEIGH -- No. 23 NC State baseball opened its crucial final regular season series of the year with a roller coaster win over No. 9 Florida State at Doak Field Thursday night, taking a 6-4 win on a walkoff homer in the ninth inning by Luca Tresh.
Tresh homered twice and drove in three for the Wolfpack, and Jonny Butler (2 for 3, two RBIs), also homered. Reid Johnston threw a career-high 13 strikeouts for the Pack (27-14, 18-13 ACC). The Wolfpack is 23-5 since starting the year 4-9.
“This team has just played really well for a long time,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “They play for one another, they believe in one another. They have a lot of confidence. … I thought we played great the last two innings.”
Johnston came out with a great start in this one, but was left in a bit too long, leading to a fatal mistake in the top of the seventh. In 6.2 innings pitched, Johnston allowed four runs on eight hits and racked up a career-high 13 strikeouts and just one walk on 117 pitches, 79 of which were strikes.
Especially through the first six innings, he pounded the strike zone and commanded his pitches, with his slider biting as he did not issue a walk until the seventh. Johnston struck out every batter in Florida State’s lineup except one (Tyler Martin) at least once.
“Reid Johnston was unbelievable tonight,” Avent said. “... Reid Johnston pitches with so much heart. His performance tonight was outstanding.”
Johnston retired the first 11 batters he faced before allowing a two-out single in the top of the fourth, and racked up eight strikeouts through the game’s first four innings. He shut down the Seminoles until the last full at-bat of his outing, one that saw Florida State’s Logan Lacey tie the game with a grand slam, a very tough ending to an otherwise phenomenal outing to that point for Johsnton.
Evan Justice took the ball from Johnston in the top of the seventh and finished it with a gem, allowing just one base runner and striking out three in 2.1 innings.
With the game tied 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth, Butler led off by lining a double into left center. Tresh then put it to bed with his second homer of the game, a mammoth shot to left center that gave the Wolfpack its 6-4 walk-off win.
“Honestly I wasn’t trying to do too much, just trying to focus on my breathing and slow things down,” Tresh said. “I got what I was looking for and took advantage of it.”
Following a scoreless first inning, NC State jumped on the board first in the bottom of the second, as Tresh launched a no-doubter over the left-field wall for his 10th homer of the year to make it 1-0.
The Wolfpack managed to tack on another run to extend its lead in the bottom of the second. With Jose Torres on first following a one-out single, Terrell Tatum singled and stole second with two outs. Torres then came home on a passed ball to make it 2-0.
The Pack doubled its lead with a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth. Following a two-out double to left by Tyler McDonough, Butler smashed a two-run shot to right center, his 12th dinger and NC State’s 69th of the season, to make it a 4-0 ball game.
The Seminoles put runners on first and second with one out with a pair of singles in the top of the sixth. It was once again no problem for Johnston, who kept attacking the zone and got the Pack out of the inning up 4-0.
NC State loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the sixth on walks from Tatum and J.T. Jarrett and a single from Devonte Brown, but Austin Murr grounded out to end the threat and leave the Pack up by four.
Missing that opportunity loomed large for NC State, as the Seminoles tied the game on a tough break for the Wolfpack in the top of the seventh. The Seminoles sandwiched two singles around Johnston’s 12th and 13th strikeouts of the night to put runners on first and second with two outs.
A borderline full-count call then loaded the bases with a two-out walk. The next batter, Lacey, launched a towering shot to center to tie the game at four with a grand slam.
“I did think [that Reid Johnston was losing steam],” Avent said. “I said ‘I think he’s losing a little bit.’ But a guy that’s given you that, and you have to go through the whole years of Reid Johnston, the whole season of what he’s done, pitching with a groin injury three weeks in a row. All the things that he does, and I’m not going to pull him out of the game when he’s got a shutout. I did think the curveball wasn’t quite as sharp, but I was going to give him that last batter to get through the inning. I didn’t think it was a bad pitch. You’ve got to give credit to Lacey. He put a really good swing on it.
The Pack had a chance to get the lead right back in the bottom of the inning as McDonough led off with a single and Torres walked to put runners on second with nobody out, but the Seminoles’ Hunter Perdue struck out the side to keep it a 4-4 game.
After the Wolfpack stranded two more in the bottom of the eighth, Justice slammed the door in the top of the ninth to give NC State a chance to walk it off, which Tresh did.
“We really all believe in each other,” Tresh said. “If someone’s not bringing it to the table today, there’s someone who’s going to be able to pick us up. I think everyone just trusts in everyone. That was it. They didn’t panic or let things speed up. I think that was the key, just slowing things down.”
With another win either Friday or Saturday to take the series from Florida State, NC State will secure the second spot in the ACC Atlantic and a top-four seed in next week’s ACC Tournament in Charlotte.