Depleted NC State falls to Vanderbilt
Despite being down half its starting lineup, all of its regular pitchers (on the mound, anyway) and only having 13 players available due to COVID issues, NC State baseball fought to the very end against Vanderbilt Friday. The Pack came up short, however, falling 3-1 to set up a winner-take-all game Saturday to determine who moves onto the College World Series final.
Garrett Payne and Dalton Feeney combined to allow just three runs against Vanderbilt, and starting pitcher Sam Highfill, playing first base, had three hits, but the Wolfpack stranded 12 runners en route to the loss.
A surreal scene played out before the game, with reports coming out that NC State was facing COVID issues, and Joe Giglio of WRAL reporting that at least one NC State player tested positive.
The game was eventually delayed a little over an hour due to health and safety protocols, with NC State announcing that “multiple players have been put into COVID-19 protocol and will be unavailable for today’s game.”
The “multiple players” amounted to several, with lineup regulars Jose Torres, Tyler McDonough, Terrell Tatum and J.T. Jarrett out, and Payne starting on the mound.
NC State played with just 13 players -- nine position players and four pitchers. In addition to Highfill, Carson Falsken, Eddie Eisert and DeAngelo Giles also entered the lineup. Cooper King, Dalton Feeney and Danny Carnazzao were the only players available off the bench.
In his first career start and seventh career appearance, Payne was excellent. In five innings, he allowed just one earned run on two hits while striking out three and walking three.
In far and away the biggest game of his life, on college baseball’s biggest stage, with next to no notice he’d even make an appearance, Payne shut down Vanderbilt’s lineup and kept the Wolfpack in the game for his five innings. All things considered, it was a wildly impressive outing for Payne.
The biggest issue for NC State was stranding runners and a lack of impact from its lineup regulars, with Austin Murr, Jonny Butler, Luca Tresh, Devonte Brown and Vojtech Mensik combining for just four hits.
The story of the game at the plate was Highfill, who remarkably singled in his first three at-bats (the first two of which came against Vanderbilt ace Kumar Rocker, who finished with 11 strikeouts in six innings). Those at-bats were the first of this season for Highfill, who entered the game with five college plate appearances.
Payne got a lift from his outfield to start the second inning, as Brown made a spectacular running, diving catch for the first out of the inning.
NC State was the victim of a poor call in a confusing situation in the bottom of the second inning, as Mensik appeared to double down the left-field line. The ball was initially called foul, but the umpires got together and changed the call. However, the crew then determined the original call could not be changed and sent Mensik back to the plate, where he struck out.
Rocker struck out eight of the first nine batters he faced, with the very notable exception of Highfill. In his sixth college at-bat and first of the season, Highfill singled to right off Rocker for the Pack’s first hit of the day to lead off the bottom of the third.
The Commodores took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth as the leadoff man reached on an error and eventually scored, and a second run eventually came home on a wild pitch.
NC State got an opportunity to strike back in the bottom of the fifth inning. After Falsken reached on a perfect bunt to lead it off, Highfill continued his stellar day at the plate with a seeing-eye single, his second career hit.
After Giles brought a run home with a sac fly, Murr singled to put runners on the corners with two outs, but Butler struck out to end the threat.
After Payne walked the first batter in the top of the sixth, Avent turned to Feeney. After therunner stole second and took third on a fly out, Feeney allowed an RBI single to give the Commodores the two-run lead back.
The Pack had another chance in the bottom of the seventh with Highfill’s third single of the game and Eisert reaching on an error, but Highfill was picked off second base. Murr walked and Butler wore a pitch to load the bases with two outs, but Tresh popped up to strand the runners.
Feeney ended up throwing a stellar four innings, not allowing a run on four hits and three walks and striking out three as he was able to get the key outs to strand runners at every turn.
The Pack couldn’t make good on Feeney’s efforts, however, as multiple opportunities went by the wayside.
NC State will now face Vanderbilt in a do-or-die game Saturday, with the winner advancing to the College World Series Final. The Pack will hope to get some players out of COVID protocol and back into the lineup.
Stay tuned to IPS for postgame comments from NC State and updates on the Wolfpack’s situation.