RALEIGH, NC., (March 17, 2019) – On Sunday afternoon, the scorching hot Wolfpack put their 19-game win streak on the line with a matchup against the Florida State Seminoles at Doak field. The Pack were in search of a 3-game sweep against the nations top team in college baseball. In a close 7-5 game that could have gone either direction, the NC State Wolfpack fell just short.
In a relatively high scoring game, adhering the expectation, the Wolfpack and Seminoles made Sundays contest a very entertaining experience. The Seminoles combined for a total of 10 hits during the game in route to their 7 run outing including a pair of 3 run innings and a home run. While the Wolfpack totaled 7 hits in a 5 run outing. Tension was running high in the bottom of the eighth inning when the Wolfpack had bases loaded and star catcher Patrick Bailey at the plate. He was unable to find the gap on a hard hit ball to right field. Right fielder Reese Albert for the Seminoles was able to make a spectacular catch to stop the bleeding and get out of the inning.
More drama occurred in the bottom of the ninth where the Wolfpack first baseman Evan Edwards led off with a single to put pressure on the ‘Noles. Edwards was followed by center fielder Tyler McDonough, who smacked a grounder to second turning into a controversial double play. Following the play, the umpires reviewed whether or not second baseman Mike Salvatore on FSU had tagged Evan Edwards while turning two. After the review they determined that the correct call had been made on the field, putting NC State in a difficult situation being down 2 runs with 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth. The Seminoles were able to seal the deal with a 3rd-out strikeout by RHP Cade Hungate on the hard-hitting DH Brad Debo.
NC State struggled to find consistent pitching in a game where they seemed to go through the entire bullpen, but managed to stay in the ballgame with an exceptional hitting performance. Throughout the game, the Wolfpack used a total of 8 pitchers, and 3 in the final inning. The Pack started a little shaky with RHP Michael Bienlien on the mound, who struggled to get into a rhythm early. After 1 1/3 IP, he accumulated 4 walks, 3 hits, and 3 earned runs to start the Pack off in a hole, and they were unable to recover from that point on.
Though NC State lost a tough game against the top ranked team in the country, they still managed to win the series against the Seminoles and tally up 30 runs against them in the process. Looking to avenge the first loss for the Pack 9 this season, NC State looks to hop back on the winning train again with a contest against Towson at 6 PM on Tuesday.