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‘I believed in myself’: NC State’s Anderson Nance posts another gem to pace Pack to win at ECU

image_6483441 (3)by:Noah Fleischman•04/08/25•

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Anderson Nance
Anderson Nance. (Photo credit: NC State Athletics)

GREENVILLE — Anderson Nance stood on the dirt mound surrounded by 5,908 raucous fans — many of the vocal ones located beyond the outfield fence — inside East Carolina’s Clark-LeClair Stadium. He had worked three scoreless innings, retiring nine straight to this point, but in the bottom of the seventh, it seemed the Pirates’ fan base found life. 

Those clad in purple and gold were trying to will their beloved ECU ball players back into it against NC State, which hadn’t won at the venue since 2022. But the freshman right-hander wasn’t fazed by the yelling and screaming — both on the mound and what he endured in the bullpen earlier in the evening. 

Instead, Nance seemed to grow calmer as the noise inside the ballpark grew louder. And he delivered a masterpiece in the process. 

Nance struck out the side in the seventh, including two in a pair of full counts as his margin of error was slim. Just like that, ECU’s crowd started to dwindle and Nance’s ability to sit down nearly every batter he faced helped propel NC State to a 4-1 win on Tuesday night. 

The Eden, N.C., native retired 14 of the 16 batters he faced, including 13 straight at one point, en route to a career-best tying five innings of standout relief. He didn’t allow a run — his fourth shutout on the mound this spring — with five strikeouts, while the Pirates reached twice (a hit and a hit by pitch) to earn his third win out of the Pack’s bullpen this season. 

“I thought for Anderson Nance to go out there and to throw against this ball club with this atmosphere tonight, it was outstanding,” NC State coach Elliot Avent said with a grin postgame. “He did a heck of a job.”

For some in the stands, they left wondering who this No. 34 was for the Wolfpack. But his outing against the Pirates was just another day in the office for Nance, who has emerged as one of the Pack’s top relievers in his first collegiate season. 

Nance fired strikes — 51 of his 80 pitches, to be exact — after he hit a batter on his second toss of the game. From then on, the righty seemed to be like a sports car on cruise control flying down the highway. 

How did Nance find a way to keep his ice-cold composure, which he’s had all year, on the road in the most hostile environment he’s seen in college? It’s a simple answer for a player that speaks as if he’s a seasoned veteran to go with his slight southern accent. 

“I believed in myself,” Nance said matter-of-factly. 

There’s no reason for him not to. Nance has now fired 34.2 innings out of the bullpen, NC State’s most-used reliever, while he has fanned 31 batters with just nine walks. Add in the fact that opposing batters are hitting just .226 off him, and the freshman has every reason to have immense confidence in himself.

Nance isn’t alone, either. Avent, the team’s 29th-year skipper, has all the faith in his young go-to reliever.

“This guy’s been unbelievable all year,” Avent said of Nance. “I don’t even look at him as a freshman, I just look at him as our best bullpen arm. He’s our best guy out of the bullpen, he has been all year. I just look at him as a good pitcher.”

Nance kept himself calm and collected throughout the outing, and didn’t appear too giddy afterwards. But he’s well on his way to All-ACC Freshman Team honors at the current pace he’s on.

Being thrown into the fire could be intimidating for some, but not Nance. He seems to thrive in the pressure, and add in his ability to go deep into appearances with his third five-inning outing of the year, and Nance appears to improve out after out. 

“It’s nice. I’m getting all the experience right now,” Nance said. “I think that’ll help me in the long run. I’m just going to keep doing my thing.”

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