NC State concedes 7 unanswered runs to drop series opener vs. Virginia

It seemed like NC State was in control. The Pack scored three in the fifth to seemingly break what was a tied score wide open in its series opener against Virginia. It was all trending the way of Elliott Avent’s ball club on both sides of the coin as the Wolfpack received stout defense and its bats were alive and well. 

That was until the sixth inning rolled around.

Avent, NC State’s 29th-year skipper, appeared to want to get starting lefty Dominic Fritton through the frame before turning to the bullpen, despite his ace approaching 100 pitches. A leadoff homer from Aiden Teel cut the Pack’s lead, but the junior starter was more than capable of pitching through it. 

Virginia, a red-hot team as of late after it swept then-No. 20 Stanford last weekend, continued to flex its muscles instead. Jacob Ference launched a three-run homer to hand the Cavaliers their first lead of the evening, chasing Fritton soon after, and allowed the visitors to cruise to an 8-6 win at Doak Field on Friday night. 

Fritton, whose velocity didn’t suffer from 116 pitches on the mound as he sat around 92 or 93 mph in his final inning, seemed to lose his control in the sixth. He didn’t walk a batter through the first five frames, but allowed Henry Godbout a free base just before the home run. The lefty then walked the next batter and allowed a single as command appeared a tad shaky and was finally pulled for freshman reliever Anderson Nance

That led to the Cavaliers building momentum off the two home runs, and even after the call to the bullpen was made, Virginia continued to score in bunches. In all, the ‘Hoos scored seven unanswered across the sixth and seventh to down the Wolfpack. 

Why didn’t Avent make the call to his relievers before Ferrence’s home run?

“I’m not sure I can tell you that,” Avent said in the locker room hallway afterwards in a disappointed tone. “I’m not sure I can tell you that.”

The Pack has now lost four of its last five ACC games, including dropping last weekend’s series at Duke.

Fritton, who had been impressive for most of March, hasn’t made it through the sixth in each of his last two starts. Instead, he’s allowed at least four earned in his last two outings, a stark difference from his previous five starts, which featured at least six innings with two or fewer earned runs allowed and a minimum of eight strikeouts. 

The Fuquay-Varina, N.C., native’s final line against Virginia included 5.2 innings with five earned runs allowed on 10 hits to go with two walks and three strikeouts. It marked his lowest strikeout total of the year as the Cavaliers’ hitters seemed to make loud contact on a regular basis. 

While the Wolfpack found itself in a four-run deficit late in the game, its offense appeared to position itself well in each of the last three innings. It had a base runner in each, including the bases loaded in the eighth, which ended in an inning-ending double play off Brayden Fraasman’s bat. 

By the time the Pack reached the ninth, its bats showed life again in a last gasp. Sophomore first baseman Chris McHugh led the frame off with a solo home run, while Fraasman joined him in that club three batters later with a moonshot. Freshman center fielder Ty Head walked to bring up the tying run with two outs, but sophomore designated hitter Ryan Jaros struck out swinging to end the game. 

In all, NC State was 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position as it stranded nine runners on the base paths. 

Avent seemed pleased with his team’s fight to get itself back in the game, and even though it mashed 10 hits, the Wolfpack was just missing the key base knock with runners 180 feet or less away from home. 

“Just proud of the way they battled back,” Avent said. “That’s one of the hardest things in baseball to do [hit with runners on base]. Our at-bats are getting better, but with guys on base, we got to be better.”

NC State, now, is looking to level the series on Saturday (3 p.m., ACCNX). The Pack needs a series win to keep pace in the ACC, which features six teams within one loss of each other in the middle of the league standings. 

 “We’ve always got to bounce back,” Avent said. “Every game is important.”