NC State one-and-done in ACC baseball tournament after loss to Clemson
Call N.C. State and Clemson’s ACC Tournament game a seesaw, because the two programs went back and forth for most of the night, the result coming down to the final outs.
Home plate was relatively quiet for the first four innings, but a small ball clinic midway through the game started a flurry of offense for both teams. The Wolfpack and Tigers traded runs for the rest of the evening, leading to five ties and five lead changes.
Clemson came out on top. The Tigers defeated N.C. State, 7-6, on Thursday night in the conference championship quarterfinals after an explosion of offense four innings in. They face No. 1 seed Georgia Tech at 1 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals, while N.C. State waits to see its NCAA Tournament draw.
“It kind of felt like tonight was like a Super Regional or an Omaha-type game; just two evenly matched clubs, just trading blows, going back and forth,” Clemson head coach Erik Bakich said. “The margin in these games is razor thin. It’s one swing, it’s one play, it’s one pitch. This feels like a deep in June type of ballgame. That was, at least in my memory, one of the most thrilling, exciting games to be a part of.”
This was the fourth game of the season between the two programs. N.C. State swept then-No. 2 Clemson in the regular season series, including a 14-4 eight-inning run-rule victory in the series opener. The Wolfpack outscored the Tigers, 26-8, and allowed 20 hits on the weekend.
On Thursday night, Clemson (43-15) recorded 16 hits as it sought to avoid a fourth consecutive loss to the Wolfpack. Meanwhile, N.C. State (33-19) logged 12 hits as it attempted to improve its NCAA Tournament resume.
“I thought we played great today,” N.C. State coach Elliot Avent said. “Those were two great teams that could be in Omaha in a couple of weeks, and they both played like it.”
Though both rosters feature power hitters, the squads combined for 25 singles. Two of Clemson’s early runs came after well-placed bunts.
Second baseman Luke Nixon had a chance to break the streak of singles in the ninth. He made contact with the ball and sent it to right field, but Clemson’s TP Wentworth robbed him of the game-tying run at the right field wall. The Tigers sat the Wolfpack down in order to secure the upset.
N.C. State shortstop Justin DeCriscio finished a perfect 3 for 3 with a team-high two RBIs. First baseman Chris McHugh returned to the lineup after missing the final week of the regular season with an injury. He went 2 of 5 at the plate and scored twice.
Center fielder Ty Head and designated hitter Matt Ossenfort had notable nights, as Head contributed a trio of hits and Ossenfort’s patience at the plate drew three walks.
N.C. State’s leadoff batter reached base in six of nine innings, but Clemson’s defensive effort deserves credit for limiting the Pack’s opportunities. The Tigers turned four double plays and stopped extra base hit opportunities to end innings or halt momentum.
Dominic Fritton, a third team All-ACC honoree, earned the start for N.C. State and threw five innings for the Pack. He allowed seven hits, three runs and struck out seven. Fritton maintained control for the first four innings, allowing one run and giving up one leadoff hit. He gave up two runs and four hits, two bunts, in the fifth.
Anderson Nance and Jacob Dudan entered as relievers. Fritton and Nance combined for 11 strikeouts without a walk. Dudan added two strikeouts and two walks but didn’t allow a run.
“The loss obviously hurts, but it’s kind of like if you’re 0 for 3 in a game,” DeCriscio said. “You’re not going to let those losses hurt you. You’re going to learn from them and keep going and produce when you need to. We’re going to be ready to go next week no matter what.”
