NC State baseball falls to Stetson in NCAA Tournament’s Auburn Regional opener

N.C. State baseball’s NCAA Tournament didn’t exactly start the way the Wolfpack had envisioned.

N.C. State fell behind early and couldn’t recover, losing its opening game to Stetson, 11-2, at the Auburn Regional.

Things went south for the Wolfpack quickly: The Hatters scored seven runs in the first inning, taking advantage of a slow start on the mound for N.C. State starter Dominic Fritton. The normally reliable Fritton allowed two hits, three walks and six runs — three earned —in just a third of an inning, marking his shortest outing of the season.

While Stetson started strong offensively, the Wolfpack couldn’t counter in the bottom of the first. N.C. State managed just one hit and no runs in the inning.

In the top of the second, freshman outfielder Ty Head ended another Stetson threat with a sharp putout, and it seemed the Wolfpack had found some momentum for a moment. Indeed, N.C. State held Stetson scoreless for five of the nine innings Friday, but the Pack never generated enough offense to overcome the Hatters’ initial seven-run outburst.

Stetson added a run in both the fifth and eighth innings to stretch its lead to 9-0 before the N.C. State bats woke up in the bottom of the eighth. Josh Hogue led off the inning with a solo home run, Brandon Novy added a second solo shot with two outs, and Ty Head smacked a double. But Brayden Fraasman ended the Wolfpack threat when he flied out to center.

Stetson added two more runs to cap the scoring in the ninth.

Missed opportunities like those in the eighth cost N.C. State more than one run throughout the game. In the second inning, the Wolfpack left two runners on base, and in the third, it left three. In all, N.C. State left 10 runners on base in the loss.

The Wolfpack continues its NCAA Tournament run Saturday in an elimination game at 3 p.m.

This story was originally published May 30, 2025 at 9:35 PM.