Auburn ends NC State baseball’s season in late-night finish at NCAA regional
N.C. State baseball extended its season earlier Sunday with a rousing offensive display against an equally impressive Stetson team, but the clock struck midnight for the Wolfpack — figuratively and nearly literally — in the team’s late night bid to extend its NCAA Tournament regional run to a fourth day.
Six different Auburn players had a hit — Chris Rembert did the most damage with four hits, two runs and four RBI — as the Tigers exploded for seven runs in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth, ultimately dispatching N.C. State, 11-1, to win its home regional.
Auburn (41-18-0), the No. 4 national seed, will host a Super Regional next week against No. 13 Coastal Carolina, which ousted East Carolina University earlier Sunday.
The Wolfpack (35-21-0) pounded out 17 runs on 19 hits in its first game of the day, but only managed a single run while moving a runner as far as third base twice more against Auburn pitching.
Andreas Alvarez earned the win for the Tigers, scattering six hits over five innings pitched while issuing just one walk and striking out five. Cade Fisher followed with four innings of work, allowing only the one run on three hits while striking out five.
Dominic Fritton was tagged with the loss for the Wolfpack after allowing three runs on six hits over three-plus innings, but most of the Tigers’ damage came against reliever Cooper Consiglio, who allowed seven runs on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings.
In addition to Rembert’s 4-for-6 night at the plate, Bub Terrell was 4-for-5 with a walk, two runs and two RBI, and Ike Irish was 3-for-5 with three RBI to pace the Tigers.
Josh Hogue led N.C. State with a 2-for-4 effort and scored the Pack’s only run on an RBI from Justin DeCriscio. Luke Nixon and Brayden Fraasman also had a pair of hits for N.C. State.
Early success for NC State
N.C. State unleashed something of a secret weapon Sunday to help the Wolfpack overcome a hot-hitting Stetson team in an elimination game at the NCAA Tournament’s Auburn Regional.
His name? Ryder Woodson.
After hitting his first career home run in Saturday’s first elimination game against Central Connecticut State, and his second in the seventh inning against Stetson on Sunday, Woodson also uncorked a grand slam as part of a 10-run eighth inning, helping the Wolfpack to a 17-12, come-from-behind win to secure a place in the regional final against Auburn.
The Pack’s eighth inning included: singles from the inning’s first three batters; a walked-in run; Woodson’s grand slam; and two hits from freshman Brandon Novy, the second of which was a three-run home run to bookend the scoring in the inning.
N.C. State began the inning trailing by three runs. Seven hits, a pair of walks and 10 runs later, the Pack held a seven-run cushion.
Stetson attempted its own rally in the bottom of the eighth, plating four runs on four hits of its own to pull within three at 15-12.
N.C. State tacked on two more in the ninth to finish the scoring.
While the eighth inning mattered most for the Wolfpack, the game was entertaining from the get-go.
In the first inning, N.C. State fell behind after balking in a run.
In the second, the first three Wolfpack players reached base. A Luke Nixon bunt and subsequent error tied the game, and Nixon and DeCriscio scored on a Novy double.
Stetson then scored two runs in the bottom of the third, four more in the fifth and another in the sixth to seemingly take control of the game — until the eighth-inning onslaught by N.C. State.
Woodson finished the game 3-for-5 at the plate with with three runs and five RBI. Novy went 3-for-5 with two runs and four RBI.
This story was originally published June 1, 2025 at 7:50 PM.