North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
4-2
North Carolina A&T
1-3
#Pack9 Drops N.C. A&T, 9-1
2/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Box Score | Box Score 
| Play-by-Play
| Top Performers: Ryne Willard (3-for-5, 2B, R, RBI), Brad Stone (6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K) |
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| NC A&T | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
6 | 2 |
| NC STATE | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | X | 9 |
12 | 0 |
With winter weather bearing down on Raleigh all week, NC State managed a 9-1 victory over North Carolina A&T at Doak Field at Dail Park on Wednesday night, in a game even the most optimistic Wolfpack fans doubted would be played.
Originally scheduled for Tuesday, snowfall pushed the game to Wednesday, and crews worked tirelessly to prep the field for a 3 p.m. start. At noon, that start was delayed further, to 4 p.m. Despite the long odds, the Wolfpack (4-2) made Doak Field playable, and captured a much-needed win over the visiting Bulldogs (1-3).
Brad Stone (1-0) worked a near effortless six innings, scattering a pair of hits and two walks with four strikeouts. The junior lefthander retired 11 in a row after allowing a leadoff single to start the game. That baserunner was gunned down by converted catcher Andrew Knizner while attempting a steal of third, meaning Stone faced the minimum through four.
Tommy DeJuneas, Will Gilbert, and Joe O’Donnell tossed a frame each to salt away the victory, the lone run coming on an eighth inning solo shot to left. The trio combined for five strikeouts to one walk, surrendering just four hits.
Ryne Willard went 3-for-5 with an RBI double, a stolen base, and a run scored. Jake Fincher drove in a pair with a 1-for-3 performance. Joe Dunand extended his team-leading hitting streak to six games in a 1-for-5 outing with two RBIs. Preston Palmeiro stayed red hot at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a double, two runs and an RBI. Logan Ratledge scored once in a 2-for-5 night. Knizner doubled, drove in one, and scored once in a 2-for-5 effort.
Palmeiro scored in the third on Knizner’s RBI double to grant the Pack a 1-0 lead. Willard started the Wolfpack’s two-run rally in the fourth with a single and steal of second. McKeithan walked behind him, and the pair moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. That’s when Fincher provided arguably the game’s biggest hit, a two-out single to center to put State ahead 3-0.
Willard’s RBI single to right scored Knizner in the fifth. Dunand stepped to the plate next, scorching a two-RBI single through the left side to extend the lead to 6-0. The eighth inning saw three more Wolfpack runs, as Palmeiro drove in Chance Shepard following his pinch-hit walk. With the bases full, State walked in two more runs to set the final margin at 9-1.
NC State returns to action on Friday, February 27, but with impending weather the schedule remains very much in flux. Stay tuned to GoPack.com and @NCStateBaseball on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates on any schedule changes that may occur.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Stone, Brad (1-0)
L: Miranda,Evan (0-1)
Batting:
HR: Mitchell,Brandon 1
RBI: Mitchell,Brandon 1
SH: Ravare,Timothy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mitchell,Brandon 1
CS: Rivera,Milton 1
Batting:
2B: Palmeiro, Preston 1 ; Knizner, Andrew 1 ; Willard, Ryne 1
RBI: Palmeiro, Preston 1 ; Knizner, Andrew 1 ; Armstrong, Jake 1 ; Riley, Bubby 1 ; Willard, Ryne 1 ; Dunand, Joe 2 ; Fincher, Jake 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Ratledge, Logan 1 ; Palmeiro, Preston 2 ; Knizner, Andrew 1 ; Armstrong, Jake 1 ; Riley, Bubby 1 ; Willard, Ryne 1 ; McKeithan, Joel 1 ; Shepard, Chance 1
SB: Willard, Ryne 1
HBP: Knizner, Andrew 1
