NC State
13-9
Elon
11-12
#Pack9 Rise Above Phoenix in Shutout
3/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Box Score | Box Score
| Play-by-Play
| Top Performers: Jake Fincher (3-for-3, 2B, 4 R, RBI, BB), Johnny Piedmonte (3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) |
| 1 |
2 |
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7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| ELON | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
6 | 1 |
| NC STATE | 0 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | X | 14 | 12 | 1 |
Joel McKeithan's first career home run was a grand slam that lifted NC State over Elon 14-0 at Doak Field at Dail Park on Tuesday night.
The Wolfpack (13-9) victory marks the first shutout suffered by the Phoenix (11-12) in its last 77 games.
McKeithan becomes first Wolfpacker to hit a grand slam since Chance Shepard pulled the feat on February 25th, 2014 against Davidson. Both McKeithan and Joe Dunand ended the night with a home run and five RBIs apiece. Jake Armstrong also delivered a solo shot, his third of the season.
In addition to the three homers, the Wolfpack saw eight different batters contribute at least one hit. Jake Fincher was a perfect 3-for-3, with four runs, a double, a walk, and an RBI.
After McKeithan's slam in the second, Armstrong expanded the lead in the third frame with his leadoff homer to put the Pack up 6-0. Later in the inning with two on and no one out, Shepard smacked an RBI-single up the middle to score Andrew Knizner. State added another run by the end of the inning on a fielder's choice to lead 8-0 after three.
The Pack continued the offensive onslaught by adding four runs in the fourth and another two in the sixth.
Ryan Willamson (1-1) was credited with the win on three innings of relief, scattering three hits, while striking out four. Wolfpack starter Johnny Piedmonte, relievers Jon Olczak and Will Gilbert combined with Williamson for the shutout.
NC State returns to Doak Field at Dail Park on Wednesday at 6 PM for a non-conference matchup with North Carolina A&T. Streaming coverage will be provided by GoPack All-Access. Radio duties will be handled by 88.1 WKNC. Fans can follow along with live stats on GoPack.com, or Twitter updates from @NCStateBaseball.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Williamson, Ryan (1-1)
L: Stalzer, Jake (1-4)
Batting:
2B: Ratledge, Logan 1 ; Fincher, Jake 1 ; Dunand, Joe 1
HR: Armstrong, Jake 1 ; Dunand, Joe 1 ; McKeithan, Joel 1
RBI: Armstrong, Jake 2 ; Fincher, Jake 1 ; Shepard, Chance 1 ; Dunand, Joe 5 ; McKeithan, Joel 5
SF: Armstrong, Jake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ratledge, Logan 1 ; Palmeiro, Preston 1 ; Armstrong, Jake 1 ; Knizner, Andrew 2 ; Fincher, Jake 4 ; Shepard, Chance 2 ; Dunand, Joe 2 ; McKeithan, Joel 1
SB: Ratledge, Logan 1
HBP: Ratledge, Logan 1 ; Dunand, Joe 1
