Pack Drops ACC Opener, 6-4

Friday, March 6

Raleigh, N.C.

3:00 PM

NC State

7-4, 0

Clemson

8-4, 0

Clemson

NC State

3/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

March 6, 2015

Box Score | Box Score | Play-by-Play

Top Performers:
Preston Palmeiro (1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, R), Cory Wilder (5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
CLEMSON	1	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	6	6	1
NC STATE	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	4	4	3

NC State baseball let Clemson escape with a 6-4 win on Friday at Doak Field at Dail Park, despite a furious charge led by homers from Jake Armstrong and Preston Palmeiro.

Critical defensive errors undid the Wolfpack (7-4, 0-1 ACC), starting with an unearned run allowed in the top of the first. Cory Wilder (1-3) kept the Pack in it with a career-high eight strikeouts, but miscues in the seventh inning powered the Tigers (8-4, 1-0) to a five-run rally that sparked the win.

State fought to tie the game thanks to a pair of longballs. Armstrong started the comeback bid with a solo shot to left in the bottom seventh, his first of the year and sixth career. Palmeiro drilled a liner of the fence in right during the bottom eighth to score three more.

Andrew Knizner provided the Wolfpack's only multi-hit effort, a 2-for-4 day with a run scored on Palmeiro's dinger. Knizner also threw out his sixth baserunner of the season on just his eighth attempt.

The game's pivotal play happened behind the plate on a tough-to-corral foul pop against the fence. Knizner wasn't able to make the potentially inning-ending grab, allowing Clemson's big inning to take off. Will Gilbert ended up with the fallout, shouldering three earned runs that could have been avoided. Jon Olczak pitched the final 2 1/3.

NC State returns to action on Saturday, March 7 at 3 PM to host game two of its series with Clemson, streaming on ESPN3. Radio coverage will air on 88.1 WKNC. Fans can also follow along with Twitter updates from @NCStateBaseball, or live stats from GoPack.com.