Friday, March 10
Winston-Salem, N.C. (David F. Couch Ballpark)
6:00:00 PM
NC State
7-7, 0-1
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6
Wake Forest
11-4, 1-0
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9
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NC State
0
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0
0
0
0
4
6
1
Wake Forest
0
3
2
0
0
0
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9
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Photo by: Brian Westerholt
NC State Baseball Edged in ACC Opener at Wake Forest, 6-4
3/10/2017 10:16:00 PM | Baseball
Junior Shane Shepard hits his third homer of the season
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The NC State baseball team was edged in its Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opener at Wake Forest Friday evening, 6-4, at David F. Couch Ballpark.
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The Wolfpack falls to 7-7 on the year and 0-1 in ACC play, while Wake Forest improves to 11-4 overall and 1-0 in conference action. The loss snaps a streak of six consecutive wins against the Demon Deacons.
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Game Recap
Wake Forest broke the scoreless tie with three runs in the second inning to grab a 3-0 lead. Johnny Aiello drove in the first run of the day with a single to left center and a sacrifice fly by Bruce Steel plated the second run. Aiello scored to make it 3-0 on an infield single by Logan Harvey.
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NC State got a run back in the top of the third after Josh McLain led off the frame with a single through the left side and scored on a double down the right field line by Brad Debo, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
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The Demon Deacons hit a pair of solo home runs in the bottom of the inning to stretch the advantage to 5-1, but the Wolfpack answered in the next inning.
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Shane Shepard clubbed a three-run homer down the right field line, after Brett Kinneman walked to start the frame and Joe Dunand followed with a hit-by-pitch to score on Shepard's third blast of the season to trim the Wake Forest lead to 5-4.
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Wake added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh thanks to an RBI triple by Gavin Sheets to own a 6-4 lead.
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Turning Point
After scoring three runs in the fourth inning, the Wolfpack had all the momentum in the contest and loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth. With Brock Deatherage at the plate, Wake Forest starting pitcher Parker Dunshee threw a pitch to the backstop and the Wolfpack attempted to score on the play, but the ball bounced right to the catcher who flipped to the pitcher for the out at home on a close play at the plate to escape the jam.
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On the Mound Â
- Senior Sean Adler started on the mound for NC State and was the pitcher of record, throwing four innings with six hits and five runs allowed.
- Tommy DeJuneas entered the game next for the Wolfpack and pitched 2.2 innings, striking out four batters to go along with one earned run.
- Evan Brabrand and Kent Klyman also took the mound for NCSU.
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- For Wake Forest, Dunshee pitched six innings, allowing six hits and four runs with three strikeouts to earn the win, his third of the year.
- Griffin Roberts tossed the final three innings to earn the save.
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Game Notes
- NC State's loss snaps a streak of six consecutive wins against Wake Forest in the all-time series, as the Wolfpack earned a sweep in each of the previous two seasons.
- Freshman Will Wilson extended his hitting streak to nine games, while Dunand saw his hitting streak end at 10 but he stretched his reached base safely streak to 11 games.
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Up Next
The teams will return to the field Saturday for games two and three of the series, as Sunday's game has been moved to Saturday due to impending weather. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 1 p.m. at Couch Ballpark.
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The Wolfpack falls to 7-7 on the year and 0-1 in ACC play, while Wake Forest improves to 11-4 overall and 1-0 in conference action. The loss snaps a streak of six consecutive wins against the Demon Deacons.
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Game Recap
Wake Forest broke the scoreless tie with three runs in the second inning to grab a 3-0 lead. Johnny Aiello drove in the first run of the day with a single to left center and a sacrifice fly by Bruce Steel plated the second run. Aiello scored to make it 3-0 on an infield single by Logan Harvey.
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NC State got a run back in the top of the third after Josh McLain led off the frame with a single through the left side and scored on a double down the right field line by Brad Debo, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
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The Demon Deacons hit a pair of solo home runs in the bottom of the inning to stretch the advantage to 5-1, but the Wolfpack answered in the next inning.
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Shane Shepard clubbed a three-run homer down the right field line, after Brett Kinneman walked to start the frame and Joe Dunand followed with a hit-by-pitch to score on Shepard's third blast of the season to trim the Wake Forest lead to 5-4.
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Wake added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh thanks to an RBI triple by Gavin Sheets to own a 6-4 lead.
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Turning Point
After scoring three runs in the fourth inning, the Wolfpack had all the momentum in the contest and loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth. With Brock Deatherage at the plate, Wake Forest starting pitcher Parker Dunshee threw a pitch to the backstop and the Wolfpack attempted to score on the play, but the ball bounced right to the catcher who flipped to the pitcher for the out at home on a close play at the plate to escape the jam.
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On the Mound Â
- Senior Sean Adler started on the mound for NC State and was the pitcher of record, throwing four innings with six hits and five runs allowed.
- Tommy DeJuneas entered the game next for the Wolfpack and pitched 2.2 innings, striking out four batters to go along with one earned run.
- Evan Brabrand and Kent Klyman also took the mound for NCSU.
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- For Wake Forest, Dunshee pitched six innings, allowing six hits and four runs with three strikeouts to earn the win, his third of the year.
- Griffin Roberts tossed the final three innings to earn the save.
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Game Notes
- NC State's loss snaps a streak of six consecutive wins against Wake Forest in the all-time series, as the Wolfpack earned a sweep in each of the previous two seasons.
- Freshman Will Wilson extended his hitting streak to nine games, while Dunand saw his hitting streak end at 10 but he stretched his reached base safely streak to 11 games.
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Up Next
The teams will return to the field Saturday for games two and three of the series, as Sunday's game has been moved to Saturday due to impending weather. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 1 p.m. at Couch Ballpark.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Dunshee, P. (3-1)
L: Adler, Sean (2-2)
S: Roberts, G. (1)
Batting:
2B: Wilson, Will 1 ; Debo, Brad 1
HR: Shepard, Shane 1
RBI: Debo, Brad 1 ; Shepard, Shane 3
Base Running:
RUNS: McLain, Josh 1 ; Kinneman, Brett 1 ; Dunand, Joe 1 ; Shepard, Shane 1
HBP: McLain, Josh 1 ; Dunand, Joe 1
Batting:
2B: Aiello, J. 1
3B: Sheets, G. 1
HR: Sheets, G. 1 ; Aiello, J. 1
RBI: Sheets, G. 2 ; Aiello, J. 2 ; Steel, B. 1 ; Harvey, L. 1
SH: Steel, B. 1
SF: Steel, B. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Fairchild, S 1 ; Sheets, G. 2 ; Breazeale, B 1 ; Aiello, J. 2
SB: Aiello, J. 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
LHP
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RHP
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OF
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RHP/INF
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INF
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OF
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1B
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