NC State
29-21, 12-13-0
Pitt
22-25, 8-17-0
Piedmonte’s Gem Lifts NC State Baseball to 7-4 Win at Pittsburgh
5/12/2017 10:45:00 PM | Baseball
Wolfpack takes down Panthers on Negro League Celebration night
The Wolfpack moves to 29-21 overall and 12-13 in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play, while the Panthers fall to 22-25 and 8-17 in league contests. Piedmonte earned the win and is now a perfect 6-0 on the season, while Joe O'Donnell nailed down his sixth save. Pitt starter Josh Mitchell suffered his fifth loss.
Freshman Will Wilson led NC State at the plate with a 2-for-4 outing, highlighted by a three-run homer. Josh McLain was also 2-for-4 and scored a pair of runs, while Brad Debo had a pair of hits as well.
Brett Kinneman had a two-RBI single in the contest to extend his reached base safely streak to 10 consecutive games, while Debo and McLain stretched their streaks to seven.
NC State jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the contest, as the Pack plated three runs in its first plate appearance. Following back-to-back singles from Stephen Pitarra and McLain, a pair of errors followed for the Panthers to plate Pitarra.
Kinneman stepped to the plate a few batters later and lined a single up the middle, scoring McLain and Joe Dunand to make it 3-0.
The Wolfpack pushed the advantage to 6-0 in the third after Wilson launched his fifth homer of the season, a three-run shot over the left field wall. McLain and Debo singled prior to the blast to score on the round-tripper.
Andy Cosgrove smacked a solo home run in the fourth to give the Pack a 7-0 lead. It was his fourth of the season and his second consecutive game with a homer.
Check out @BKinn2 diving catch in the bottom of the ninth to help seal the #Pack9 win #WebGem #SCtop10 @PackAthletics @NCAACWS ???? pic.twitter.com/cnBGWIHagx
— NC State Baseball (@NCStateBaseball) May 13, 2017
Pittsburgh scored all four of its runs in the last two innings after Piedmonte departed. He limited the Panthers to six hits with just two extra-base hits, while eclipsing his previous career high (7) in strikeouts, set against Navy last season in the NCAA Regional, with eight.
O'Donnell entered the game with one out in the ninth and closed out the game to earn his fifth consecutive save in as many appearances.
NC State and Pittsburgh return to the field for game two of the series at 6 p.m. Saturday at Charles L. Cost Field.
#STATEMENT
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Piedmonte, Johnny (6-0)
L: Josh Mitchell (1-5)
S: O'Donnell, Joe (6)
Batting:
HR: Wilson, Will 1 ; Cosgrove, Andy 1
RBI: Wilson, Will 3 ; Kinneman, Brett 2 ; Cosgrove, Andy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pitarra, Stephen 1 ; McLain, Josh 2 ; Dunand, Joe 1 ; Debo, Brad 1 ; Wilson, Will 1 ; Cosgrove, Andy 1
CS: Debo, Brad 1
Batting:
2B: Jacob Wright 1 ; Frank Maldonado 2
RBI: Caleb Parry 1 ; Frank Maldonado 1 ; Manny Pazos 1 ; P.J. DeMeo 1
SF: Caleb Parry 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Alex Amos 1 ; Caleb Parry 1 ; Frank Maldonado 1 ; Yaya Chentouf 1
SB: Manny Pazos 1
