Friday, February 23
Raleigh, N.C.
3 p.m.
NC State
5-1
10
vs
0
Furman
3-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Furman
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
2
NC State
0
0
0
3
0
5
2
0
X
10
11
1
Photo by: James Guillory
No. 12 #Pack9 Shuts Out Furman in Series Opener, 10-0
2/23/2018 6:51:00 PM | Baseball
Kinneman turns in NC State's first multi-home run game of the season
RALEIGH, N.C. – The 12th-ranked NC State baseball team scored a season-high 10 runs and was stellar on the mound, as Wolfpack pitchers did not allow a walk en route to a 10-0 shutout victory against the Furman Paladins Friday afternoon at Doak Field at Dail Park.
The Wolfpack plated three runs in the fourth inning, five in the sixth and added two runs in the seventh inning to reach double-digit runs scored for the first time this season. NC State moves to 5-1 on the year, while Furman falls to 3-2.
Avent Additions
Overall thoughts...
"We played well today and it's the best we've played this season. Furman's a good ball club and it's going to be a big series. We've got four games in four days and that will be nine games in 11 days. That's a tough stretch for our guys, especially in addition to their academics."
Thoughts on the team's pitching performance...
"Our pitching staff has been so impressive this year because we're not walking people. The most we've had in any game has been three and we didn't have any today with three different pitchers.
"I thought Brian [Brown] was outstanding today and had command of everything. That's a good team that he shut out today."
Quick Hits
- Dillon Cooper opened the scoring for NC State in the bottom of the fourth, as he lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to plate Patrick Bailey from third base and give the Wolfpack a 1-0 lead.
- Two batters later, Josh McLain followed with a two-RBI double off the wall in left center to push the Pack's advantage to 3-0.
- Brock Deatherage walked to start the sixth, stole second base and then stole third to score on a single by Cooper.
- McLain drove in his second run of the day with a single to right field, allowing Cooper to score and make it a 5-0 NC State lead.
- Brett Kinneman broke the game open with a three-run homer to deep right field, as the Wolfpack went ahead, 8-0.
- He left the yard for the second time on the day in his next at-bat, as he belted a two-run blast to center field. It was the second multi-homer run game of Kinneman's career and the first of the year for NC State.
On the Mound
- Senior Brian Brown started on the mound for the Wolfpack and was tremendous, striking out eight in seven innings pitched to earn the win (2-0). He allowed just three hits (all singles) and did not walk a batter.
- Sophomore Michael Bienlien pitched a perfect eighth with two strikeouts and redshirt freshman Connor Centala worked a 1-2-3 ninth in his collegiate debut.
Inside the Box Score
- Kinneman led the Wolfpack at the plate with a 3-for-5 performance, highlighted by five RBIs and a pair of homers.
- Cooper was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while McLain turned in a 2-for-5 showing with three RBI.
- NC State recorded a .400 clip at the plate with runners in scoring position and a .364 average with runners on base.
Game Notes
- Kinneman's five RBIs in the contest give him 12 for the week and he takes over as the ACC leader in that category.
- Brown has struck out 13 batters in 13 innings pitched this season and has allowed just one run to compile a 0.69 ERA.
- McLain stretched his hitting streak to 14 games, dating back to 2017, with a double in the fourth inning.
- Will Wilson singled in the first inning to push his reached base safely streak to 22 games, dating back to last season.
Up Next
NC State returns to the diamond for game two of the series against Furman on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
The Wolfpack plated three runs in the fourth inning, five in the sixth and added two runs in the seventh inning to reach double-digit runs scored for the first time this season. NC State moves to 5-1 on the year, while Furman falls to 3-2.
Avent Additions
Overall thoughts...
"We played well today and it's the best we've played this season. Furman's a good ball club and it's going to be a big series. We've got four games in four days and that will be nine games in 11 days. That's a tough stretch for our guys, especially in addition to their academics."
Thoughts on the team's pitching performance...
"Our pitching staff has been so impressive this year because we're not walking people. The most we've had in any game has been three and we didn't have any today with three different pitchers.
"I thought Brian [Brown] was outstanding today and had command of everything. That's a good team that he shut out today."
Quick Hits
- Dillon Cooper opened the scoring for NC State in the bottom of the fourth, as he lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to plate Patrick Bailey from third base and give the Wolfpack a 1-0 lead.
- Two batters later, Josh McLain followed with a two-RBI double off the wall in left center to push the Pack's advantage to 3-0.
- Brock Deatherage walked to start the sixth, stole second base and then stole third to score on a single by Cooper.
- McLain drove in his second run of the day with a single to right field, allowing Cooper to score and make it a 5-0 NC State lead.
- Brett Kinneman broke the game open with a three-run homer to deep right field, as the Wolfpack went ahead, 8-0.
- He left the yard for the second time on the day in his next at-bat, as he belted a two-run blast to center field. It was the second multi-homer run game of Kinneman's career and the first of the year for NC State.
On the Mound
- Senior Brian Brown started on the mound for the Wolfpack and was tremendous, striking out eight in seven innings pitched to earn the win (2-0). He allowed just three hits (all singles) and did not walk a batter.
- Sophomore Michael Bienlien pitched a perfect eighth with two strikeouts and redshirt freshman Connor Centala worked a 1-2-3 ninth in his collegiate debut.
Inside the Box Score
- Kinneman led the Wolfpack at the plate with a 3-for-5 performance, highlighted by five RBIs and a pair of homers.
- Cooper was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while McLain turned in a 2-for-5 showing with three RBI.
- NC State recorded a .400 clip at the plate with runners in scoring position and a .364 average with runners on base.
Game Notes
- Kinneman's five RBIs in the contest give him 12 for the week and he takes over as the ACC leader in that category.
- Brown has struck out 13 batters in 13 innings pitched this season and has allowed just one run to compile a 0.69 ERA.
- McLain stretched his hitting streak to 14 games, dating back to 2017, with a double in the fourth inning.
- Will Wilson singled in the first inning to push his reached base safely streak to 22 games, dating back to last season.
Up Next
NC State returns to the diamond for game two of the series against Furman on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Brown, Brian (2-0)
L: Grant Schuermann (1-1)
Base Running:
HBP: Logan Taplett 1
Batting:
2B: McLain, Josh 1 ; Bailey, Patrick 1
HR: Kinneman, Brett 2
RBI: McLain, Josh 3 ; Kinneman, Brett 5 ; Cooper, Dillon 2
SF: Cooper, Dillon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McLain, Josh 1 ; Kinneman, Brett 2 ; Bailey, Patrick 1 ; Shepard, Shane 1 ; Deatherage, Brock 2 ; Cooper, Dillon 2 ; Jarrett, J.T. 1
SB: Deatherage, Brock 2
HBP: Debo, Brad 1 ; Jarrett, J.T. 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
5
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
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RHP
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LHP
/ Baseball
LHP
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/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballINF
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