Friday, March 21
Pittsburgh, PA
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Fritton Throws a Gem; Two-Out Rally Pushes NC State Past Pitt
3/21/2025 6:27:00 PM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A two-out, three-run eighth-inning rally and a career-best 13 strikeouts from Wolfpack starter Dominic Fritton pushed NC State past Pitt to an opening 6-2 series victory Friday afternoon in Pittsburgh.
After trailing 2-1 in the eighth with two outs, a Chis McHugh walk started the Wolfpack's comeback. Alex Sosa singled, moving McHugh to a scoring position, and Brayden Fraasman tied the game with a single of his own. The Wolfpack took the lead thanks to a Luke Nixon double, scoring Fraasman and Sosa, which proved to be the winning runs.
NC State (16-5, 3-1) added insurance in the top of the ninth with more two-out scoring as Josh Hogue hit his fourth home run of the season to give the Wolfpack a 6-2 lead where they would go on to win.
Fritton (4-1) was in control all game, going 7.1 innings, punching out 13 batters, and allowing just two runs on four hits. The two runs came on one swing of the bat after a Panther home run in the fourth. Both innings pitched and strikeouts are new career highs this season.
The loss for Pitt (13-8, 1-3) goes to Ethan Firoved (1-2), who allowed three runs on three hits in just 1.2 innings pitched. Panther Starter Patrick Gardner settled in after giving up an early run. Gardner struck out a career-high six batters while going 6.1 innings, allowing just three hits, three walks, and one earned run.
Jet Gilliam had a two-hit day in three at-bats, while Ty Head continues to reach base with two more walks, bringing his total to 28 on the season.
Wolfpack looked to start the scoring in the first following a Justin DeCriscio leadoff double. DeCriscio got stranded at third as Gardner retired the next three batters in order.
The Wolfpack did bring the first run of the game across in the second. Following Nixon's leadoff walk, NC State had runners in scoring position after Gilliam doubled. Matt Heavner brought in his 13th RBI of the season with a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0.
The Panthers look to even the score in the bottom half of the second after getting the first two runners on with nobody out. Fritton worked around the jam, getting a fielder choice, strikeout, and ground out to keep NC State in the lead.
With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, the Panthers got a single to keep the inning alive and capitalized with a home run from their designated hitter, Jackson Cooke, to make it 2-1. After the home run, Fritton only allowed one Panther to reach base.
Andrew Shaffner (1) sealed the deal with his first save of the season, coming in with one out in the eighth. Shaffner walked one in the ninth but struck out two over 1.2 innings.
The win gives NC State their 18th straight victory over the Panthers.
UP NEXT: Game two between the Wolfpack and Panthers will be held on Saturday, March 22, at 3 p.m. and broadcast on ACCNX.
After trailing 2-1 in the eighth with two outs, a Chis McHugh walk started the Wolfpack's comeback. Alex Sosa singled, moving McHugh to a scoring position, and Brayden Fraasman tied the game with a single of his own. The Wolfpack took the lead thanks to a Luke Nixon double, scoring Fraasman and Sosa, which proved to be the winning runs.
NC State (16-5, 3-1) added insurance in the top of the ninth with more two-out scoring as Josh Hogue hit his fourth home run of the season to give the Wolfpack a 6-2 lead where they would go on to win.
Fritton (4-1) was in control all game, going 7.1 innings, punching out 13 batters, and allowing just two runs on four hits. The two runs came on one swing of the bat after a Panther home run in the fourth. Both innings pitched and strikeouts are new career highs this season.
The loss for Pitt (13-8, 1-3) goes to Ethan Firoved (1-2), who allowed three runs on three hits in just 1.2 innings pitched. Panther Starter Patrick Gardner settled in after giving up an early run. Gardner struck out a career-high six batters while going 6.1 innings, allowing just three hits, three walks, and one earned run.
Jet Gilliam had a two-hit day in three at-bats, while Ty Head continues to reach base with two more walks, bringing his total to 28 on the season.
Wolfpack looked to start the scoring in the first following a Justin DeCriscio leadoff double. DeCriscio got stranded at third as Gardner retired the next three batters in order.
The Wolfpack did bring the first run of the game across in the second. Following Nixon's leadoff walk, NC State had runners in scoring position after Gilliam doubled. Matt Heavner brought in his 13th RBI of the season with a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0.
The Panthers look to even the score in the bottom half of the second after getting the first two runners on with nobody out. Fritton worked around the jam, getting a fielder choice, strikeout, and ground out to keep NC State in the lead.
With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, the Panthers got a single to keep the inning alive and capitalized with a home run from their designated hitter, Jackson Cooke, to make it 2-1. After the home run, Fritton only allowed one Panther to reach base.
Andrew Shaffner (1) sealed the deal with his first save of the season, coming in with one out in the eighth. Shaffner walked one in the ninth but struck out two over 1.2 innings.
The win gives NC State their 18th straight victory over the Panthers.
UP NEXT: Game two between the Wolfpack and Panthers will be held on Saturday, March 22, at 3 p.m. and broadcast on ACCNX.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Fritton, Dominic (4-1)
L: Firoved,Ethan (1-2)
S: Shaffner, Andrew (1)
Batting:
2B: DeCriscio, Justin 1 ; Nixon, Luke 1 ; Gilliam, Jet 1
HR: Hogue, Josh 1
RBI: Hogue, Josh 2 ; Fraasman, Brayden 1 ; Nixon, Luke 2 ; Heavner, Matt 1
SF: Heavner, Matt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hogue, Josh 1 ; McHugh, Chris 1 ; Sosa, Alex 1 ; Fraasman, Brayden 1 ; Nixon, Luke 1 ; Head, Ty 1
Batting:
HR: Cooke,Jackson 1
RBI: Cooke,Jackson 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Dulin,Caden 1 ; Cooke,Jackson 1
HBP: Melendez,Jayden 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
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H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
INF
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OF
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LHP
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INF
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INF
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RHP
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