NC State reliever Jacob Dudan impresses early in college career

With No. 14 NC State’s ACC opener against Boston College in the balance with a knotted score and a pair of runners in scoring position in the eighth inning Friday afternoon, the Wolfpack turned to freshman right-handed pitcher Jacob Dudan to get the red and white out of a jam.

The Eagles tied the game before he entered the contest, and with one out, his task was to get the Pack out of the frame without any more damage allowed. Well, it took Dudan just three pitches to do that as he induced an inning-ending double play. 

Dudan relied on his adrenaline on those three pitches, which all went for strikes. Once he returned to the dugout, he collected himself to be ready in case NC State pitching coach Clint Chrysler wanted another frame out of him. He did, and Dudan returned to the bump. 

Though he said he collected his adrenaline in the dugout, Dudan came back out firing again. He logged a 1-2-3 inning, which included three straight 96 mph fastballs to get Boston College’s Nick Wang to strikeout swinging to end the ninth — his second of the inning. 

Dudan, who ended up throwing the final 3.2 innings without allowing a hit with two walks and four strikeouts, allowed NC State’s offense to click and earn a walk-off win in the 11th on a graduate first baseman Garrett Penington single. 

The Huntersville, N.C., native was not sure he would go that far in the contest, which ended up being a career-long outing, but he was appreciative to be able to be the one in the high-pressure situation.

“It was awesome to get in there in that situation,” Dudan said afterwards. “I definitely had a lot of adrenaline, but I think that helps me.”

For NC State coach Elliott Avent, Dudan’s ability to keep the Wolfpack in the game with his lights out performance was unfathomable. 

“It was unbelievable,” Avent said. “He came in a really tough situation and kept it deadlocked.”

But that’s what Dudan has done all season as one of the Wolfpack’s most consistent relievers. He has made seven appearances from the NC State bullpen this season, and has only conceded four hits across 9.1 innings. 

Dudan has impressed with his high velocity, but has also been able to have pinpoint accuracy to pound the strike zone on a consistent basis. That has led to his 0.00 ERA with eight strikeouts and six walks en route to a pair of wins and a duo of saves in the early part of his freshman campaign. 

In a pitching staff full of veterans, Dudan is one of a trio of freshmen arms that has dazzled for the Wolfpack. He’s the youngest arm to not allow an earned run — he had an unearned run allowed at Hawaii on Feb. 24 — this season. Dudan also boasts the most innings without an earned run of any pitcher on NC State’s staff this season. 

In theory that’s the goal for any pitcher, but Dudan knows his role in the bullpen and has executed it well to this point in the spring. 

“That’s what I try to do, go out there and throw up zeros,” Dudan said. “And then let the offense go out there and do what they do best: score a lot of runs.”

Against the Eagles, Dudan battled Boston College’s top reliever Tyler Mudd. They traded blows on the mound, but it was Dudan that was able to allow his offense to get rolling to win it in extras. 

Pennington, who hit the walk-off base knock and compiled five RBI in Friday’s doubleheader, was impressed by Dudan’s effort on the mound. 

“To have a guy coming out of the bullpen and you’re like, ‘Hey, he’s going to dominate some hitters,’ that’s what we needed,” Pennington said. “Their guy was pitching really well, and our guy was pitching really well, so it was really fun to watch him throw.”

But Pennington, a veteran that is on his third stop in college baseball, didn’t stop there. 

“A freshman controlling everything like he does is unreal,” Pennington said.

Dudan has looked comfortable on the mound, and it has been beneficial for the Wolfpack. Though he is a young arm, NC State has leaned on him, and Dudan has tried to learn as much as he can since he arrived on campus. 

He credited senior right-handed pitcher Matt Willadsen, the Pack’s Saturday starter last season who is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery this week, with helping him this spring.

“He’s motivated me a lot, and he’s just been giving me a lot of tips since he’s been here a long time,” Dudan said. “It’s nice to be taken under his wing.”

It seems like that advice has worked out pretty well on the mound for Dudan, who was the 12th-best right-handed pitcher in the 2023 Perfect Game North Carolina prospect rankings out of high school. 

But Dudan, who boasted a 1.54 ERA with 71 strikeout in 45.1 innings pitched in his senior season at Lake Norman Charter, felt underrecruited. He wears a chip on his shoulder, which appears to be helpful on the mound. 

Though he thought more colleges should have recruited him, Dudan is with the Wolfpack, and has played an integral role in the team’s eight-game winning streak. And just because he was confident in himself as a pitcher, that does not mean this start to his college career hasn’t been a shock to himself.

“I wish I could say I expected it,” Dudan said with a laugh. “But it was kind of a surprise because in high school I wasn’t highly recruited. I came in here and worked by butt off. It’s paying off [now.]”