NC State wins series at No. 2 Clemson, snaps Tigers' ACC series dominance
When NC State had its opportunities, the Wolfpack capitalized on them on the road at No. 2 Clemson. The red and white, a squad that lost five straight games going into the weekend, is now on a two-game winning streak over the top team in the ACC thanks to the Tigers’ defensive miscues.
The Wolfpack raced past the Tigers 4-0 to claim the series over Clemson on Saturday night at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, taking advantage of the home team’s four errors. Those allowed NC State to score three unearned runs, which ended Clemson’s series winning streak — 15 straight weekends, including 11 consecutive in the league.
It did not take long for NC State to make use of Clemson’s miscues in the field, either.
Third baseman Alec Makarewicz doubled in the first, which opened the scoring as first baseman Garrett Pennington crossed home. Once the East Carolina transfer was on the base paths, he made his way to third on an error by Clemson shortstop Jacob Hinderleider and he came around to score on a fielder’s choice soon after.
Though the Wolfpack had an early lead, it did not take its foot off the gas when it came to the Tigers’ errors. Catcher Jacob Cozart doubled down the right field line with outfielder Josh Hogue on first (he reached on a Hinderleider error), and the speedster came around to score on a throwing misfire by Clemson second baseman Jarren Purify.
That, followed by a Makarewicz RBI single, gave the red and white a four-run lead by the midway point of the contest. Makarewicz finished the game 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI, the only Wolfpack batter to record more than one hit.
While NC State’s offense benefitted from the errors, the Pack received a stellar start from left-handed pitcher Dominic Fritton. The sophomore cruised through the Tigers’ lineup in his first five innings on the bump, allowing just three hits with a walk and six strikeouts on 74 pitches.
Fritton allowed two base runners for the first time with one out in the sixth, but he was able to induce a fielder’s choice. Though he got the second out, Fritton was pulled for freshman right-hander Jacob Dudan, who walked the first batter before punching out Hinderleider to escape the jam.
Fritton finished the contest with 5.2 shutout innings that included three hits with one walk and six strikeouts on 90 pitches.
The Wolfpack held on to complete the shutout thanks to a combined bullpen effort from Dudan and NC State closer Derrick Smith. The freshman tossed 1.1 innings with just two hits allowed with three walks and a strikeout, while the sophomore power pitcher went two hitless innings with four strikeouts and one walk.
NC State and Clemson will wrap the three-game series up on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The contest will be streamed live on the ACC Network Extra.
