Pack power doesn’t spare Bowling Green

Evan Edwards went yard twice as NC State totaled four round trippers in a lopsided 11-1 win over Bowling Green Friday afternoon at the Doak at Dail. The Pack have blasted 21 long balls in 10 games.

Edwards started the scoring with a mammoth opposite field solo shot that easily traveled over 400 feet with the help of a steady 25-30 mph wind that gusted to 40. He added a two-run job over the right-center wall in the fifth to extend the lead to 6-0.

Edwards, who finished 2-for-4 and also coaxed a walk, has three home runs in just 20 at bats. He’s batting .450 and boasts a ridiculous .621 on-base percentage. It’s probably safe to say that he won’t be the odd man out with Brad Debo returning to the lineup after a brief stint out with injury. That distinction may go to Shane Shepard, who donned the golden sombrero against the Falcons.

Brock Deatherage and Patrick Bailey accounted for the Pack’s other two home runs. Deatherage’s four homers eclipsed his total of three from a disappointing junior campaign a year ago. He had three hits in the game; State totaled 14 as a team.

On the mound, Brian Brown struggled mightily with his command, perhaps due to the gusty wind in his face. He needed 104 pitches to get through five innings and allowed the leadoff man to reach in each inning he pitched. However, Brown wriggled out of trouble each time, never yielding a run as he moved to 3-0 on the season.

Reid Johnston yielded the Falcons’ lone run in his two innings of work. Connor Centala put up goose eggs over the final two frames.

The wind wreaked havoc with every ball hit in the air, causing Will Wilson and Dillon Cooper to collide and drop a foul pop up, but the most damage was done to the Bowling Green defense, which played at least three lazy flies into “hits” when they couldn’t even get close enough to get leather on the ball.

The 9-1 Wolfpack return to the diamond tomorrow to take on Campbell at 2 p.m. The game will mark the 11^th of a 13-game homestand to start the season.