NC State takes series and ACC opener over Boston College, 2-1

Will Wilson came through in the clutch with a two-run home run with two out in the bottom of the eight inning as NC State beat Boston College 2-1 in the ACC opener for both teams. The win moves NC State to 12-2 overall and 1-0 in ACC play, while Boston College drops to 5-7 and 0-1.

The game ended up being a pitchers duel between NC State’s Brian Brown and Boston College’s Jacob Stevens. Brown (7.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) was fantastic yet again for the Wolfpack. He didn’t get the win in this one, but he now sits at 3-0 with a 0.36 ERA through four starts. Reid Johnston finished off the eight inning for Brown, working out of an jam with inherited runners on second and third with one out to earn the win. Kent Klyman pitched the ninth without allowing a man to reach base, notching his first save of the season.

For Boston College, Stevens was in command for pretty much the entirety of this game. Despite a few hard hit balls early on, including another near-miss home run by Brad Debo in the second inning that ended up in a double, Stevens settled in to go the distance for the Eagles. He went eight innings, allowing just the two runs from Wilson’s home run, which was one of just five hits surrendered on the day by the junior right-hander. He walked two and struck out eight in the tough-luck loss.

Wilson’s eighth inning blast scored Josh McLain, who reached on a double off the wall to left field that just missed being a home run of his own by a matter of inches. McLain was the only player on either team to post a multi-hit day as he finished 2-for-4 with the aforementioned double, run, and he also tacked on a stolen base for good measure. Dillon Cooper had a marvelous day defensively at third base for State, registering six assists and a put out.

The series will resume with a double-header Saturday; the first game is scheduled to start at 1:00pm. With the chance of poor weather on Sunday, the series was altered in an effort to get all three games in. Johnny Piedmonte will be on the bump for the Wolfpack in the first game of the double-header, while we all get to wait like Christmas morning to find out who will toe the rubber for the Pack in the second game.