NC State splits double-header with Wake, but the scuffles continue in 9-8 loss in second game

This was close to a weekend where NC State could take some confidence and build; instead, NC State squandered a 7-0 lead in the second game of a double-header against Wake Forest and lost, 9-8.

I’d like to find some positives in this result, but there are none. NC State climbed right back into existence by winning the opener Saturday, then scored the first seven runs in game two, then watched Wake Forest match those runs and get one more over the final seven innings.

State is an enigma right now. It hurts that Will Wilson isn’t out there, but this is still a loaded lineup, and seven runs over those first few innings should have been enough. Wake plays in a bandbox, though, and you never know what that’s going to mean. A couple of home runs got the rally started for the Deacs.

They eventually pulled ahead, 9-8, leaving State to wonder how good it is. NC State had some chances to really push that number well north of 10, but this is not a confident group right now, and as the game turned old, well, the familiar patterns hit.

State either will figure this out or it won’t. This is baseball. They should feel really angry about this one. We’ll see where that goes.