NC State gets timely hits, key pitching in 10-6 win over Tennessee Tech

Tennessee Tech used a pair of long balls to jump out to an early 4-1 lead on Tuesday evening against NC State; however, NC State would get the last laugh, using a timely Luca Tresh home run and some excellent relief pitching from Nick Swiney to down the Golden Eagles, 10-6.

Wolfpack starting pitcher Cameron Cotter got off to a rough start by walking Tennessee Tech’s leadoff hitter on four pitches, then giving up a full-count two-run home run to Tech two-hole hitter Kevin Strohschein. Cotter would settle in from there to retire six of the remaining eight hitters he faced.

NC State used some small ball to push across their first run of the game in the bottom of the 2nd inning. J.T. Jarrett reached on a one-out walk, moved to third on a well-executed hit-and-run by Dillon Cooper, and scored on a Jonny Butler sacrifice fly.

The Golden Eagles responded in the top of the 3rd, scoring on a two-out two-run home run by Anthony Carrera off of Wolfpack reliever Michael Bienlien. NC State responded quickly to tie the game in the bottom half of the frame. Evan Edwards led off the inning with a walk, followed by a single by Patrick Bailey that moved Edwards to third. A wild pitch plated Edwards to cut the deficit to two and move Bailey up to second base. Tresh singled to score Bailey and cut the Tech lead to one. After Brad Debo and David Vazquez walked to load the bases, Jarrett hit a sacrifice fly to score Tresh and tie the game.

Tennessee Tech would retake the lead again in the 5th inning, leading off the inning with a single and a double before Gavin Johns hit a two-run single to give Tech the lead back at 6-4. Swiney would come on to pitch for the Wolfpack and absolutely shut down the Golden Eagles bats.

By the end of his outing, Swiney would go 3.2 innings of hitless, scoreless ball, allowing only a lone baserunner on a walk while striking out eight Tech hitters.

In the 7th inning, the Wolfpack took their first lead of the game. Tyler McDonough led off the inning with a single and Edwards reached on an error to put a pair of men on. With one away, Tresh mashed a 1-1 pitch to just under the scoreboard in right field for a three-run home run to put the Pack ahead 7-6.

The 8th inning would see NC State extend the lead with a trio of runs. Jarrett and Cooper led off the inning with back-to-back singles, Jarrett’s on a bloop single to the outfield and Cooper’s on a bunt single. Butler followed with a line drive double into the right field corner to plate both Jarrett and Cooper. Five batters later, Butler would score on a bases loaded wild pitch to push the score to the final tally of 10-6.

Swiney earned the win on the day for his efforts, his fourth of the year, while Alec Barger finished off the 9th inning in a non-save situation, striking out two without allowing a run.

Seven NC State hitters reached base multiple times on the day led by Tresh (2-for-4, HR, BB, 2 R, 4 RBI). McDonough and Cooper each recorded two hits on the day. Butler drove in three runs and reached on a double and a walk. Edwards (1-for-4, BB, 2 R), Bailey (1-for-4, BB, R, SB), and Jarrett (1-for-2, BB, SacF, 2 R, RBI) were the other Wolfpack hitters to reach multiple times.

NC State travels to South Bend this weekend for a three-game ACC series against Notre Dame (17-22, RPI #130).