NC State drops second game of series to Clemson, 4-3

It doesn’t matter the sport, when you drop a close game, there are always going to be missed opportunities that nag at you afterward. For NC State on Saturday, that was pretty much the entire bottom half of the seventh inning.

The Wolfpack entered that frame trailing 3-1, and while it did manage to tie up the score, it could have seized control and taken the series from the Tigers. But the Pack managed only one hit in the inning, which did not even drive home a run. It scratched a pair of runs across on a ground out and a wild pitch.

In addition to the wild pitch, Clemson’s pitchers also issued three walks in the frame, but both Will Wilson and Evan Edwards came up empty when a base hit would have given NC State the lead. The Tigers tried to hand the game to State in that inning, but State let them off the hook.

State got a runner on in both the eighth and ninth but again came up short of the key hit that it needed. Clemson got a clutch two-out hit in the top of the 10th that made the difference.

The series rubber match is set for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. NC State could use the boost since this would be the Pack’s first ACC series win since early April.