NC State miscues lead to Game One loss to UNC-Chapel Hill

Baseball has to be the most frustrating sport. You can do more good things than your opponent, you can have fewer screw-ups, and yet you can still lose.

I love baseball.

I hate baseball.

Thursday night is one of the examples of why I hate this game.

Jason Parker pitched a great game, but he made one mistake, allowing a 1st inning 1-2 pitch to get too much of the plate and thus giving an opportunity for UNC-Chapel Hill freshman freak Aaron Sabato to crush it out to dead center for a two-run home run.

Nick Swiney was excellent in relief. In the 7th inning, he recorded a strikeout and then induced two weak infield ground balls. Unfortunately, the first of those two ground balls was all but whiffed on by Will Wilson and the second one ended up being thrown directly into the back of a UNC-CH base runner. Both of those resulted in men on base for the Tarheels; men who would come around to score the tying and winning run for UNC-CH on a triple by Sabato.

NC State hitters racked up eight hits to UNC-CH’s six. Five NC State hitters reached base multiple times in the game to only three for UNC-CH. Wolfpack fielders had one error to the Tarheels’ two.

Baseball ain’t fair. It ain’t just. It does what it does, and what it does best is pain.

NC State played the all-around better game on Thursday night, but failed to capitalize on the opportunities created stranding 11 men on base, while the Tarheels Sabato capitalized when opportunities were there.

[shrug]

The series is still there for the Wolfpack to win, but things get tougher now.

Just win Friday.