NC State tops East Carolina, 2-0

NC State walked away from Greenville on Tuesday evening with a win secured on the backs of a three-hit shutout and some timely hitting by noted slugger J.T. Jarrett. This was the second shutout recorded by the Wolfpack this year, and easily the best defensive performance by State so far this season.

Garrett Payne, Canaan Silver, Baker Nelson, and Chris Villaman combined on the three-hit effort. Payne got the start and had the worst day of the four, which is hilarious to say because he went 2.2 shutout innings allowing just three baserunners (two singles and a hit-by-pitch) while striking out two. He earned the win and now sits with a 3-0 record on the season.

Silver was up next, setting down the first eight batters he faced, eventually turning in 3.1 innings of one-hit ball. Nelson tossed the 7th and 8th innings, allowing just a walk, while Villaman came on for the 9th and recorded his 4th save of the season.

On the defensive end, the Pack not only turned in an errorless game, there were also some exceptional plays made in the field. Josh Hood and Payton Green each made some great plays on the left side of the diamond while Devonte Brown robbed a would-be home run in the 4th inning.

Three Wolfpack hitters registered multiple hits on the day, but it was really all about J.T. Jarrett (2-for-3, 2 RBI). The veteran State second baseman pushed across both Pack runs on the day via a squeeze bunt in the 2nd inning and a single in the 4th. Those RBIs scored the other two State hitters who had multiple hits, Dominic Pilolli and Tommy White, who each had identical stat lines on the day (2-for-3, R, BB) except that Pilolli struck out once.

Gino Groover continued his hot hitting with another effort that saw him reach base safely multiple times (1-for-3, BB). Jacob Cozart tallied the lone other hit on the day for State.

The Wolfpack hit the road for an ACC series at Clemson this weekend. The first game is scheduled for a 6:00pm start Friday.