Sports
TECHNICIAN
PAGE 12 • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2018
Kinneman leads Pack to sweep of Paladins Alec Sawyer Assistant Sports Editor
&
Drew McNatton Correspondent
Behind yet another offensive outburst, the NC State baseball team finished off a weekend sweep of Furman on Sunday with a 9-0 victory at Doak Field. The Wolfpack (7-1) outscored the Paladins (3-4) 28-2 in the three-game series, and has now scored at least nine runs in five straight games. Junior left fielder Brett Kinneman homered in his third straight game Sunday, finishing the series hitting 9 for 14 with four home runs, eight RBIs and six runs scored. “I’m just being fortunate to have guys getting on base in front of me,” Kinneman said. “All of our guys, one through nine, have been having great at-bats all week. Just as a team, it’s much easier to hit individually when the whole team is hitting well.” Senior right fielder Brock Deatherage also carried some of the load offensively Sunday, going 3 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, including his third home run of the season in the fifth inning. Freshman shortstop David Vazquez went 2 for 4, picking up his first career hit in the fourth inning before launching his first collegiate home run in the seventh. Vazquez tallied three RBIs and scored twice. “It’s hard to swing the bats that good this early,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “[Kinneman]
is special for me to watch every day. I just think that he’s a great baseball player. Not just a great baseball player, but he plays the game the right way. That guy has done it since he’s been here.” Freshman left-hander David Harrison (0-1, 4.91 ERA) started on the mound, and struggled with his command despite not allowing any damage on the scoreboard. Harrison lasted just three innings, striking out four batters and allowing only two hits but also walking three hitters; throwing only 29 of his 55 pitches for strikes. Junior righty Nolan Clenney (1-0, 1.35 ERA) picked up his first win at NC State, tossing 3.1 scoreless innings in relief of Harrison. Clenney also struggled with his command, walking four batters. Sophomore lefty Kent Klyman (1-0, 0.00 ERA) closed things out for the Pack, throwing 2.2 scoreless frames, but walked two. For the Paladins, lefty Matt Lazzaro (0-1, 7.00 ERA) started and took the loss, allowing six earned runs and 10 hits over four innings of work. “I thought they pitched good,” Avent said. “Nine walks. That’s disappointing, and three hits. That explains it. Nine walks, you should probably give up a lot more runs than zero, and we will if we continue to do that. That’s one thing we haven’t done this year, walk anybody. Today that was disappointing.” After an empty first inning, State scored in four consecutive frames to jump ahead to a 7-0 lead through five innings. Deatherage and redshirt sophomore third baseman Dillon Cooper scored in the second, both coming around on
GLENN WAGSTAFF/TECHNICIAN
Sophomore Brett Kinneman , an outfielder in NC State’s baseball team runs to first base at the Wolfpack’s game against George Mason University on Mar. 15, 2017. The Wolfpack earned a strong lead in the first inning of the game leading the Patriots 5-1. The game ended with a 7-3 win for the Wolfpack.
sacrifice outs from junior catcher Jack Conley and Vazquez, respectively. Kinneman blasted a 1-0 pitch over the wall in right-center field in the third for his fourth home run of the series. Junior designated hitter Evan Edwards also came around to score in
the third inning, tagging-up from third on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Deatherage. Hitting a home run in three straight games is an impressive feat, and something Kinneman isn’t sure
KINNEMAN continued page 13
Wolfpack defeated by No. 4 Notre Dame in regular-season finale Kailee Jurnak Correspondent
The No. 22 NC State women’s basketball team was defeated by No. 4 Notre Dame 8667 to end the regular season Sunday in South Bend, Indiana. Throughout the entire game, NC State was never able to even win a quarter to gain some momentum against the powerful Fighting Irish. Even before the game, the Wolfpack (22-7, 11-5 ACC) knew it was going to be a tough match against the Fighting Irish (27-2, 15-1 ACC). The Irish have been notorious this season with protecting the home court, having not lost a single home game. During the first quarter, the Wolfpack was hot on Notre Dame’s heels, only trailing by one point at the end of the opening frame. The be-
ginning was a slow start relative to the rest of the first quarter, running down two minutes on the clock before the first basket was made by redshirt sophomore guard Kaila Ealey to give the Pack a 3-0 lead. The fourth quarter was also a close affair, with the Pack being outscored by only two points. The proximity in points in the first and fourth quarters make it evident that the second and third quarters were detrimental to the Pack’s success. The middle of the game is what put the Pack far behind on the scoreboard, with Notre Dame outscoring State 49-33 in the middle frames. Even though it was a tough loss, it was by no means a bad loss for the Pack. In previous seasons, Notre Dame has been a powerhouse
BASKETBALL continued page 13
NICK FAULKNER/TECHNICIAN
Redshirt sophomore Kaila Ealey drives toward the interior during the 74-61 win of the Play4Kay game on Feb. 18 in Reynolds Coliseum.
