Kinneman leads Pack to sweep of Paladins

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 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

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.

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 beginning 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

Sports

TECHNICIAN

PAGE 13 • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2018

What we have learned from Pack softball’s strong start

Jake Caccavaro

Correspondent

The NC State softball team has won six of its last seven games and is on a roll after starting the season 4-4.

The Wolfpack (10-5) is coming off a weekend that saw the team win four of five at the Homewood Suites by Hilton RDU/RTP Invitational at Dail Softball Stadium in Raleigh, including tossing two no-hitters. Here are four takeaways from the first quarter of the season:

Sam Russ has been a revelation

The Wolfpack’s superstar freshman outfielder from Charlotte has been the Wolfpack’s best player so far. Russ is hitting a team second-high .421 on the year, is tied for the team lead with 16 hits, is second on the team with 10 runs, is tied for team lead with a .500 on-base percentage and has maintained a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.

Russ has also been a demon on the basepaths, nabbing a team-high seven stolen bases in just as many attempts. Her aggressiveness on the basepaths has been huge for the Wolfpack, which only has six stolen bases combined from the rest of the team.

So far on the year, Russ hasn’t just been the best player on NC State; she’s been one of the best players in the entire ACC. Heading into play on Sunday, Russ was in the top 10 in the ACC in batting average, on-base percentage, stolen bases, runs and hits.

Jade Caraway picking up where she left off

Sophomore outfielder Jade Caraway had an excellent 2017 season for the Wolfpack and is building even further on that success. The sophomore is third on the team with a .348 batting average, first on the team with 13 runs, tied for first with 16 hits, third on the team with a .456 on-base percentage and is the only player other than Sam Russ to have more than two stolen bases, with four.

After a record-breaking 2017 season, it would be easy to forgive Caraway for a slight return to Earth, but the complete opposite has happened. Caraway has elevated her play from All-ACC second team in 2017 to a strong contender to be named to the All-ACC first team so far in 2018.

Newcomers’ contributions have been vital

Highlighted by the play of Russ, the Wolfpack’s freshmen have been key contributors to the team’s good start. Aside from Russ, third baseman Timberlyn Shurbutt has been excellent, hitting .311 on the season, leading the team with five doubles, and racking up 11 RBIs, secondmost on the team. Shurbutt also has a tendency to come up big in key moments, such as her sixth-inning grand slam in an extra-innings win over then-No. 22 Ohio State on Feb. 16.

Freshman catcher Lily Bishop has hit three home runs and freshman infielder Chandley Garner has smacked a home run as well. Bishop is third on the team with 10 RBIs and Garner is fourth with eight.

Sophomore pitcher Devin Wallace, who transferred in from Coastal Carolina, has been phenomenal as the Wolfpack’s ace in 2018. Wallace tossed a no-hitter against Wagner on Feb. 23 and has just a 2.02 ERA on the season. Wallace has limited opposing hitters to a miniscule .181 batting average against her and has been the most important player for a Wolfpack team that had its fair share of struggles with pitching last year.

Living by the long ball

The Wolfpack lost its top two home run hitters from 2017, but that hasn’t stopped the team from hitting dingers in 2018. The Wolfpack has already smacked 10 home runs on the year and is on pace for 36.

Bishop has hit three home runs on the season, Shurbutt and junior first baseman Cheyenne Balzer have smacked two home runs each, while senior infielder Alyssa Compton, sophomore infielder Haley Finn and Garner have each hit one.

The Wolfpack’s home runs tend to come at opportune times. Shurbutt’s grand slam against Ohio State helped propel the Wolfpack to an upset win, while Bishop’s two-home run game against Elon on Feb. 21 broke the game open for the Wolfpack and her other home run came in extra innings to beat Ohio University Sunday.

SINDY HUANG/TECHNICIAN Outfielder Jade Caraway , a sophomore majoring in exploratory studies, tosses back a ball during a game against UNC-Wilmington on April 19, 2017 in Dail Softball Stadium . Despite their efforts, the Wolfpack lost to the Seahawks 6-0 for their twenty-ninth loss this season.

KINNEMAN

continued from page 12

he’s ever done before.

“I don’t know, I’m not really sure,” Kinneman said. “Maybe when I was younger, but that might be the first time for that.”

NC State added two more runs in the fourth inning, the third straight two-run frame for the Wolfpack. Vazquez led things off with a double and came around to score on a sac fly from senior center fielder Josh McLain. Kinneman added the other run to make it 6-0; singling, stealing second and scoring on an Edwards double.

Deatherage added the lone tally in the fifth inning, sending just the second pitch from Furman reliever Nik Verbeke over the rightfield fence for his third home run of the season, matching his total from 2017 in just eight games this year.

Vazquez fully connected on a 1-1 pitch in the seventh inning, launching the ball over the wall in deep left-center field for his first home run to put the Pack up 9-0. Conley scored on the long ball after hitting a single through the left side of the infield.

“It feels great. It’s the best feeling in the world,” Vazquez said. “I saw he had two fingers on the slider grip, so I knew it was some kind of slider or slurve coming up the next pitch. Lucky for me I just saw it and he left it hanging. Put a good swing on it.”

NC State will get right back to it Monday, as the Wolfpack hosts Air Force at Doak Field at 2 p.m. amongst women’s basketball. The Irish always have an impressive winning record. During the 2015-2016 season, the Irish were 16-0 in the conference and ranked third in the nation when they played the Pack. Last season, with Notre Dame ranked second, the Wolfpack did defeat the Irish by eight points in Raleigh.

The Wolfpack’s shooting percentages Sunday were steady for the team. The Pack shot around 43 percent in field goals and 83 percent from the foul line. The Irish had a slightly higher field-goal percentage but had a lower foul-shot percentage. The only big difference in shooting was at the 3-point line. The Wolfpack shot 30 percent while the Irish shot nearly 47 percent. A 17-percent difference that created a large dent in the Pack’s chances.

The Irish’s offense was solidified by Jackie Young and Arike Ogunbowale, with the two scoring half of the Irish’s 86 points. Young scored 22 points and Ogunbowale had 21 points for a combined attack of 43 points.

Wolfpack senior forward Chelsea Nelson and Ealey led the offense against the Irish, scoring 15 and 18 points, respectively.

The Wolfpack’s defense was overwhelmed by the Irish as the Pack was out-rebounded in both defensive and offensive rebounds. Nelson did have seven rebounds, the most in the game.

With the regular season over, the Wolfpack moves onto the ACC Tournament this week in Greensboro. The Pack holds the five seed and will begin play Thursday morning.

BASKETBALL

continued from page 12

Sports

TECHNICIAN

PAGE 14 • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2018

Takeaways from NC State baseball’s hot start

Jason Bacherman

Staff Writer

It’s college baseball season again, finally. After earning its third straight NCAA Tournament bid last year, the NC State baseball team and head coach Elliott Avent are off to a 7-1 start this season. The team has been impressive in the early going, especially on the offensive side of things.

The Pack hasn’t played any premier competition yet, but the strong start is an encouraging sign for the Wolfpack faithful. Here are some takeaways from the first week and change of NC State baseball:

Piedmonte and Brown are the stalwarts of the rotation

Graduate student Johnny Piedmonte and senior Brian Brown are both back in Raleigh for their last seasons as members of the Wolfpack and both bring a wealth of experience and success.

Piedmonte paced the pitching staff last season, throwing a strong 61.2 innings to the tune of a 2.77 ERA in nine starts and six relief appearances. The towering right hander boasts a 2.08 ERA in two starts this season and has walked just two batters and struck out 12. His sturdy command and control will be key for the Pack, especially in ACC play.

Brown, the Pack’s other starter, doesn’t necessarily throw hard, but his secondary stuff is more than exceptional. Last season, the lefty struggled some with his control, walking 4.3 batters per nine innings, but has walked just two and struck out 13 in 13 innings in 2018.

The third weekend starter is to be determined, but Brown and Piedmonte are a formidable duo atop the rotation.

Brett Kinneman is really good at baseball

Junior outfielder Brett Kinneman had a renaissance freshman season in 2016, batting .296 and slugging .526 while driving in 33 runs and launching six home runs. He followed that up with an impressive sophomore year and now, in his junior year, it’d be a tough task to find a player off to a better start.

He’s batting .455 on the year with a mindboggling five home runs and 17 RBIs in eight games. His slugging percentage is sitting at an even 1.000, and he’s walking more than he’s striking out. Clearly, the production will level off, but his play thus far has been excellent and a key part of the Wolfpack offense.

Solid production from freshmen and newcomers

It’s no secret NC State has some injury is-

INEZ NICHOLSON/TECHNICIAN Junior lefthand pitcher Brian Brown pitches at the Florida State vs. NC State baseball game on April 9, 2017 at Doak Field. The Wolfpack won 8-4.

sues. Senior starting second baseman Stephen Pitarra had surgery on his leg and will be out four to six weeks. Sophomore pitcher Dalton Feeney is out for the season, while sophomores Brad Debo and Will Wilson are both also nursing injuries.

Despite the injuries, some new faces have stepped up. Redshirt sophomore Dillon Cooper, after receiving just 12 at bats last year, has taken the reigns at third base and is hitting .370 with solid defense. Freshmen J.T. Jarrett and David Vazquez have filled in admirably up the middle at second base and shortstop, respectively.

Freshman pitcher Reid Johnston and redshirt junior pitcher Nolan Clenney have performed well out of the bullpen. Johnston boasts two saves and a 2.00 ERA in three appearances while Clenney holds a 1.35 ERA in 6.2 innings.

With a less-than-ideal injury situation, it’s good for Avent to be able to rely on freshmen and new players for the time being.

Pack softball beats Ohio in extra innings to win RDU/RTP Invite

Robert Brooks

Correspondent

The NC State softball team won a close 4-3 battle in an extra inning against Ohio Sunday to clinch the Homewood Suites by Hilton RDU/RTP Invitational title at Dail Softball Stadium.

NC State (10-5) went 4-1 in the tournament, with wins coming against Delaware St, Wagner twice and Ohio. While the tournament did not provide the most loaded field, the Wolfpack should be excited about the win and how its performance could indicate a strong rest of the spring. Both offense and defense were clicking, and the Wolfpack showed some real toughness to help pull out the win.

“Our at-bats were outstanding today with 10 hits, and we had several line outs so the quality of our at-bats were great,” head coach Shawn Rychcik told NC State Athletics. “Our defense was outstanding. I really like the way we’re playing right now and when we play the way we’re supposed to it improves our team as a whole.”

The championship game was tied 1-1 until the fifth inning, when NC State sophomore outfielder Angie Rizzi scored on freshman Timberlyn Shurbutt’s sacrifice fly to give the Wolfpack a 2-1 advantage. The Bobcats quickly tied the game once again in the sixth with an RBI double from Katie Yun.

In the top of the extra eighth inning, freshman Lily Bishop hit a two-run homer to give the Wolfpack the 4-2 lead that would eventually lead to the victory. The Bobcats did their best to comeback in the last half with one run, but the comeback attempt would end there. Wolfpack senior Alyssa Compton ended the game as she calmly gloved a grounder and threw over to junior Cheyenne Balzer at first base to end the game and win the invitational.

Sophomore starting pitcher Devin Wallace continued to be a bright spot for the Wolfpack as her record improved to 5-3 on the season with a 2.02 ERA. Another sophomore, Jade Caraway, has been one of the Wolfpack’s most productive hitters with a strong .348 batting average and a team-leading 13 runs.

NC State will continue its season by traveling to Boseman Field in Wilmington to face the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

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PAGE 15 • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2018

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