After being swept by Virginia in Charlottesville, N.C. State baseball appeared headed towards the same fate of the university’s football and basketball programs — endless potential and endless frustration.
Maybe it is, but they won’t go down without a fight.
The No. 19 Wolfpack (25-10) defeated East Carolina, 2-0, on Tuesday night to extend its winning streak to seven games while claiming victory in nine of the past 10 games. First baseman Tarran Senay hit a two-out single in the bottom of the sixth for the only runs of the night in front of an energized crowd of 2,951 at Doak Field at Dail Park. State’s bullpen, which has suffered from inconsistency throughout the year, held the fort down after starter Karl Keglovits went 4 2/3 innings giving up just two hits.
State has caught fire at exactly the right time after a perplexing 4-7 start to conference play. Now at 8-7 in the ACC, the Pack will travel to Boston College this weekend for a three-game series against the lowly Eagles (0-14 in ACC play).
The charge started back at UNC-Wilmington on March 27 and continued with taking two out of three from Maryland, besting ECU on the road, getting revenge on Elon a day later, sweeping No. 22 Virginia Tech and then scrapping past ECU once again. Pitching and defense has been paramount during the stretch, as State has held seven of its last 10 opponents to four runs or less.
Key players emerging this season include SS Trea Turner (.429 avg, 28 RBIs), OF Jake Fincher (.336 avg, 46 hits) and P Grant Sasser (1 ER in 23.2 IP). State is 18-1 when leading after the 5th inning.
