Raleigh, NC –The pitching didn't hold up like it did in the first two games of the series against NC State. The Noles fall in the series finale to North Carolina State 11-7. Despite playing from behind all day in extremely windy conditions, the Seminoles (25-8, 11-4) continually battled back in the finale versus NC State (19-11, 7-7) before falling 11-7.
“I was just very proud of the way we fought,” said head coach Mike Martin. “It was an unusual condition day but I am very, very pleased with the fight our team showed.”
FSU fell behind early in the game on Saturday after a two-run first put the ‘Pack in the lead but the Seminoles fought back from 2-0, 3-1, 5-2, 7-3 and 11-4 deficits to keep the game within reach for most of the afternoon.
Even when down by seven runs heading into the eighth, FSU showed fight adding three runs in the top of the eighth but the Seminoles just couldn’t keep up with NC State’s offensive production throughout the game.
Six different Seminoles drove in runs in the game with four of the RBIs coming from the top five hitters in the line-up. Josh Delph had three hits on the day and was joined by DJ Stewart, John Sansone and Danny De La Calle as Seminoles who recorded both multi-hit games and an RBI.
After two extremely strong performances from the Seminole pitching staff on Thursday and Friday, NC State found success in the finale scoring 11 runs on 19 hits, four of which were homeruns.
Cobi Johnson (3-2) took the loss for FSU as the freshman right-hander gave up three runs in 2.1 innings pitched but overall all three of the Seminoles that took the mound through the first seven innings were unable to keep the Wolfpack off the scoreboard.
Even with the loss on Saturday, the Seminoles have won all five ACC series this season and FSU has now won eight of its last 10 games following back-to-back losses to top 10 squads Florida and Virginia in mid-March.
“I can’t say enough about how our team played and getting the job done on the road,” said Martin. “Anytime you win two out of three on the road you have to be very happy and I am very happy.”
***FSU Athletics
