Rain & Pack Fall in Game One; Do or Die Sunday in Gainesville

Wolfpack Baseball dropped a soaker to the top seeded Florida Gators Saturday in game one of the NCAA Super Regionals in Gainesville, by a final score of 7-1. By the time they had scored their lone run of the day on senior John Gianis’ pinch hit RBI single, the Pack was already down to its last out and it was all over but the crying. Most Pack fans were already likely praying for a quick and painless end by that point (literally).

On a day when the most interesting thing to talk about was Carlos Rodon’s appearance as a pinch hitter, and in a game that was ugly enough without the weather adding to the misery, the Wolfpack seemed to have their spikes stuck in the mud even before the skies opened up. Two rain delays, nearly three hours total of play stoppage, and seven shutout innings later, and the Pack never could string together enough to even make a dent in Gators’ starter Hudson Randall’s armor. Randall shut the Pack out for seven innings, scattering 6 hits along the way while striking out four against zero walks.

So the Pack has its back against the wall (bad news), but with their best chance taking the ball to the hill tomorrow (good news). Also, the Pack is on a three game win streak in elimination games this post-season (kinda good news) so it’s not something they should be terribly phased by at this point.

Florida will counter Rodon with Soph. RHP Jonathan Crawford (6-2, ERA 2.92).

Game time set for 1pm.

TV: ESPNU

Not much more to say, win or go home. But if you want more details…

 

Media Coverage

GoPack.com – Pack Drops Rain-Soaked Game One in Gainesville

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – NC State slogged through two rain delays, combining for two hours and 51 minutes worth of stoppage, and dropped game one of the Gainesville Super Regional to Florida 7-1, Saturday at McKethan Stadium.

Danny Canela led the Wolfpack (43-19) with a 2-for-3 outing that included a walk. Ryan Mathews reached safely in his 30th consecutive game in a 1-for-4 effort. Brett Austin went 2-for-4 with a double and State’s only run. Jake Fincher came up with a 2-for-4 afternoon. John Gianis had an RBI single in a pinch hit appearance in the ninth.

Pack starter Ethan Ogburn (5-4) took the loss after giving up five runs, three earned, on eight hits over 4 1/3 innings. Relievers D.J. Thomas, Dillon Frye, Chris Overman, and Danny Healey pitched the rest of the way, combining to hold the Gators (46-18) to two hits and two earned.

Florida starter Hudson Randall shut the Wolfpack out for seven innings, scattering six hits and striking out four before a two-hour rain delay cut his afternoon short. Relievers Greg Larson and Bobby Poyner pitched 2/3 each after Randall left, and Keenan Kish gave up the Pack’s lone run over 2/3 in the ninth.

Box Score

 

ESPN.com – No. 1 Florida beats NC State

NewsObserver.com – N.C. State falls to Florida 7-1 in Super Regional opener

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — N.C. State coach Elliott Avent saved his ace rather than have him throw in the Wolfpack’s NCAA Super Regional opener against top overall-seed Florida.

Now, Avent will turn to phenom freshman lefty Carlos Rodon to save the season in an elimination game Sunday following the Wolfpack’s 7-1 loss to the Gators at McKethan Stadium.

“It’s a three-game series,” Avent said. “You’re not going to win it opening day.”

Avent insisted he wanted to stick with what he’s done throughout the season in holding Rodon to the second game of the series. He said he thought about moving Rodon up to the first game, but wanted to keep him on proper rest.

“We didn’t hold him back,” Avent said. “He’s pitched second all year.”

 

ESPN.com – N.C. State’s Rodon a tough test for Gators

GatorZone.com – Gators are Halfway There, but Taking Nothing for Granted

NC State coach Elliott Avent didn’t waste many words when asked in the post-game news conference how he felt about Rodon taking the hill with his club facing elimination.

“Pretty good,” he deadpanned.

He should. Not only are they trotting out arguably the nation’s best pitcher, but the Wolfpack know something about must-win games, having staved off elimination three times in the Raleigh, N.C., regional last week to earn the right to reach the super-sized round two wins shy of Omaha, Neb.

Florida is halfway there, but taking nothing for granted.

“[NC State] had their backs against the wall last weekend, on the brink of elimination. Our players realize that,” said O’Sullivan, who will counter Rodon with sophomore Jonathon Crawford (6-2, 2.92 ERA). “They won’t want their season to end. They want to go to Omaha as bad as we do. So we’re not going to be flat. We’re going to approach it like we’re down 0-1.

 

GatorZone.com – No. 1 Florida Downs No. 11 NC State, 7-1, In Super Regional Opener

AlligatorArmy.com – Florida Baseball Beats N.C. State, 7-1, Takes 1-0 Lead In Super Regional Series

 

Out of Town Scoreboard

TUCSON

• Arizona 7
• St. John’s 4
• Arizona wins series 2-0

LOS ANGELES

• UCLA 4
• TCU 1
• UCLA wins series 2-0

BATON ROUGE

• Stony Brook 3
• LSU 1
• Series tied 1-1

TALLAHASSEE

• Florida State
• Stanford
• PPD RAIN – Resched. For Sunday, 7PM, FSU leads series 1-0

WACO

• Baylor 8
• Arkansas 1
• Baylor leads series 1-0

COLUMBIA

• South Carolina 5
• Oklahoma 0
• SCar leads series 1-0

EUGENE

• Kent State 7
• Oregon 6
• Kent State leads series 1-0

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Go Pack!

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