NC State’s pitching silences ECU’s offense as Dunand and company power past the Pirates.
Daniel Wilson
GREENVILLE, N.C. — NC State (22-20, 8-13 ACC) picked up its second straight win Wednesday evening with a shutout victory over in-state rival East Carolina (22-20, 2-10 AAC) at Clark-LeClaire Stadium, 6-0.
Senior left-handed pitcher Sean Adler (4-6, 4.27 ERA) picked up the win after 5-1/3 innings of dominance. The Northridge, Calif. native held the Pirates to five hits and a walk while striking out seven batters.
The Wolfpack then turned to senior right-hander Joe O’Donnell and redshirt sophomore righty Austin Staley to finish the rest of the way. O’Donnell struck out three and walked one in 2-1/3 innings while Staley notched a strikeout of his own in 1-1/3 inning of work.
Junior shortstop Joe Dunand led State’s offense with a 3-for-4 performance with a double, a home run, two RBI, and two runs scored. Junior catcher Andy Cosgrove also finished 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, an RBI, and a run.
The Pack struck in the second inning with two runs. Sophomore left fielder Brett Kinneman led off with a single followed by a double by junior third baseman Evan Mendoza. Freshman second baseman Will Wilson grounded out to plate Kinneman before Mendoza crossed the plate on a Cosgrove single.
Another State run came in the top of the fourth inning. Dunand reached on a leadoff double before scoring on a Kinneman RBI single. Dunand would strike again in the eighth with a two-run homer, his 15th of the season, after a one-out walk to freshman designated hitter Brad Debo.
The final Pack run came in the top of the ninth. Cosgrove got into scoring position with a one-out double before junior first baseman Stephen Pitarra singled up the middle to bring Cosgrove home.
NC State will return to action as the Wolfpack hosts conference foe Virginia Tech for a three-game series. First pitch for Friday’s game is set for 6:30 pm.
