NC State salvages series finale at Notre Dame

Plus some other sports stuffs

It took until the 27^th inning of the series, but NC State finally hung a crooked number on Notre Dame, taking advantage of an error to cross the plate six times in the top of the ninth to salt away a 9-2 win in South Bend. The Pack outscored the Irish 11-8 in the three-game series but managed just one win after scoring a lone run in Friday and Saturday’s games.

Five Wolfpack players had multi-hit games with Joe Dunand’s three-run homer in the ninth being the loudest in the 13-hit attack. Dunand was 2-for-4 with a run and four RBI. He’s got 10 bombs on the year, which is over a third of the team’s total, and is now tied for the team lead with 23 RBI.

Brad Debo had three hits and two RBI. Will Wilson was 2-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and a run batted in. He and Debo join Dunand with 23 runs batted in. Josh McLain and Brock Deatherage also had two-hit games.

Michael Bienlien got the nod as the Pack’s Sunday starter du jour and did not disappoint, working a career-high seven innings to notch his first career win. Bienlien allowed a run on five hits, a walk, and struck out three.

Every Day Joe O’Donnell struck out three over 1.2 innings but did allow a run in the ninth. Tommy DeJuneas got the last out. Why O’Donnell came back out for the ninth after having been called on so frequently of late, and after waiting through the Pack’s long rally, is anyone’s guess. Eight run lead, 16 pitchers on the roster, but let’s let Joe throw some more!

With that obligatory Elliott Avent second guessing out of the way, let us look ahead to the coming week. The Pack, back over .500 at 15-14 (but just 5-7 in ACC play), host UNC-Asheville Tuesday evening before welcoming Florida State to the Doak at Dail for a weekend set on Friday.

Briefly noted: softball was swept in not particularly close fashion at #19 Tennessee this weekend… In happier news, the women’s tennis team moved to 16-7 (5-5) with recent wins over Clemson and Pitt. The ladies are 26^th in the ITA rankings with a chance to move into the top 25 in the next poll. They hadn’t beaten Clemson since 2001. Chalk Simon Earnshaw up as another successful hire for Dr. Yow… Men’s tennis has won three matches in a row to move to 12-10 overall and 3-4 against league foes… NC State’s 23^rd-ranked women’s golf team finished tied for fourth with UNC (grrr) in a 16-team event at the Bryan Park Golf Course in Browns Summit, NC over the weekend.

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