It seemed predictable.
Wake Forest was going to further solidify its status as NC State athletics’ kryptonite in the 2018-19 year (and perhaps going back even further) by handing the Wolfpack a loss Thursday evening at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park at the ACC Baseball Tournament. The Deacons, the lowest seeded of three teams in Pod C at No. 10 overall in the 12-team field, would advance to Saturday’s semifinals of the ACC Tournament.
And NC State, the top seed in the pod and No. 3 overall, would play Florida State Friday evening in a game with potential NCAA Tournament ramifications for both teams but nothing on the line with regards to the ACC. FSU might need a win for its hopes to make the larger tournament, while NCSU would be still seeking to bolster its case to potentially host a regional.
After all, earlier this year the Wolfpack’s dream of a 10-win regular season in football were dashed by a stunning, last minute home loss on a Thursday night to Wake Forest. A shocking setback at WFU in men’s basketball loomed large in hindsight when NCSU was denied an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Then the unpredictable happened in Durham.
With NC State trailing 5-2 going into the ninth, Wolfpack junior shortstop Will Wilson’s fly ball in right was perfectly placed, eluding a diving sophomore right fielder Michael Ludowig for a triple to start the inning against WFU sophomore closer William Fleming, who had nine saves going into the game.
Sophomore catcher Patrick Bailey drew a walk after working the count full. Senior Evan Edwards’ liner was hit right to Wake junior shortstop Patrick Frick for the first out, but freshman Tyler McDonough, who moved from center field to second base during one of a litany of in-game moves made by Pack manager Elliott Avent, walked following a 12-pitch at bat during which he fouled off six two-strike pitches.
That set up senior designated hitter Brad Debo’s two-run single with the bases loaded to right center, part of a 3-RBI game for Debo, to cut Wake’s lead to 5-4 and put runners on the corners with one out, and the craziness was only starting.
With a shortage of position players available, Avent asked his assistants to give him the best running pitcher to pinch run for Debo. The choices were sophomore lefty David Harrison and junior righty Alec Barger, the latter having played some outfield in junior college.
Avent figured Barger might be needed if the game went to extra innings, so Harrison, who has emerged as NCSU's third weekend starter, was the pick.
“Good choice,” Avent jokingly admitted after the game. “Life is all about good choices.”
Harrison alertly took second on a wild pitch that did not get far away from Wake Forest senior catcher Logan Harvey. NCSU freshman left fielder Luca Tresh then struck out looking on a borderline 2-2 pitch for the second out.
In an identical count, NC State sophomore outfielder Terrell Tatum bounced a grounder to Wake freshman second baseman Michael Turconi, but Turconi double clutched and the speedy Tatum beat the throw, allowing McDonough to score the tying run.
Harrison then tried to race home for the go-ahead run but he was tagged out by Harvey, or so the home plate umpire Perry Costello originally ruled. A lengthy review showed that Harvey’s original tag missed and Harrison’s left heel scraped the plate before Harvey actually touched him.
The call was overturned, and NC State was suddenly ahead 6-5.
Wake Forest sophomore first baseman and ACC Player of the Year Bobby Seymour led off the bottom of the ninth with an opposite field double off the wall, but Wolfpack redshirt freshman righty Cameron Cotter came in at that point and induced a pop out and grounder, both to Edwards at first, and closed with a strikeout to shut down the potential threat.
“For him to believe in himself and calm down and to be able to do what he did, he’ll never forget and I’ll never forget,” Avent said of Cotter’s ninth.
With the 6-5 victory, the Pack will play the winner of Friday morning’s game between Georgia Tech and Duke on Saturday with a scheduled first pitch at 5 p.m. NC State still has its Friday game versus FSU as well.
“I think it means a lot to our guys just to keep playing,” Avent said.
NC State improved to 42-15 on the season. Entering the ACC Tournament, it was projected by both D1Baseball.com and Baseball America to host a regional, but each had the Pack as one of the last teams among the top 16 seeds.
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