Going into the top of the fourth inning, the classic oldie “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” was played on the loud speakers of East Carolina's Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville, N.C.
After giving up six runs in the bottom of the third to East Carolina, all with two outs, it was, contrary to the song, a mountain too high to climb for NC State, who was the first team eliminated from the Greenville regional, ending a season in which the program was ranked No. 1 in the country earlier in the year.
After starting 29-3, the Pack finished 13-16 from that point forward and was just 1-4 in the postseason. But, as NC State junior pitcher Jason Parker said after the ECU game, “That’s baseball.”
No play exemplified that more than the one Parker was specifically referring to when he made his comment. With two outs in the bottom of the third, NC State led 1-0 thanks to a first-inning homer by sophomore catcher Patrick Bailey off ECU ace and likely first five-round MLB Draft pick Jake Agnos, a left-hander. Parker was relieved after laboring between the second and third innings.
He had just given up a single by shortstop Turner Brown on a hit-and-run that sent third baseman Ryder Giles to third base with one out. Sophomore lefty reliever Evan Justice was brought in to face star ECU right fielder Alec Burleson, a lefty, and Justice was able to induce a grounder to Pack sophomore second baseman J.T. Jarrett.
But Jarrett elected to throw to second rather than try to tag out Brown, and the entire double play process was executed a tad too slow to get Burleston hustling down the line at first, and the game was tied 1-1.
“Justice was the guy that we had matched up for Burleson,” NC State head coach Elliott Avent explained afterward. “He came in and did his job, but then it went haywire a little bit.”
Rather than being out of the inning with a 1-0 lead, NC State would go on to allow two more singles, a double and a wild pitch while using two more relievers after Justice that brought five more runs to come across, and ECU was up 6-1.
That was all Agnos needed.
The junior who had allowed just two total earned runs in his prior six starts settled in after the first inning and surrendered just two hits over the next seven innings. He came out for the ninth, but allowed a mammoth homer to right by Pack senior first baseman Evan Edwards to end his game after throwing 127 pitches.
ECU by that point had added three more runs against State’s relievers to put the game well out of reach.
“Very proud of our guys, had an unbelievable season,” Avent said. “Did some things that hadn’t been done in NC State in a while and we’re all very proud of. It’s just a tough way to end.”
East Carolina will face the winner of Campbell-Quinnipiac later Sunday evening, while the Pack will turn its attention to the summer starting with Monday’s MLB Draft. Junior shortstop Will Wilson is a given to be picked high and sign, but other players like Parker will take a wait-and-see approach.
“Obviously the draft is on my mind, but I love playing for this school,” Parker said. “I met my best friends this year. I love living in Raleigh with these guys and playing for Coach Avent and this team.”
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