Going into the Raleigh Regional winner’s bracket game against South Carolina, NC State’s game plan was simple: “dismantle fastballs.”
While that may seem like an elementary approach, it worked out well for the Wolfpack. The Gamecocks trotted out Garrett Gainey, a lefty that owns a power fastball. NC State, though, was able to stick to its objective — and Gainey’s fastballs ended up in the tree line near Sullivan Road.
NC State’s sluggers got the party started with a trio of homers before smart hitting secured a 6-4 win over South Carolina on Saturday evening at Doak Field. The Wolfpack advanced to the regional final on Sunday night, while the Gamecocks will play James Madison in an elimination game.
But with the plan of sitting fastball — and uncorking the aluminum bat on it — NC State’s offense got out to an early lead. Graduate first baseman Garrett Pennington wasted no time, sending Gainey’s third pitch of the game over the left field fence.
And he wasn’t done there. South Carolina tied the game in the third with its own solo shot, but Pennington was able to take Gainey deep again. His second homer carried over the right field fence as the warm air allowed the ball to travel further than it appeared it would to the opposite field.
That game plan? Yeah, it worked.
“Going into the game, we were like, ‘Hey, if we get his fastball, we’re going to be alright,’” said Pennington, who logged his fourth multi-homer game of the spring. “That was just the plan and we executed it and did our jobs.”
Though Pennington was able to crush a pair of fastballs to give the Wolfpack an early two-run lead, the Gamecocks didn’t go away quietly. South Carolina’s Dylan Brewer, an outfielder that found out he was starting less than 30 minutes before first pitch, clubbed two homers of his own to tie the game at four a piece.
That’s where NC State’s ability to work counts came into action in the seventh — even though the plan was to crush homers. It started with a leadoff single from sophomore outfielder Eli Serrano III, who hit a solo home run in the fifth, before three walks allowed the 6-foot-5 slugger to jog home.
Serrano fired up the crowd as he took his time making the 90-foot trip to home. His run was the go-ahead score and the Pack later added an insurance run on a Gamecock throwing error.
In all, the Wolfpack only had two hitters log multi-hit games — Pennington and Serrano — but the rest of the order was able to find ways on base. And while the offense found ways to keep the line moving, its defense was nearly flawless.
The Pack didn’t record an error and junior shortstop Brandon Butterworth dazzled as he anchored the middle of the infield. He turned three double plays while making two putouts with four assists.
“That guy makes unreal plays,” Pennington said. “He makes the above average play look just as easy as ever. The double plays he was turning, those balls were touched a little and he’s just fielding them and flicking them over to second like it was nothing. … It’s really fun to watch him play defense.”
Butterworth’s defense was impressive and he backed up the Wolfpack’s trio of pitchers it needed to retire the Gamecocks.
Sophomore left-hander Dominic Fritton logged a quality start, going five innings with just two runs on three hits, four walks and a strikeout. Though it has been an up and down season for the southpaw, he has appeared to rise to the occasion when the Wolfpack has needed him.
Fritton went toe-to-toe with Wake Forest ace Chase Burns during the final regular season series of the year — an NC State sweep — and he did the same with South Carolina’s Gainey.
That impressed NC State coach Elliott Avent, who trusted Fritton with the start in a pivotal regional game — the starter’s first time pitching in the NCAA Tournament.
“Tonight with Gainey, who I thought was terrific, you know you have to be at your best,” Avent said. “And that’s what he was against a very, very good lineup.”
While Avent was glowing of his starter, everyone on the postgame dias wore a large grin. Pennington, who arrived from Wichita State through the transfer portal for his final year of eligibility, may have had the biggest.
Not only did he club two more homers, but the first step in his goal of making the College World Series has become clear. And he was key in powering the Wolfpack past the pesky Gamecocks.
“Those are the games you live for,” Pennington said. “We had the right guys in the box. Our team is relentless at taking pitches that we need to take. Having all the trust in the guys behind us and just doing our jobs and moving the bat along.”
The Wolfpack did just that, and now it has a chance to continue its march towards another trip to Omaha.
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