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NC State Mashes Its Way To Victory in Doubleheader Opener

The Wolfpack hung 16 runs on the Princeton Tigers to win a fifth-straight and give itself a shot to sweep Princeton.
Tucker Sennett|
Jacob Dudan throws a pitch.
Jacob Dudan throws a pitch. | Courtesy of NC State Athletics

RALEIGH — NC State secured a fifth-straight win with a far more dominant effort than the one it put out against Princeton on Friday, hanging 16 runs on the Tigers in the first leg of a Saturday doubleheader. The bats woke up at Doak Field in the third inning, hanging a crooked number on the scoreboard that allowed the team to cruise the rest of the way.

Another very strong start for junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Dudan also provided some significant comfort for NC State. With Dudan and Ryan Marohn firing on all cylinders through their first two starts, starting pitching seems to be an area of significant strength for the Pack 9. The win set Elliott Avent's team up for a chance to go for the sweep later on Saturday afternoon.

Wolfpack lineup and stats

  1. CF Ty Head: 1-1, 3 BB, 3-R HR --- PH/CF Andrew Wiggins: 0-1, HBP
  2. 2B Luke Nixon: 2-4 --- PH/2B Sherman Johnson: 1-1
  3. RF Brayden Fraasman: 0-4 --- PH/RF Devin Mitchell: 1-1, 2-R HR
  4. 1B Dalton Bargo: 1-1, RBI, BB --- PR/LF Rett Johnson: 2-3, 2-R HR
  5. LF/1B Chris McHugh: 3-3, HR, 3 RBI --- 1B Quinn Bentley: 0-2
  6. DH Brandon Novy: 1-4, R
  7. 3B Wyatt Peifer: 2-3, 2 RBI, 2 R
  8. C Drew Lanphere: 0-2, RBI --- PH/C Preston Bonn: 0-1
  9. SS Mikey Ryan: 1-3 --- PH/SS Christian Serrano: 1-2, RBI

RHP Jacob Dudan: 7.0 IP, 11 K, 3 H, W (2-0)
RHP Danny Heintz: IP, K
RHP Landon Carr: IP, 3 BB, 2 K, ER

How the Wolfpack got it done

The scoring started right away for the Wolfpack in the second game of the series. After Dudan established his dominance immediately, Bargo drove in Head with a sac-fly and Luke Nixon scored on a double-steal try for the Wolfpack. NC State scored in the first five innings of the game, providing Dudan plenty of comfort to settle in and get the job done.

After utilizing a fairly consistent lineup in terms of personnel the first week of the season, the lopsided scoring allowed Avent to tinker with some new faces. The five-run third inning started with a home run for McHugh to deep center, giving him his first big fly of the season at the Doak. Lanphere continued to be a valuable part of the lineup, driving in a run with a sac-fly of his own. The Wolfpack blew it open when the second two-run homer of the inning flew off the bat of Head.

Dudan's stuff really threw off the Princeton bats as he pitched with more and more confidence. He ended up working for seven innings, striking out a season-high 11 batters. While there were some questions about his ability to work deep into games after transitioning from being an elite reliever, those doubts are being put to rest after two quality starts for the junior.

The run support and brilliant start from Dudan allowed two pitchers to get work for the first time in 2026. It started with Heintz, the Alabama transfer who hadn't pitched since 2024 when he was still with the Penn Quakers. He threw his first strikeout since he was a Quaker, getting back at an old Ivy League rival. He was joined by Carr out of the bullpen, who struck out two and allowed one run.

The firsts didn't stop with the pitching staff. Two members of the Wolfpack hit their first home runs with the program. It started with Devin Mitchell, a transfer from Florence-Darlington Technical College, who blasted a solo homer to left field in his first at-bat of the 2026 season with the Wolfpack. He wasn't alone in joining the home run club, however.

Johnson, the team's freshman left fielder, also got on the board with a homer of his own. The undersized, but self-proclaimed scrappy outfielder smacked the ball into the NC State bullpen to put his team up by 14 runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

It was a good sign for the Wolfpack offense to get so many contributions from different faces after Bargo and Nixon carried a lot of weight in the first few games, but they weren't the only ones to contribute. State went for the sweep in the afternoon against the Tigers.

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Tucker Sennett
TUCKER SENNETT

Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.

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