Wolfpack Shows Versatility in Weekend Sweep in Minnesota

Here's a recap of the weekend in NC State baseball, a successful three-game stretch in which the Wolfpack beat Iowa, Purdue and host Minnesota to improve to 11-0

Photo courtesy Cambria College Classic

The NC State baseball team rolled through three Big Ten opponents to win the Cambria College Classic tournament indoors at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis last weekend.

In doing so, coach Elliott Avent's Wolfpack didn't just earn a nice trophy by beating Iowa, Purdue and host Minnesota. It also served notice that has the capability of winning any style of game, at home or away.

State (11-0) showed that it could win by using the long ball on Friday as Patrick Bailey hit a pair of homers and leadoff man Austin Murr added another in a 6-0 win against the Hawkeyes. It should it could win with strong pitching, as Nick Swiney and Dalton Feeney combined on a one-hitter to shut out the Boilermakers 6-0. And it also showed it can come from behind with some late-inning magic as it did in rallying from four down with eight unanswered runs to beat the Gophers 11-7.

Here is a look at the weekend's action and some of the highlights in and beyond the boxscores:

◼ Ace of diamonds: Three games into his new role as a starter, Swiney has firmly established himself as the ace of the Wolfpack's pitching staff. The junior left-hander was especially dominant on Saturday in leading State to a 6-0 whitewash of Purdue

Swiney allowed a leadoff single to the Boilermakers' Skyler Hunter and then hit cleanup man Zac Fascia with a pitch later in the first, then retired the next 22 batters he faced on the way to an eight-inning, 98-pitch masterpiece.

He struck out 15, bettering the career high of 11 he had in each of his first two starts, becoming the first State pitcher to strike out 15 in a game since first-round draft pick Carlos Rodon did it to Georgia Tech on April 25, 2014.

Reliever Feeney came in to finish the game in the ninth and completed the 1-hitter, the Wolfpack's third shutout of the new season.

◼ Pat's back: Any concern there might have been about Bailey's slow start is now a thing of the past. The preseason All-American catcher had only one hit through his first four games, but since then he's produced four multi-hit games and is hitting a hefty .385 (10 of 26).

His bat was especially hot in Minnesota. He hit a pair of homers in Friday's win against Iowa, a solo shot in the seventh that broke a 5-5 tie and a grand slam one inning later to break the game open. Bailey went 5 for 13 with three walks over the three games to improve his season average to .297.

◼ Hometown hero: Although the Cambria College Classic wasn't scheduled as a homecoming game for JUCO transfer Murr, a native of nearby Denmark Township, Minn., who joined the program after the event was scheduled, the familiar surroundings clearly aggreed with the State first baseman.

Leading off the top of the first against Iowa, Murr hit the first pitch of the weekend over the wall for a home run. He ended up with five hits in 13 official at bats, with a pair of doubles, a triple and the homer to raise his season batting average to a healthy .341.

◼ Deep depth: It's a term coined by Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver to describe the strength of the Baltimore Orioles' bench. This Wolfpack team is shaping up to have plenty of talent in reserve, as well -- especially now that sophomore outfielder Luca Tresh is healthy and back in the lineup.

Tresh hit a homer in the comeback win against Minnesota and has five hits in the four games he's played since returning from hand surgery. He joins a group that includes Tyler McDonough and Devonte Brown (both of whom also play in the infield), Jonny Butler, Terrell Tatum and Lawson McArthur in a talented outfield/DH rotation.

T5 | This boy can HIT. @ltresh34 knocks in Butler with a single to right field to cut our deficit to one! #Pack9 6, Minnesota 7 pic.twitter.com/2AzLrGMToz

— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) March 2, 2020

Two other players came off the bench to make valuable contributions.in Minnesota. Freshman Noah Soles had a two-run, go-ahead pinch-hit single in the eighth to complete the comeback against the Gophers and junior David Vasquez drove in a run with a squeeze bunt in the sixth inning of Friday's win against the Hawkeyes to extend a 1-0 lead. 

Soles, in particular, is an intriguing bat off the bench. A 19th-round draft pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks, he has produced four hits and three RBI in his first seven college at bats.

State's pitching staff is also deep, as illustrated by the work of David Harrison, who came out of the bullpen against Minnesota with his team down 7-3 and didn't allow a run over the final five innings -- surrendering only one hit while striking out six -- to make it possible for the Wolfpack to rally for the win.