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Wolfpack Responds Against Wake Forest: Key Stats, Observations

After back-to-back disastrous losses in Winston-Salem, NC State baseball got a dominant performance from one of its top freshmen to salvage a win in the series.
Tucker Sennett|
NC State left fielder Rett Johnson runs the bases during the Wolfpack's 9-2 victory over Queens University (NC) on Wednesday, March 4, 2026.
NC State left fielder Rett Johnson runs the bases during the Wolfpack's 9-2 victory over Queens University (NC) on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. | Courtesy of NC State Athletics

NC State baseball allowed 40 runs in the first two games against Wake Forest, putting forth two of its worst efforts of the season to start the series. That made Sunday a must-win game for the Wolfpack. Luckily for veteran head coach Elliott Avent, his team was up for the challenge and rallied around the depleted pitching staff to take down the Demon Deacons 6-5 in 10 innings.

Freshman outfielder Rett Johnson put forth a historic performance, racking up five hits in five at-bats on Sunday. Without Johnson and some gutsy performances out of the bullpen, NC State would find itself in a precarious situation with narrower postseason hopes. Instead, the Pack remains at .500 in conference play with more key series to make up ground in various metrics.

Wolfpack lineup and stats

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

LHP Luke Hemric: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
RHP Ryder Garino: 3.1 IP, H, R, ER, BB, 4 K
RHP Anderson Nance: 3 IP, 4 H, R, ER, 2 BB, W. (2-1)

How the Wolfpack outlasted the Demon Deacons

Avent and pitching coach Clint Chrysler turned back to Hemric, who pitched well in his midweek start against East Carolina on the road on Tuesday. While it wasn't a perfect outing, the lefty limited the damage, something NC State's Friday and Saturday starters both failed to do with the Demon Deacons. The freshman passed the torch to Garino, who continued his nice work out of the bullpen.

Despite some uncharacteristic performances during the Wolfpack's woes, Nance is starting to show the version of himself that broke out during his freshman season in Raleigh. The Demon Deacons threatened the solid righty in the 10th inning, but Nance buckled down and got the outs his team needed to get out of the slump in Winston-Salem.

It was a back-and-forth affair all afternoon, as neither team broke away. The pivotal moment came in the top of the eighth. Sherman Johnson stepped up to the plate after already striking out three times in the game. He hit a high fly ball down the left field line that dropped, scoring Head from second base to tie the game at four apiece. Johnson injured himself rounding first base, forcing Peifer into the game the rest of the way.

With the game tied at four in extras, NC State shifted back into its small-ball approach, especially with Peifer in the game instead of the disciplined Johnson. However, the backup third baseman came up clutch in the 10th, placing a perfect bunt in the direction of Wake Forest third baseman Dalton Wentz, who fired the throw beyond first base, bringing the go-ahead run home for the Pack. The visitors also added a much-needed insurance run in the 10th that proved to be the deciding run for the win.

It wasn't the prettiest of wins for the Wolfpack, but it was a much-needed victory to improve the team's national standing after such lopsided losses in the first two games of the series. Now, NC State gets a few days away from the action, as the program won't play again until another road trip takes it to Blacksburg to face Virginia Tech for three games starting on Friday.

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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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