BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. – For the second year in a row, Marcus Jones found a little inspiration on “Jackie Robinson Day.”
Last year, Jones broke out of a month-long slump with four hits, including a home run, and three RBIs in an April 15 game against Miami, as Major League Baseball celebrated the 60th anniversary of Robinson’s first game with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Over the final 25 games of the season, Jones hit .374, had 10 extra-base hits and 19 RBIs, igniting a moribund Wolfpack offense.
Tuesday night against East Carolina, Jones again paid homage to the man who broke baseball's color barrier by reaching base three times in four at-bats and hitting his fifth home run of the season, as the Wolfpack survived a 7-6 thriller over East Carolina in front of a sold-out crowd at Doak Field at Dail Park.
For the Wolfpack, it was the ninth win in the last 10 games against the Pirates and the crowd of 2,715 was the fifth-largest crowd since Wolfpack’s on-campus stadium was renovated in 2004.
“Jackie Robinson is someone I have always looked up to and someone my dad has always made sure I was aware of what he did for the game,” said the junior from Washington, D.C. “He’s one of my heroes, a guy I wish I could have met at some point, so I do look forward to this day.
“I know a lot of people in baseball make others aware of this day. It’s just a day for me to go out and have fun and play the game.”
Jones began his night with a single in the Wolfpack’s two-run first, added a solo homer in the third and walked in the fifth. He made outs in his final two at-bats, including a pop-up to shortstop with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth.
But, despite a shaky ninth inning by closer Jimmy Gillheeney, the Wolfpack didn’t need the insurance runs.
Starter Alex Sogard (2-1) went 5 2/3 innings for the Wolfpack, before turning the pitching duties to the Wolfpack bullpen.
The Pirates loaded the bases in both the eighth and ninth innings, getting a grand slam by designated hitter Kyle Roller off reliever Andrew Taylor in the eighth to pull within one run. But Taylor, who had relieved Kyle Rutter with the bases loaded, retired the next three batters to end the rally.
“I’ll tell you what, getting those three outs is what won us the game,” NC State coach Elliott Avent said afterwards. “Drew did a great job of coming back and sitting them down.”
In the ninth, Gillheeney walked three batters to load the bases again, but struck out pinch hitter Trent Whitehead on three pitches to end the game, for his eighth save of the season. It’s the second time this season that Gillheeney, who picked off lead-off hitter Harrison Eldridge for the final out of a 4-3 win over East Carolina in Greenville two weeks ago, came up big to end the game against the Pirates.
“You feel pretty comfortable with Jimmy Gillheeney out there on the mound,” Avent said. “You are just a little disappointed that the game got to that point. When it was 7-2, I thought we gave some at-bats away in the middle part of the game when we really could have put the game away, and we left a lot of people on base.”
The Wolfpack loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth with one out, but Jeremy Synan hit into a fielder’s choice at first base and Jones popped up to shortstop for the final out. On the night, the Pack stranded 10 runners.
Jones, who went 2-for-4 on the night, was one of three Wolfpack players with multi-hit games. Both Synan and first baseman Pat Ferguson also gathered two hits on the night, driving in one run each. With 10 hits on the night, the Wolfpack recorded its 10th game with double-digit hits in its last 13 outings.
The Wolfpack used back-to-back two-out rallies in the first and second innings to grab a 4-0 lead against Pirate starter Sthil Sowers. In the first inning, after Sowers retired the first two batters on come-backers to the mound, he walked Matt Payne, allowing him to advance to second on a wild pitch.
Jeremy Synan drove in Payne with a single to right field. Jones followed with a single to left-center, and Pat Ferguson drove in Synan with a single to right.
In the second inning, after a pair of ground-outs, lead-off hitter Dallas Poulk reached on an infield single and Ryan Pond singled to right. Poulk scored on a throwing error by second baseman Ryan Wood and Pond scored on a wild pitch.
In the third inning, Jones hit his sixth home run of the season for the Wolfpack’s only run of the frame.
The Pirates also showed the ability to rally in the top of the third inning, scoring a pair of two-out runs after Sogard walked both Harrison Eldridge and Wood. Both scored on a double by Stephen Batts.
The Wolfpack (24-11) scored two more runs on a bases-loaded single by shortstop Tommy Foshi to finish its scoring on the night.
NC State hosts Radford Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. at Doak Field at Dail Park before hitting the road for four straight games away from home. The Pack plays at Virginia Tech this weekend and travels to UNC Greensboro next Wednesday.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
Courtesy: NC State
