NC State baseball cruises past Ball State for 10-2 opening game victory

NC State baseball cruised to a 10-2 win over Ball State in the first of a three-game series. The Pack found its groove early, using consistent offense and strong pitching to earn a dominant victory in its final non-conference series of the regular season.

The Wolfpack (23-16) stacked runs early and threw the hammer down on the Cardinals (25-16-1) in the fourth inning. With the bases loaded, graduate third baseman Alec Makarewicz blasted a grand slam to put the game well out of reach.

“I put a good swing on it and didn’t pull off,” Makarewicz said. “Glad everybody was on base for me there.”

Makarewicz has been a grand slam pickup in the transfer portal and continues to make game-changing plays for the red-and-white. The ECU transfer finished the game with two hits, four RBIs and one run. Makarewicz has left everything on the field this season, proving himself once again while battling an injury.

The Wolfpack pitchers ensured Makarewicz’s grand slam wasn’t wasted. Graduate right-handed pitcher Sam Highfill made his typical Friday night start and delivered. Through six innings, Highfill struck out six batters while only surrendering two runs.

“Sam didn’t have his best stuff, but he’s a veteran and kept them at bay and made some pitches when he had to,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “The good news was Sam was able to get us through six.”

Freshman left-handed pitcher Ryan Marohn took over on the mound to start the seventh inning and closed out the game. The southpaw left no doubt, striking out three batters and allowing no runs. The only blemish on Marohn’s performance was an eighth-inning double, but Marohn turned it into a positive with a strong response and kept the Cardinals off the board. With postseason play looming, Marohn’s emergence could be key for the Wolfpack.

“Those freshman bullpen have had to carry a big load,” Avent said. “This is the first we’ve got [Marohn] back in a while, so it was good to see him hop out there and be very effective.”

Between its strong hitting and pitching, NC State made sure to show that it wasn’t overlooking Ball State. While the Cardinals aren’t an ACC opponent, the series presented a valuable opportunity for the Wolfpack to showcase its strength before the home stretch of the season.

“It’s exams, an off weekend for conference,” Avent said. “Conference is tough. Every weekend you're at Clemson, Carolina and you got Campbell and at East Carolina in front of 7,000 people the other night, and these guys are tired. A lot of guys are playing banged up … Mentally you can relax a little bit. You relax tomorrow against this ballclub tomorrow and you’ll get beat.”

The Wolfpack will take on Ball State in the second game of the series on Saturday, April 27 at Doak Field. The first pitch is set for 3 p.m. and will be available on ACC Network Extra.