You’ll forgive NC State fans if they are getting sick and tired of the color orange. The Wolfpack faithful suffered through a 30-20 loss to Clemson during the fall. Saw their beloved men’s basketball team lose three times to Brad Brownell’s club. And now it appears the baton has been passed to baseball. On Friday, Billy Amick homered twice and drove in five as the Tigers blasted the Wolfpack 10-2 at Dail Park in Raleigh. With the victory, Clemson improved to 23-16 overall and 7-9 in the ACC. NC State falls back to 25-12 overall and 8-10 in the league.
Amick began his assault on Wolfpack pitching in the very first inning. With two outs and two on, the sophomore from Batesburg blasted a three-run home run to left field, giving the Tigers an early 3-0 lead. He would add a two-run shot in the seventh inning to increase Clemson’s cushion to 10-1. The two long balls upped Amick’s season total to six, which is second on the team behind Caden Grice.
Cooper Ingle joined the home run parade with a two-run blast in the third, his fifth of the season, extending his hitting streak to 10 games. All told, the Tigers rapped out 14 hits, with Amick’s four leading the way. Benjamin Blackwell acquitted himself nicely with three singles, two RBIs, and a run scored.
Ethan Darden (3-2) got the win, matching his career high for innings pitched. Darden allowed one run on eight hits with no walks and three strikeouts. NC State starter Logan Whitaker (3-3) suffered the loss, as he surrendered 10 hits, eight runs (seven earned), and no walks with six strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched.
Due to impending weather, game two of the series has been moved to a 7pm first pitch.
