NC State coach Elliott Avent backs RHP Jacob Dudan after blown save vs. Liberty, believes Pack needs to ‘grow up fast’
When NC State first baseman Chris McHugh laced a hard-hit two-out single in the eighth to score a pair and push the Wolfpack’s lead to three against Liberty, many within the team’s dugout thought they had the win locked up.
Why wouldn’t they? A three-run lead with Preseason All-America reliever Jacob Dudan coming on for the save. That seemed to be the ultimate recipe for success for the Pack.
But instead, a ninth-inning meltdown with four unearned runs ensued and NC State dropped its first game of the year in a 9-8 loss to Liberty on Tuesday afternoon at Doak Field.
“It’s so early in the season, but it’s a tough loss,” Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent said afterwards. “It’s tough — for so many reasons. I didn’t think we played well today, at all, which is disturbing. We’ve got a young club, I get that. But in the age of every team is old now … you better grow up fast or you’ll have a lot of disappointing losses.”
So what happened, exactly? How did the Flames find a way to get past Dudan’s 98 mph fastballs and his devastating slider? Well, it’s what Liberty didn’t have to do that hurt NC State the most.
Dudan walked the first batter he faced on a full count before he struck out the next one. Then, with one away and a runner on first, the Wolfpack’s righty seemed to have strike three on a full count against Nick Barone. Home plate umpire Joseph Blumenauer disagreed and awarded the free base.
Then, the wheels fell off.
Liberty’s Camden Troyer grounded to shortstop Justin DeCriscio, who bobbled the ball before rushing a throw to first. His toss across the diamond was off the mark and resulted in an effort that loaded the bases and scored a run in the process. The Flames added another run on a groundout before a walk, hit by pitch and a two-RBI double gave Liberty the lead.
The error seemed to play with Dudan’s mindset on the mound. He struggled to pound the zone, which most are accustomed to seeing, and it allowed Liberty to take advantage. Avent believed Dudan’s stuff is the same as last season, he just hasn’t been able to consistently find the zone with it.
“I think he’s doubting himself a little bit right now,” Avent said. “If he’d got that 3-2 pitch for the second out or we made a play at shortstop or a pick at first, I think he goes in and closes it out. … He needs something good to happen. It almost happened, but it didn’t.”
Dudan’s first two appearances of the 2025 campaign haven’t been the cleanest. He has tossed 1.1 innings with three hits allowed, six runs (only two earned), four walks, a hit batter and just one strikeout.
The Huntersville, N.C., native was tabbed D1Baseball’s No. 1 reliever in the country before the season began, and those external expectations might be playing a factor in his early season struggles from the bullpen, Avent thought.
“He’s just got too many accolades. He was unbelievable last year when nobody knew his name. Now every time he picks up a paper, he’s seeing how he’s the best reliever in the country. This game ain’t designed that way. You’re better off when you go under the [radar] and don’t have all these expectations for yourself.”
Avent, the Wolfpack’s 29th-year coach, remains confident in Dudan. He said the reliever will be a go-to lockdown option on Friday night against Ohio State at the Jax College Baseball Classic, while junior closer Derrick Smith continues to recover from a preseason injury that hasn’t made him available to this point of the season.
While the elite sophomore isn’t a major concern for Avent, he isn’t happy with how his team has defended to this point of the year. NC State has committed seven total errors through its first four games, including three in the loss to Liberty.
DeCriscio, the shortstop, has committed three of them this year with a pair against the Flames. Those woes might result in a defensive change as Avent continues to navigate the early parts of the season.
“There’s a couple plays at shortstop I thought we could have made different,” Avent said. “This is disappointing.
“Conference comes quick, you’ve gotta think about making changes,” Avent later added. “We’re not making some plays defensively I think we’ve gotta make.”
NC State has a marquee opportunity to turn the page this weekend in Jacksonville. In addition to playing Ohio State, the Wolfpack will also see Alabama and Coastal Carolina during the three-day event. Avent believes in the talent on his roster, though it is young and filled with underclassmen in key roles.
Avent wasn’t pleased with the performance against the Flames and the Pack will hold a Wednesday morning practice to correct some of its defensive mistakes and inconsistencies before trekking down to the Sunshine State. But, in the meantime, he’s looking for his squad to mature in a hurry.
“This team has to grow up fast,” Avent said. “I know we’re young and it’s a whole new offense, but we’re going to have to get better and get better fast or there’s going to be more disappointments.”
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