North Carolina State University Athletics
Lafayette Stuns No. 13 Wolfpack
3/6/2026 7:58:00 PM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. – No. 13 NC State's seven-game winning streak ended Friday afternoon as the Wolfpack lost 11-6 to Lafayette at the Doak.
Lafayette (1-7), which entered the game without a win, had eight hits, including six home runs—one of which was a first-inning grand slam—allowing them to take the lead early and never give it up.
Freshman Rett Johnson drove in two RBIs with two hits for the Wolfpack (12-2), and Ty Head hit his sixth home run of the season, a three-run shot in the bottom of the ninth.
Julien Peissel (0-1) made his first start for NC State, but it lasted only one inning as the Leopards scored five runs on three hits and two walks against him. Sam Harris and Anderson Nance each pitched four innings. Harris struck out a career-high six batters, but the visitors scored three runs off each of them.
Lafayette starter Tristan Helmick (1-1) went eight innings, allowing just two runs on two hits, with no walks and three strikeouts. Of NC State's eight hits, only two were for extra bases.
Peissel managed to get two of the first three batters out, but after a single and two walks, the Leopards had the bases loaded. In a 2-2 count, Boden Fernsler hit one off the left field foul pole for a grand slam. Bode Grieve followed with a solo shot, also in a 2-2 count, for back-to-back home runs and a 5-0 lead.
NC State trailed 8-0 before scoring its first run in the fifth inning, when Johnson used his speed for an RBI bunt single to bring in Andrew Wiggins. In the sixth, Sherman Johnson added his 15th RBI of the season with a single.
The Pack tried to rally in the ninth, with the first two batters reaching base. Johnson singled to score a run, and Head's home run cut the deficit to five, but the Leopards managed to escape the jam after a pitching change and secured the win.
The Leopards now even the series at 1-1, marking their first win over the Wolfpack since 1958.
Game two between NC State and Lafayette is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 7th, at the Doak and will be broadcast on ACCNX.
