Weekend Recap: Pack9 Sweeps Fordham with Ease

The highly anticipated opening weekend for the 2025 college baseball season has already come and gone, and oh what a weekend it was. Across the country we saw surprising results, upsets, and exciting walk off finishes. None of those things were even remotely close to happening during opening weekend at Doak Field at Dail Park. Not only did the Wolfpack sweep Fordham, all 3 games were via the run rule. The Pack9 showed many reasons for optimism moving forward into the season. The pitching was good, the lineup produced in several different ways, and the new comers stepped up early and often.

Game 1 of the series, and what would be a double header on Friday, really set the tone for the remainder of the series. Veteran Dom Fritton got the start on the mound in the season opener and overall had a solid outing, not great but not bad either. Early in the outing, it didn't feel like Fritton had his best stuff. A couple of early walks, a pair of hit batters, and a few hits put Fritton in some trouble in the early innings but he escaped . After the 2nd inning, Fritton settled in and we saw some of his better stuff. In 4.1 innings pitched, Fritton allowed 3 hits, 1 run (unearned), walked 2, hit 2 batters, and struck out 5. He was replaced by Andrew Shaffner after recording 1 out in the 5th inning. Shaffner was lights out in relief. He pitched 3.2 innings, giving up 3 hits, allowing no runs, he did hit a batter, and struck out another. Shaffner was confident and really commanded the strike zone. It was good to see him so sharp in the opening outing of the year. The stat line for the pair of Fritton and Shaffner ended up being sharp as the two combined only allowed 1 run, which again was unearned, and struck out 6 batters in 7 innings of work.

At the plate in game 1, the Pack did not disappoint. State tallied 11 runs on 10 hits, not to mention putting up 4 spots in back to back innings in the 7th and 8th. Alex Sosa, as expected, was the first Pack9 player to get into the home run category as he hit a 2-run homer in the 7th. Across the board, the lineup contributed. 6 different players for the Wolfpack had at least 1 hit, and 8 of 9 batters got on base. Even without recording a hit still finding ways to get on base is crucial, surprisingly Josh Hogue was in that category. The 2 guys in the lineup that really shined were both newcomers. Brayden Fraasman went 3-5 with 2 RBI in game one and Chris McHugh may have been even better, going 2-2 with 2 walks and a home run. Both of those players were mentioned as guys who needed to step up for the lineup and both did early.

Game 2 saw much of the same as game 1. This time Heath Andrews got the ball for the Wolfpack, and similarly to Fritton, needed some time to calm down and find his stuff. Andrews had some moments of youth for sure, he was credited with 4 wild pitches, hit 3 batters, and walked 3 more. Obviously there will be some nerves from a young starter in his first rotation start and once Andrews calmed down, we saw what the coaching staff raved about this offseason. In 5 innings of work Andrews only allowed 1 hit, giving up 2 runs (1 earned), and striking out 5. Now that the first start is under his belt, the hope is that Andrews will be more calm and cut down on those wild pitches, walks, and hit batters. Cooper Consiglio entered in relief and was everything Wolfpack fans expected him to be. Consiglio pitched 2 full innings, not allowing a hit, striking out 3, and giving up 2 walks. Consiglio is one of many weapons State has out of the bullpen and he showed why in his first appearance of 2025.

At the plate the lineup was even better in game 2, posting 12 runs on 11 hits. There were 7 different players for State who recorded at least 1 hit and several guys stood out in this one. The offseason work at the plate really showed for Luke Nixon as he went 3-4 with 2 RBI and scored 3 times from the leadoff spot. Chris McHugh carried over his momentum from game 1 and added a 2-3 day with 2 RBI and a walk. And remember how we mentioned Matt Ossenfort in the preview about being a guy who State needed to contribute in the power department? Well he homered in his first at bat as a member of the Pack9. Freshman Ty Head added 2 hits and 2 RBI from the nine spot in the lineup as well, contribution up and down the lineup for State in game 2.

With the Pack9 going for a sweep in game 3, Ryan Marohn delivered the best starting pitching performance of the weekend. The sophomore lefty was consistent his entire outing and never showed any sign of weakness for any pitch he threw. He commanded the zone and located pitches efficiently. Marohn threw 5 complete innings, giving up 0 runs, 3 hits, and striking out 7 batters. The most important item of his stat line is that Marohn gave up ZERO walks in this outing. Couldn't ask for a better start to 2025 for the youngster. After a long journey through rehab, Matt Willadsen got back on the mound in live action for the first time since 2023 and relieved Marohn in the 6th inning. Willadsen's return initially was a rude one as he allowed a homer to his first batter faced, but then ensued to strike out the next 3 hitters in his lone inning of work. It was great to see Willadsen back on the mound and we'll see even more of him on Tuesday as he is slated to be the starting pitcher vs Liberty. The final inning of work was left to Camden Wimbish and he looked quite shaky, allowing 3 runs (all earned) on 2 hits and walking a batter in only a 1/3 of an inning. Jacob Dudan would then make his first appearance of 2025 and shockingly wasn't sharp either. Dudan too only pitched 1/3 of an inning and gave up 2 runs (both earned) on 2 hits with a walk as well. Definitely not the way State fans expected Jacob Dudan to start off his 2025 campaign and this outing is one we need to keep in mind moving forward. Carson Kelly entered the game to record the final out and did so with no trouble.

For the third consecutive game, the Wolfpack lineup continued to get better. The Pack posted 19 runs on an impressive 15 hits. State put up 6 runs in 3 separate innings, scoring in bunches and doing it often. The Pack sent 13 men to the plate over the course of the ballgame and every one of them reached base at some point, 11 of them recording hits. Chris McHugh continued his impressive Wolfpack debut weekend and added on 3 more RBI. Alex Sosa yet again showed why he is the big bat for State and added his 2nd homer of the weekend and drove in 2 more. Josh Hogue gave us a game fans expected to see from him, going 2-4 and driving in 2 runs. The biggest positive from game 3 though was Brayden Fraasman. He tallied 2 more hits to his weekend and 1 of them was a mammoth homer. We listed McHugh, Ossenfort, and Fraasman all as guys who needed to help in the power statistics this season and all 3 of those guys homered on opening weekend. That is a fantastic sign early for the Pack9, Jake Bechtel also added a homer as well.

Takeaways from opening weekend are primarily positive. This lineup can hit 1-9, and all these guys find ways to get on base even if its not a hit. The power in this group may be better than Pack fans initially believed. State homered 6 times in 3 games (2 from Sosa, McHugh, Ossenfort, Fraasman, Bechtel). Luke Nixon appears to be comfortable in his new leadoff role, and it showed as he recorded at least 1 hit in each game of the series. I really liked what I saw from the lineup, can't complain about 3 run rule wins. For the pitching staff, it was overall a good weekend but had a couple of bumps. Like we saw with Fritton and Andrews, just calm down, trust your pitches. Heading into this week and ACC play down the road, the opportunity to gather yourself in later innings may not be realistic. Calm the nerves and everything will be just fine. Marohn was fantastic, looking to see how where he goes from here after that outing. The pen outings from Dudan and Wimbish were surprising. Wimbish is young and his potential is through the roof, the calmness factor definitely applies to him as well. For Dudan, I'm not putting a ton of stock in that outing but definitely keeping it in mind in case this becomes a trend. We know what Dudan is capable of, but that wasn't the foot fans expected to see him start off on. Pen pieces like Consiglio and Shaffner were fantastic and showed why this bullpen can be a weapon for the Pack9. This upcoming week is full of better competition for State. Liberty visits the Doak on Tuesday and over the weekend State takes on Ohio State, Alabama, and Coastal Carolina in Jacksonville. All 4 of those opponents are far better than the competition State was up against during opening weekend, and 3 of the 4 teams are projected postseason teams. On paper, the Pack is the better team in all 4 games but we will see State be tested this week for sure.

-Bobby Black