Arriving at second base after a fifth-inning double down the left-field line Friday night, Alfredo Rodriguez stared into the Terrapins baseball team’s dugout, clapping his hands and yelling emphatically.

After the senior shortstop rounded third base and scored moments later, he stomped his foot on home plate. As the Terps went on to claim a 4-0 victory against N.C. State, the signs were there that this weekend, after four weeks of ACC struggles, could be different for the Terps.

When Rodriguez lifted a deep fly ball to left field in the 11th inning yesterday for the Terps to claim an emotional 7-6 victory over the Wolfpack and their first ACC series victory of the year, it was.

“Out of all the guys on the team, [Rodriguez] was the most pissed when they came back and tied it in the ninth,” coach Erik Bakich said of N.C. State’s late rally. “He’s a winner. He expects to win, and he backs it up. He backs it up with his play. He walks the walk, as well as talks the talk.”

It appeared the Terps would not need Rodriguez’s heroics for most of the game, though. Starting pitcher David Carroll went seven solid innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on seven hits. The senior did not issue any walks and struck out four, exiting with a 6-3 lead.

N.C. State (21-9, 9-6 ACC) would not go quietly. The Wolfpack scored three runs with two outs in the top of the ninth off reliever Korey Wacker to tie the game and send it to extra innings. The Terps (21-13, 5-10) put two runners on in the ninth and loaded the bases in the 10th, but came up empty until Rodriguez won it in the 11th.

“Before this series, it was a pivotal part of the season,” said Rodriguez, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI yesterday. “It was halfway, and Coach just wanted us to come out with a lot of confidence, and that’s what we did. It shows that when we have a lot of confidence and do the things we can do, we have a shot to beat anyone.”

Strong starting pitching emerged as the dominant narrative of the series’ first two games. Left-hander Jimmy Reed, who had been the Terps’ closer all year, started Friday night for the first time in his career and turned in a stellar performance. The junior pitched eight shutout innings, allowing two hits, two walks and a hit by pitch while striking out eight.

“That was awesome,” Carroll said. “He’s been pitching real well for us all year, and he got the call to start games, and we all have pretty good trust in him that he’ll get the job done. He just pitched phenomenal out there, and it’s awesome watching him throw.”

The Terps got another strong performance from starter Brett Harman on Saturday, but he was outdueled by N.C. State’s Carlos Rodon, the ACC’s leader in ERA. Harman allowed three runs on seven hits over 6.2 innings, but Rodon went the distance for his first career complete game. A 16th-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers last year, Rodon allowed two runs in the first inning before settling in to retire 24 of the game’s last 27 batters in a 3-2 Wolfpack win.

“He looked like C.C. Sabathia in the second through ninth inning,” Bakich said. “I thought we were going to get to him. We had him on the ropes and had him rattled. We scored two and we had an opportunity to put some more in there and just didn’t capitalize on it.”

This weekend also featured key contributions from first baseman/designated hitter Tim Kiene, who had been quiet since his return from a shoulder injury. The sophomore had three hits over the three games, but two were key home runs. His three-run blast in the sixth inning Friday gave Reed plenty of room to work with, while his two-run shot in the first yesterday gave the Terps a 3-0 cushion.

They’d hoped that lead would have been enough, but the eventual win proved just as fine – from both a micro and macro perspective. Halfway through their ACC schedule, the Terps have already matched last season’s number of conference and overall wins. Rodriguez’s double Friday showed this weekend might be different, and Sunday’s clincher hinted that this season could still be, too.

“Looking back historically, there was always a moment where we lost an emotional series about halfway through ACC play and we kind of went south,” Bakich said. “I think this is going to be the other direction for us. This is going to be huge for our confidence and our belief.”

dgallen@umdbk.com