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#4 NC State surges past #11 Louisville’s in the Top of the 9th

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The fourth-ranked NC State baseball team rallied with six unanswered runs, highlighted by four in the ninth to surge past No. 11 Louisville for a 9-6 win Saturday afternoon at Jim Patterson Stadium to even the series.

The Wolfpack erased a 6-3 deficit with two runs in the seventh to trim the deficit to one before erupting with four runs in the ninth.

NC State moves to 24-6 on the year and 10-4 in ACC play, while Louisville falls to 20-10 and 6-8 in conference action. The Pack is the first team to reach 10 wins in league play and remains atop the standings in the Atlantic Division.

Kent Klyman earned the win with 3.2 innings of relief to remain unbeaten on the year at 3-0, while Louisville’s All-American closer Sam Bordner blew the save and was charged with the loss (1-2).

The decisive game three of the series is set for 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon, as the Wolfpack looks to extend the ACC’s longest active series-win streak to eight.

Turning Point
A costly error by Louisville with two outs in the seventh opened the door for NC State and the Wolfpack took advantage, as Terrell Tatum scored on the misplay to cut the deficit to 6-4. Will Wilson followed with a single to right field and Josh McLain raced around to score from first base to cut the deficit to one.

The Cardinals threatened in the bottom of the eighth by putting runners at second and third with one out, but Kent Klyman struck out the next batter and received a nice defensive play by Stephen Pitarra to escape the jam and give NC State momentum heading to the ninth.

Quick Hits
– NC State pushed across the game’s first run in the top of the fourth, after an RBI single from Brett Kinneman.
– Louisville countered in the bottom of the inning following a two-RBI single from Danny Oriente to take a 2-1 advantage.
– The Cardinals pulled ahead 3-1 in the fifth, but NC State evened the score at three in its next at-bat.
– Following a two-out walk to Kinneman, freshman Patrick Bailey homered to right field to knot the score at 3-3 on his fourth blast of the year.
– Louisville gained a 6-3 advantage with three runs in the bottom of the sixth after doubles from Drew Campbell and Justin Lavey.
– The Wolfpack plated a couple of unearned runs in the seventh before plating four runs in the ninth.
– Pitarra and McLain reached on infield singles prior to Wilson’s single to right field, loading the bases with nobody out.
– Kinneman clubbed a double off the right field wall to clear the bases, as he narrowly missed his 13th homer of the season, to give NC State an 8-6 lead.
– Evan Edwards drove in the final run for the Pack with a single through the right side, as Kinneman scored from third.
– Klyman retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth to seal the win.

On the Mound
– Brian Brown started on the mound for NC State and pitched five innings with four strikeouts, yielding four runs.
– Nolan Clenney relieved him and faced two batters before handing the ball to Klyman.
– Louisville’s Freshman All-American Nick Bennett threw six strong innings and departed inline to earn the win, but NC State rallied against the Cards bullpen.

On Deck
Game three of the series is slated for 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon at Jim Patterson Stadium.

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NC State Baseball

NC State is Back in the Top-25 After Three Top-25 Wins Last Week

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After 3 Top-25 wins last week (1 over Coastal Carolina & 2 over Duke), NC State’s Baseball team is back in the Top-25 in 4 of the 5 polls. Last week was the only week that the Wolfpack hasn’t been ranked all season, after losing 1 game to UNCG, and losing all 3 at Georgia Tech.

USAToday Coaches Poll – #22

D1Baseball – #22

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Baseball America – #25

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NCBWA – #25

 

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NC State Baseball

NC State Loses Series Finale 2-13, but Wins Series vs. #9 Duke

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NC State lost the series finale 2-13 yesterday, but won the series against #9 Duke.

Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz was the sole source of offense, knocking in both runs on two solo Home Runs. A-Mak now has 10 Home Runs on the year. Makarewicw’s batting average is .359, and his OPS is 1.226.

Sophomore Dominic Fritton’s struggles continue, giving up 5 runs (4 earned) in 4 innings, striking out 5. His ERA on the season is 8.37, with a 1-2 record.

Fritton isn’t the only pitcher that struggled.

Senior Hollis Fanning gave up 5 runs in 2.1 innings in relief. His ERA in the year is 7.30.

Junior Carson Kelly gave up three runs in 0.2 innings pitched. His ERA is 27.00 in 2 appearances.

Despite losing in this way in the finale, NC State had a heck of a week, beating #13 Coastal Carolina in a midweek game, and taking 2 of 3 against #9 Duke.

The Wolfpack will look to get revenge tomorrow night at 6pm against UNCG. Two weeks ago, they lost to the Spartans 3-18 in a midweek game.

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NC State Baseball

NC State Secures Series Win Against #9 Duke With a 9-8 Walk-Off Victory Over #9 Duke

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After pulling off heroics in the 8th inning last night, NC State decided to make it even more exciting last night, shifting their heroics to the bottom of the 9th.

With #9 Duke leading 8-3 in the Bottom of the 9th inning, the Wolfpack would need a miracle, and sometimes you get exactly what you need.

Sometimes a miracle starts with a little bit of luck. With 1 out, Sophomore Josh Hogue grounded into a fielders choice, where as a result of an error, he ended up at 2nd, Senior Noah Outfielder Soles ended up at 3rd and Junior Shortstop Brandon Butterworth ended running across home plate.

Senior 1st Baseman Garrett Pennington would then hit a 3-run Home Run, cutting Duke’s lead to 2.

With 2 outs left, Sophomore Center Fielder Eli Serrano III hit a 2-run walk-off bomb, giving NC State a 9-8 series clinching win over #9 Duke.

Senior Starting Pitcher Logan Whitaker wasn’t great, but he wasn’t terrible either. He gave up 4 earned runs in 4 innings pitched.

Junior Win Scott pitched in relief for the first time since February 28th, giving up 2 earned runs in 1.2 innings pitched.

Freshman Heath Andrews was up next, pitching for the first time since March 10th, giving up 2 earned runs in 2.1 innings pitched.

Sophomore Derrick Smith picked up his first Win of the season, pitching a scoreless 8th inning.

Pennington, Serrano III and Junior Catcher Jacob Cozart all had 2 hits apiece.

Pennington had 2 Home Runs and 4 RBI’s, giving him 5 on the year.

Serranno III and Soles each had 2 RBI’s apiece, both coming off of Home Runs.

After falling out of the Top-25 on Monday, NC State has won 3 straight games against Top-15 opponents, and they will look to make that 4 straight tomorrow as the Wolfpack and Blue Devils close out the series at 1pm.

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NC State Baseball

NC State Wins Series Opener Against #9 Duke Behind a Solid Highfill Performance

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NC State is rebounding in a major way this week. After losing all 4 games last week (Midweek vs. UNCG & swept at GT), the Wolfpack defeated #13 Coastal Carolina in a midweek game, and defeated #9 Duke 4-3 in the series opener tonight at home.

The Wolfpack were carried by a solid outing by starter Sam Highfill, who gave up 3 runs over 7 innings, while striking out 8. Highfill is now 2-1 with a 4.70 ERA.

Freshman Jacob Dudan continues to impress, picking up the Save, throwing 2 scoreless innings. Dudan now has 3 Saves on the year, and is rocking a 2.70 ERA.

With the game tied 3-3, Junior Catcher Jacob Cozart hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 7th, knocking in Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz.

The other 3 RBI’s weren’t exciting in nature, with Sophomore Left Fielder and Senior 1st Baseman Garrett Pennington bringing in Runs on groundouts, and Freshman 2nd Baseman ushering in a Run with a Walk with the bases loaded.

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