No. 4 NC State Baseball Runs Past No. 11 Louisville, 10-3, to Clinch Series

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The fourth-ranked NC State baseball team cruised past No. 11 Louisville Sunday afternoon with a 10-3 victory at Jim Patterson Stadium to clinch the series. The Wolfpack has now won its last eight ACC series dating back to last season, which is the conference’s longest active streak.

For the third consecutive weekend, NC State dropped the series opener but battled back to win the next two games to clinch the series. It marks the first time in program history, since the ACC went to three-game series in 1992, that the Wolfpack has won three consecutive series after dropping the opener.

NC State moves to 25-6 on the year and 11-4 in ACC play, while Louisville falls to 20-11 and 6-9 in league action. Redshirt junior Nolan Clenney earned the win with 3.1 innings of no-hit ball with a career-high seven strikeouts, while Cardinals’ starter Bobby Miller was hit with the loss.

Avent’s Additions
Overall thoughts…
“I keep getting amazed and proud at the same time of the resiliency of our players,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “Pretty much this whole spring has been played in not-so-kind temperatures, wind, cold and no matter what happens the guys come out and play the game.

“That’s three consecutive weekends where the first game hasn’t gone our way, but we’ve found a way to win the next two games to win the series. This is a tough place to play against a very good baseball team with great players, a great pitching staff and a tough crowd.”

“What these guys have done, especially on Saturday and not getting too emotional after the win yesterday, has been impressive. That comeback was amazing and I keep getting amazed by how many people go about doing their jobs and that lets me know that there is tremendous leadership on this ball club. I’m really proud of not only the players on this team, but also the players that have come before them because every team hands down something to each team and this is a measure of consistency and where this program is.”

Quick Hits
– NC State struck first with three runs in the top of the first, following a costly error by Louisville.
– Stephen Pitarra led off the game with a single through the right side and Brett Kinneman followed with a base hit to put Wolfpack runners at first and third.
– After Evan Edwards walked to load the bases, Brock Deatherage hit a ground ball down the third base line and an errant throw scored all three baserunners to give NC State a 3-0 lead.
– Louisville got a run back in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice fly to plate Josh Stowers from third base after he walked, stole second and advanced to third.
– The ACC’s home run leader extended NC State’s advantage to 6-1 in the fourth inning, as Brett Kinneman launched a 3-1 pitch over the right field wall for his 13th homer of the season, which ties for fourth nationally.
– An RBI single from Edwards pushed the lead to 7-1 and freshman Patrick Bailey drove in the eighth run of the game with a single to center field.
– Kinneman picked up his fourth RBI of the game and eighth of the weekend on a groundout in the eighth, as Terrell Tatum scored from third.
– NC State pulled off the double steal to go up by nine, as Will Wilson stayed in the rundown between first and second long enough for Pitarra to score from third, leaping over the tag attempt by the catcher.
– Louisville plated a pair of runs in the ninth, but Nick Swiney struck out the batter looking to end the game and seal the 10-3 victory.

On the Mound
– Sophomore Michael Bienlien started on the mound for NC State and pitched 3.2 innings before giving way to Clenney. He matched his career-high with six strikeouts in the outing.
– Clenney was fantastic out of the bullpen for the Wolfpack, as he retired 10 of the 11 batters he faced highlighted by retiring seven consecutive batters to finish his day on the hill.
– Swiney threw the final two innings, working a perfect eighth before the Cards were able to push across a pair of runs in the ninth.

Game Notes
– NC State earned its first-ever series win against Louisville, as the Cardinals won the previous three series as conference opponents.
– The Wolfpack’s leadoff batter reached in six of nine innings, while the Cards only had their leadoff batter reach once in the game.
– NCSU moves to 13-2 on the year when scoring first and 7-1 when scoring in the first inning.

On Deck
NC State returns to action Wednesday evening when the squad travels to UNCW for a 6 p.m. first pitch at Brooks Field.