NC State Edges No. 3 Duke in Pitcher’s Duel 2-1 to Clinch Series

DURHAM, N.C. – The second-ranked NC State baseball team edged No. 3 Duke in a pitcher’s duel, 2-1, Saturday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field to clinch the series. The Wolfpack extends its ACC series win streak to 10, dating back to last season, which is the league’s longest streak.

NC State remains the only team in the conference that has not lost an ACC series this season. The Pack has now won its last five games and eight of its last nine.

The Wolfpack owns the conference’s best overall record at 31-7 on the year and best conference mark with a 15-5 ledger, while the Blue Devils are 30-10 and 12-7 in ACC play.

Senior Brian Brown threw 5.2 shutout innings to earn the win and remain unbeaten on the year at 6-0, while Joe O’Donnell nailed down his eighth save of the season. Duke’s starter Mitch Stallings was charged with the loss and falls to 3-3.

Avent’s Additions
Overall thoughts…
“It’s nice to win a game like this. I’m proud of our guys, as I always have been,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “Brian Brown was sick today but went out there and gave us five strong innings. I’m proud of him and our whole ballclub.

“On the other side, Mitch Stallings pitched as good a game against us and we’ve seen all year. He mixed speeds and was outstanding.”

Turning Point
– After five scoreless innings of play, NC State grabbed momentum and pushed across the game’s first run in the sixth inning thanks to a leadoff double from Josh McLain and an RBI triple by Will Wilson.
– Wilson fell behind 0-2 in the count but smashed a triple to deep right center to plate McLain from second.
– Evan Edwards stepped to the plate next and hit a sacrifice fly to right field, allowing Wilson to tag and score from third.
– He was initially called out, but the call was reversed following a video review.

Inside the Box Score
– McLain led the Wolfpack at the plate with a 3-for-4 outing, as he is now 10-for-14 this week with a .714 batting average.
– Freshman Terrell Tatum was 2-for-4 in the contest to extend his hitting streak to eight games.
– NC State got two hits with runners in scoring position, while holding Duke to an 0-for-11 clip with runners in scoring position.

On the Mound
– Brown pitched a gem, retiring nine consecutive batters at one point in the game en route to his sixth win of the season. He struck out five batters and did not allow an extra-base hit.
– Kent Klyman relieved him in the sixth and threw 2.2 innings with three strikeouts.
– O’Donnell took over with an out in the ninth and retired both batters he faced to secure his eighth save.

On Deck
NC State and Duke will wrap up the series with game three Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Jack Coombs Field.