No. 2 NC State Baseball Runs Past Third-Ranked Duke in Series Opener, 9-2

DURHAM, N.C. – The second-ranked NC State baseball team tallied 15 hits and received a stellar outing on the mound from freshman Reid Johnston to earn a 9-2 victory against No. 3 Duke Friday night at Jack Coombs Field.

The Wolfpack records its fourth consecutive win and seventh in its last eight games to take a 1-0 lead in the series against the Blue Devils. NC State, which leads the ACC in scoring, has now scored at least eight runs in eight consecutive games.

NC State moves to 30-7 on the year and 14-5 in ACC play, while Duke falls to 30-9 and 12-6 in conference action. Johnston remains unbeaten on the season and improves to 6-0 with the win, while Blue Devils starter Adam Laskey falls to 6-3.

Quick Hits
– NC State struck first in the contest for the fourth consecutive game, after Terrell Tatum scored on an RBI single through the left side by Brock Deatherage.
– Duke countered in the bottom half of the inning with a run to even the score at one after a triple by Kennie Taylor and an RBI groundout by Griffin Conine.
– The Wolfpack answered in its next at-bat with three runs to grab a 4-1 lead.
– Evan Edwards drove in Brett Kinneman on a single to center field and Tatum had the big hit in the frame with a two-RBI single up the middle with the bases loaded.
– NC State scored four runs in the fourth to break the game open and tally its 22nd ‘big’ inning (four or more runs in an inning) of the season.
– Dillon Cooper reached on a bunt single and scored on a sacrifice fly by Will Wilson to make it 5-1.
– Two batters later, freshman Patrick Bailey hit a bases-clearing triple to deep center field to push the Pack’s lead to 8-1.

– Duke got a run back in the bottom of the fifth, but NC State returned the favor with a run in the sixth to retake a seven-run advantage.
– Will Wilson doubled and came around to score on a single by Edwards to give NC State a 9-2 lead.

Inside the Box Score
– Eight of the nine batters in NC State’s lineup tallied at least one hit in the contest.
– Josh McLain turned in a 3-for-5 performance with a run, while Deatherage also had a three-hit outing with an RBI.
– NC State was 7-for-12 in the game with runners on base and limited Duke to 1-for-10 with runners.

On the Mound
– Johnston delivered a gem for the Wolfpack with a career-long 6.2 innings pitched and limited the Blue Devils to just four hits, while striking out three batters.
– Nolan Clenney relieved the freshman in the seventh and threw the final 2.1 innings. He fanned four batters, highlighted by striking out the side in the ninth.

On Deck
NC State and Duke will return to the field for game two of the series at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field.