NC State Baseball
#20 NC State Powers Past Radford 9-3, Clinches Series
RALEIGH – No. 20 NC State baseball powered past Radford with nine runs on 11 hits on Saturday afternoon, clinching its weekend series at Doak Field at Dail Park with a 9-3 result.
After facing a deficit for the 18th time this season, the Wolfpack scored all of its runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings to win its first series since April 6 (2-1 series win at Boston College).
The Pack improves to 36-12 on the season, while the Highlanders fall to 23-23 overall.
Quick Hits
-Spencer Horwitz’s two-run homer to center field gave the Highlanders a 2-0 lead in the third inning.
-NC State knotted the score at two in the fourth. An error and double to right center put Evan Edwards and Patrick Bailey in scoring position, and back-to-back RBI groundouts by Tyler McDonough and Brad Debo drove them in.
-Wilson belted his team-leading 14th homer of the year in the fifth inning, giving the Pack its first lead of the game. An error allowed leadoff batter Dillon Cooper to reach base, and Butler’s single through the right side advanced him to third.
-Radford countered with a run in the sixth to make the score 5-3, as Will Harless’s double to left center knocked in J.D. Mundy after he took first on a one-out hit-by-pitch.
-The Pack plated four runs on as many hits in the seventh to take a 9-3 advantage. Bailey provided the first three runs, as he drove two in with a single to right field then scored on Debo’s base hit to right. Jarrett drew a bases-loaded walk to push the fourth run across.
-Radford managed to put a pair of runners on with no outs in the ninth, but reliever Cameron Cotter fanned two batters and Butler made a running catch at the left field wall to strand them.
Inside The Box Score
-Bailey led the team at the plate with a pair of singles and double in his five at-bats. It marked the sixth time this season he’s collected three hits in a game.
-Devonte Brown and Butler tallied two hits apiece in their outings. It was the first time this season and third in his career that Brown has turned in a multi-hit performance.
On The Mound
-Evan Justice collected his fourth win of the season on the mound. He threw 2.0 innings and allowed one earned run on one hit.
-Cameron Cotter earned his second save of the season, pitching the final 3.1 innings of the contest and not allowing an earned run to cross. He yielded three hits and fanned three.
On Deck
NC State will look to sweep the series with the Highlanders Sunday afternoon. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. from Doak Field at Dail Park, and it will be broadcast live on the ACC Network Extra. There will also be a free audio stream on WKNC 88.1 FM.