NC State Baseball
#13 NC State Blanks Heels 11-0, Clinches Series
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – In a nationally-televised rubber match between a pair of top 15 in-state rivals, No. 13 NC State baseball shut out UNC-Chapel Hill, 11-0, on Saturday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The Wolfpack plated two runs in the first and the rest was history, as it improves to 41-15 overall and 18-12 in ACC play. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels fall to 38-17 on the year and 17-13 in conference action.
With Today’s Win, NC State…
-Clinches its first series win in Chapel Hill since May 20-22, 2004.
-Earns its first series win over the Tar Heels since May 19-21, 2016, which was contested at Doak Field.
-Locks up the No. 3 seed for the second-straight season in next week’s ACC Championship.
-Tallies the most regular-season wins since 2013 when the Pack finished with 42. The team went on to finish 50-16 and make a College World Series appearance.
-Collects its seventh ACC series win of the season. Including nonconference opponents, the Pack has won 10 series this year.
-Earns its first shutout win over the Heels since May 8, 2009 (a 3-0 win in Raleigh).
Avent’s Additions
“I’m really proud of this club. This was a big game,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “Four teams were in a tie for third in the standings heading into today. It was a big game especially after Thursday. Thursday’s game was tough. It felt like we had some control with a 3-2 lead but a couple of things in the seventh didn’t go our way.
“To bounce back like we did against a ball club like Carolina in Chapel Hill where they play very well was big. I’m just really proud of our guys.”
Quick Hits
-NC State jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first. Edwards opened the scoring with a double off the left field wall, plating Will Wilson after he took first on a one-out walk and advanced on Patrick Bailey’s single to center field and an error.
-Tyler McDonough’s groundout to the pitcher’s mound brought the second run across.
-After a scoreless second inning for both teams, the Pack put up five runs in the third on four hits and two errors, extending its lead to seven.
-Bailey drove the first two runs in with a double up the left field line for his second hit of the day. Edwards then laced an RBI single to center field for the third run of the frame.
-An errant throw on a fielder’s choice followed by J.T. Jarrett’s single up the middle brought the final two runs across.
-Three innings later, the Red & White tacked on four more runs via base hits by Devonte Brown, Dillon Cooper and Butler and a sac bunt by Jarrett.
Inside The Box Score
-Edwards went 3-for-5 at the plate, while Bailey went 2-for-5 and Brown collected two hits in his four at-bats.
-Bailey, Edwards and Jarrett all drove in two runs apiece.
-Five pitchers contributed to the team’s fifth shutout win of the season.
-Nick Swiney collected his seventh win of the year on the mound as he pitched 2.2 innings in relief and yielded two hits.
On Deck
NC State will begin postseason play next week in the ACC Championship at the Durham BullsAthletic Park in Durham, N.C. The Wolfpack will be the third overall seed and will face No. 6 Florida State and No. 10 Wake Forest in pool play. Game times will be announced Sunday morning.