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.
#20 NC State will head down to Tallahassee tomorrow for a 3-game series against #7 FSU. Before they do, here’s a look at where NC State is projected to land in the 2024 NCAA Tournament as things currently stand.
Last week, both D1Baseball and Baseball America projected the Wolfpack to play as a #2 seed in the Greenville Regional (ECU), with the former projecting the Pirates to be a #6 seed, and the latter projecting them to be a #8 seed.
This week, D1Baseball has NC State as a #2 seed in the Lexington Regional, with Kentucky as a #5 seed. Baseball America still has the Wolfpack as a #2 seed in the Greenville Region, with the Pirates still sitting as a #8 seed.
D1Baseball
Baseball America
#20 NC State lost to UNC-Wilmington 4-5 this evening at home, losing their 5th straight midweek game. The Wolfpack were swept by the Seahawks this year, ironically losing 4-5 down in Wilmington on April 9th.
Freshman Ryan Marohn got the starting nod, and he was excellent, giving up 1 earned run in 5 innings pitched, striking out 7. It was arguably his best start since his collegiate debut against VCU in the opening series.
Sophomore Shane Van Dam was Mr. Reliable through much of the season, but he hasn’t had his best stuff as of late. This evening, he faced four batters, hitting 2, walking another, and surrendering a hit to the other. Van Dam failed to record an out, and gave up 3 earned runs. Heading into the UNC game back on April 18th, Van Dam had a 2.63 ERA. After the past 4 appearances, his ERA has shot up to 3.96.
Freshman Jacob Dudan settled things down, pitching 4 scoreless innings, giving up only 1 hit, while striking out 5.
Unfortunately, Sophomore Derrick Smith allowed the Seahawks to score a run in the Top of the 10th, which was enough for the opposing team to leave Raleigh with a win, with NC State failing to score a run in the final 5 frames.
Junior Jacob Cozart continues an insane power surge, hitting two more Home Runs tonight. Cozart has hit 7 Home Runs in the past 6 games.
*Scheduled tweet* pic.twitter.com/eHvyuGT6so
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 30, 2024
SCOREBOARD SHOT 🚀 pic.twitter.com/tMvY8imzgG
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 30, 2024
Cozart now has 14 Home Runs on the year. His previous career high was 11.
Senior 1st Baseman Garrett Pennington also hit a Solo Home Run, his 11th bomb of the year.
Goodbye Baseball ✌️#Pack9 | @Garrettpenn14 pic.twitter.com/p0tySYt3aF
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 30, 2024
On Friday, the Wolfpack will head down to Tallahassee for a 3-game series against #7 Florida State.
After sweeping Ball State this past weekend, NC State jumped up in almost all of the Top-25 polls.
Baseball America – 13th (+4)
RPI – 20th (+9)
D1Baseball – 20th (+1)
USAToday Coaches Poll – 20th (+3)
Perfect Game – 25th (-)
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