#17 NC State made a STATEMENT tonight against #8 Wake Forest, winning 14-3 on of a walk-off GRAND SLAM via Freshman Alex Sosa in the Bottom of the 8th inning, triggering a mercy rule victory for the Wolfpack.

See y’all tomorrow 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/LVbhBaNPfz

— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) May 17, 2024

The victory snapped a 5-game losing streak to the Demon Deacons.

Senior Sam Highfill got the start, and gave up 3 earned runs in 4.1 innings pitched, striking out 4. All 3 runs were solo Home Runs by the Deacs.

Freshman Cooper Consiglio came in after Highfill, and had ice in his veins once again, pitching 3.2 shutout innings, striking out 7. He gave up only 1 hit, and lowered his ERA to 4.46. Consiglio also picked up the victory, and is now 4-4 on the year. The Freshman hasn’t given up an earned run in his last 8 innings pitched against UVA and WFU.

Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz hit his 19th Home Run of the season in the 3rd Inning to tie the game. Prior to that, Freshman Luke Nixon put the Pack on the board with an RBI Single in the 2nd.

On the board!@lukenix0n drives home @SlippinOnButter with an RBI single.

B2 | Wake 2, Pack 1 pic.twitter.com/4TjASGLyZs

— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) May 16, 2024

3-0. Green Light.

A-Mak ties it up at 2-2 with his 19th home run of the year! pic.twitter.com/gLHycMXTgO

— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) May 16, 2024

In the Bottom of the 4th, the Wolfpack scored on a balk, and a groundout by Sophomore Center Fielder Eli Serrano III.

In the Bottom of the 5th, NC State scored on an error when Sosa was stealing a base, and then scored another on a groundout by Luke Nixon.

Serrano III knocked in another one in the Bottom of the 6th via a Single.

Pack ➕1⃣@eliserrano__ pushes our lead to 7-3! pic.twitter.com/FN5b0oArHu

— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) May 17, 2024

The Bottom of the 8th was a run fest for the Wolfpack, scoring 7 in the frame. A-Mak had an RBI Single, Wake walked in 2 runs, and then Sosa ended things with a Grand Slam.

A-Mak adds his second RBI of the night to push the Pack ahead 8-3! pic.twitter.com/DFDwtHGZBH

— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) May 17, 2024

Game 2 will be tomorrow night at 7pm on ACC Network.

#17 NC State will host #8 Wake Forest this evening to kickoff a 3-game series against the Demon Deacons.

Heading into the series, NC State is 29-19 overall, and 15-11 in ACC play. Wake Forest is 36-16, with a 15-12 conference record. As things currently stand, NC State is tied for 2nd in the Atlantic Division, with the Demon Deacons a 0.5 game behind them.

Overall, the Wolfpack historically has a significant edge over Wake Forest, with a 126-68 against the Demon Deacons. With that being said, the Deacs have won the last 5 games against the Wolfpack, and 8 of the last 12.

The last time NC State beat Wake Forest was in the first game of the 2022 ACC Tournament. The last series victory for the Wolfpack against the Deacs was in 2021, winning 2 out of 3 on the road. The last time NC State beat Wake Forest in a series at home was in 2018, when the Wolfpack swept the Deacons.

Wake Forest is en fuego right now, winning 9 straight heading into tonights game, which includes a sweep of Clemson last weekend, who was ranked 2nd at the time.

At the plate Wake is winning with power and patience, leading the ACC in Home Runs and Walks. They rank 9th in Batting Average. On the mound, they are strikeout machines, leading the ACC in K’s, and they rank 2nd in Opponent Batting Average. On the other hand, they are Walk machines, Walking the 2nd most batters in the ACC.

Wake Forest has 5 players with 10+ Home Runs, with Junior Nick Kurtz leading the way with 20. Their Ace is Junior Chase Burns, who leads the nation with 156 Strikeouts. He boasts a 10-1 record with a 2.85 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP.

#17 NC State will kickoff a 3-game series against #8 Wake Forest this evening, but before they do, here’s a look at a Bracketology update.

D1Baseball has NC State as a #2 seed in the Athens Region, with the Georgia Bulldogs as the #7 overall seed. The experts at D1Baseball did make the point that “NC State would be another team to keep close tabs on this weekend. Should the Wolfpack win that series at home against Wake this weekend, they likely would find their way to the hosting line.” (D1)

Baseball America has the Wolfpack as the #2 seed in the Terre Haute Region, with Indiana State as the #12 overall seed. They also make the point that NC State is on the hosting bubble.

#17 NC State will host #8 Wake Forest tomorrow night, but before they begin their final regular season series of the 2024 season, let’s take a look at which Wolfpack players rank in the Top-10 in the ACC in individual statistical categories.

Senior 3rd Baseman Alec Makarewicz

Makarewicz ranks 11th in Batting Average (.358), 9th in Slugging Percentage (.721), 10th in OPS (1.139), 7th in Hits (72), 2nd in Doubles (19), 9th in Home Runs (18) and 5th in RBI’s (65).

Senior 1st Baseman Garrett Pennington 

Pennington ranks 8th in Hits (71) and 2nd in Doubles (19).

Junior Catcher Jacob Cozart 

Cozart ranks 8th in Walks (40).

Junior Shortstop Brandon Butterworth

Butterworth ranks 10th in Stolen Bases (10).

Senior Pitcher Sam Highfill

Highfill ranks 10th in Wins (5-1), 2nd in Complete Games (1), 1st in Shutouts (1), 5th in Opponents Batting Average (.218).

Freshman Pitcher Jacob Dudan

Dudan ranks 8th in Saves (5).

_______

While A-Mak’s numbers are superior to Pennington’s overall, when it comes to Conference Only Statistics, Pennington’s numbers are supreme.

In conference play, Pennington ranks 7th in Batting Average (.366), 7th in Slugging Percentage (.750), 7th in OPS (1.182), 9th in Runs (29), 4th in Hits (41), 2nd in RBI’s (35), 5th in Doubles (10), and 6th in Home Runs (11).

Pennington is the only Wolfpack batter to rank in the Top-10 in a statistical category in ACC play, besides Freshman Luke Nixon, who ranks 6th in Stolen Bases (7).