The Tommy White train continues.

The freshman first baseman hit his sixth and seventh home runs of the season, including his second grand slam, as the NC State baseball team took care of Quinnipiac 10-4 in the series opener on Friday, Feb. 25, at Doak Field.

The game was tied 2-2 going into the bottom of the fourth inning, but White blew the game open with a grand slam and followed that up with a two-run shot in the fifth, putting the Wolfpack (6-0) on top of the Bobcats (1-3).

“This guy isn’t gonna buy a burger or pizza in three years at NC State,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “I think it goes back to how much he likes to play. He wants to win and he doesn’t really get caught up in the moment of what’s going on. And it’s not about him. He just wants to win. He’s that old-timey, old school, a guy who just likes to win and has fun with the game.”

The Wolfpack defense and bullpen showed out as well as sophomore Sam Highfill (4.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 7 K, BB) got the start on the mound and didn’t allow a hit through the first three innings, tallying five strikeouts.

The Pack scored the game’s first two runs in the bottom of the first as senior second baseman J.T. Jarrett (1-3, RBI, HBP) and freshman right fielder Will Marcy (0-2, RBI, HBP) were each hit by pitches in succession, scoring sophomore left fielder LuJames Groover III (2-4) and redshirt junior third baseman Josh Hood (1-3, BB) to make the score 2-0.

The two teams went scoreless in the second and third innings, but the action picked back up in the top of the fourth when the Bobcats got on base for the first time against Highfill with a walk and a single and scored two runs at the end of the inning to tie the score 2-2.

The party got started for NC State in the bottom of the fourth as freshman shortstop Payton Green (2-4, RBI) hit an RBI single that scored Marcy, putting the Pack back on top 3-2. Two batters later, White came up to the plate with the bases loaded, and with the crowd on its feet, the young stud gave the fans what they wanted to see, hitting a grand slam to put the Pack up 7-2.

“I was super excited, and the Wolfpack nation was really ready to go,” White said on his grand slam. “It was really a really good experience on that at-bat. The whole at-bat was just perfect. That at-bat before, he struck me out with two curveballs, so I knew I’d be getting something soft. I was thinking curveball the whole time, and he ended up giving me a curveball.”

Sophomore pitcher Garrett Payne (4.0 IP, ER, 2 H, 3 K) entered the game in the top of the fifth, replacing Highfill, and the Bobcats got back on the board with a run to make the score 7-3. 

In the bottom of the inning, Green scored on a wild pitch to make the score 8-3. The next batter up was White, and for an encore, he hit yet another dinger, this one a two-run shot that scored senior center fielder Devonte Brown (1-3, BB) and put the Pack up 10-4.

The Bobcats scored one more run off Payne in the top of the sixth, but that was all the scoring that would be done the rest of the night as the Pack closed it out 10-4.

The Pack pitchers ended up holding the Bobcats to five hits and four runs. Payne got the win in his third appearance of the season, and senior pitcher Canaan Silver (2 IP, H, 4 K) and sophomore pitcher Chris Villaman (1 IP) closed the game. 

“It was awesome, very heartwarming for them to come out after me and do the thing, ” said Payne. “Same thing that I did, just pitch your butts off and compete and come home with success.”

The Wolfpack return on the second day of its series against Quinnipiac on February 26 at 2 p.m. as it looks to clinch the second home series of the season.