The NC State baseball team completed the sweep of No. 12 Georgia Tech on Sunday, March 27, winning game three 6-1 at Doak Field.
While the Wolfpack (15-8, 4-4 ACC) started ACC play with two straight series losses, NC State started to pick up momentum in the back end of its series against Florida State and it carried that momentum into its series with the Yellow Jackets (16-9, 4-5 ACC).
“We started out 1-8 in the league last year with a veteran club,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “This year, [we started] 1-4 with not a veteran club and it is hard to dig out of some holes. This was a big weekend. We played great at Florida State after the first game last weekend. The 17-inning game was heartbreaking, but it is still a loss… The first two games here with Georgia Tech were enormous, both games could have gone either way. We found a way to win, which is huge for these guys.”
Redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Logan Whitaker got the start for the Pack, his fourth of the season. Whitaker pitched well, going 5.1 innings and giving up just one run, a third-inning solo shot, on three hits.
“He threw strikes,” Avent said. “Threw three pitches for strikes and commanded the strike zone and gave us a chance. [Georgia Tech starting pitcher Marquis Grissom Jr.] was good. So he and Grissom both gave their teams a chance.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Justin Lawson replaced Whitaker with a runner on second and one out in the sixth inning. Lawson struck out two and gave up one hit in one inning of work, with senior lefty Canaan Silver coming out of the pen with a runner one first and one out in the seventh.
Silver threw 1.2 innings of no-hit ball before turning it over to sophomore righty Garrett Payne, who sat the Yellow Jackets down in order in the ninth.
“Right now, we are getting a pretty good idea who we need to pitch and they have to keep getting better,” Avent said. “But I thought the bullpen this weekend with [junior right-handed pitcher] Baker Nelson and Justin Lawson and Canaan Silver, who has been such a valuable commodity for us the whole time he has been here. Those guys were really good. I thought Garrett Payne came in and pitched a good ninth.”
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Pack took advantage of some poor defensive play from Georgia Tech to take its first lead of the day. Back-to-back singles from redshirt junior shortstop Josh Hood and freshman designated hitter Tommy White, both of which could have probably been ruled as errors, and a wild pitch gave the Pack runners on second and third with no outs.
A great sacrifice bunt from senior second baseman J.T. Jarrett scored Hood and tied the game, while a wild pitch brought White home from third to give the Pack a 2-1 lead.
“With two strikes, just putting the ball in play because something might happen,” Jarrett said. “People make errors and [associate head coach Chris] Hart always tells us, as a defense, we can’t give teams extra outs and when someone gives us extra outs, take advantage of it.”
The Pack blew the game wide open in the seventh with a pair of home runs from White and freshman third baseman Peyton Green. White got the inning started with a solo shot to put the Pack up 3-1 and Green widened that lead with a three-run shot later in the inning.
Across the series against Georgia Tech, Green came up with seven RBIs and hit two home runs.
“I’m starting to see the ball a little bit better now,” Green said. “Just trying to put the ball in play and help out the team and it has just kind of spiraled from that.”
Before its next ACC weekend series, the Wolfpack will hit the road to take on in-state rival ECU on Tuesday, March 29.
