The bats of the NC State baseball team came to life on Sunday, April 3 as the Wolfpack clinched the series against the Clemson Tigers with a 9-7 win.
Neither the Wolfpack (18-9, 6-5 ACC) or the Tigers (18-9, 2-6 ACC) were able to generate much in the first inning as both starting pitchers made easy work of the top of the opposing order.
The Wolfpack struck first, however, in the second inning, as sophomore outfielder Noah Soles crushed a two-run homer to score himself and sophomore outfielder Dominic Pilolli to make it a 2-0 ballgame.
In the top of the third inning, the Pack continued to add to its lead as junior catcher Jacob Godman smacked a double, which served as a prelude to another two-run blast. This time it was from the bat of sophomore infielder LuJames Groover III.
In the bottom of the third, the Tigers scored their first run of the game as an infield error allowed the runner to get on base. The runner would eventually be driven home to make it a 4-1 NC State lead at the end of the inning.
The Pack did not score again until the top of the sixth inning. By this point the Clemson bats had warmed up and held a 6-4 advantage. The Wolfpack scoring resumed with a walk to freshman infielder Payton Green. Godman used a sacrifice bunt to move Green to second base. With two outs at the plate, Groover III hit a deep single which drove in Green.
After a single by redshirt junior infielder Josh Hood and an intentional walk to freshman infielder Tommy White, the bases were loaded. Next up to the plate was Pilolli, who drew a walk of his own to score Groover III and tie the game at 6-6.
With runners on second and third, senior outfielder Devonte Brown helped the Pack score two more runs in the seventh inning to put the Pack up 8-6.
In the ninth inning, the Pack got on the board again as Groover III picked up his fourth RBI of the game with a single. This gave NC State a comfortable three-run lead heading into the bottom of the inning.
With their last three outs looming over their heads, Clemson did not go away quietly as they put up another run to cut the Pack’s lead to two. They had another two men on base but left them stranded, as NC State would win the game by a score of 9-7.
The game could have gotten ugly for NC State at multiple points had it not been for excellent pitching by some of its relief corps. Sophomore right-hander Sam Highfill pitched the first three innings of the game, but did not return after allowing four hits and one unearned run. The next three pitchers for NC State combined to allow three hits, four walks and four earned runs.
In a deep hole, sophomore right-hander Justin Lawson came in and pitched a brilliant 3.1 innings, only allowing two hits, no runs and forcing five strikeouts. In the eighth, sophomore left-hander Chris Villaman relieved Lawson and finished the game, only allowing one more run to earn his sixth save of the season.
With this win, the Pack have now won its second ACC series of the year and seven of its last eight games.
The NC State baseball team will be back in action on Tuesday, April 5 against Campbell at Doak Field at 6 p.m.
