NC State
23-11, 0
Florida State
13-21, 0
Pack Secures Series Over Florida State with 4-3 Comeback Win
4/15/2023 11:26:00 PM | Baseball
Victory Marks Fourth-Straight Series Win over the Noles in Raleigh
RALEIGH - The NC State baseball team (23-11, 7-9) secured its second-straight home ACC series win on Saturday evening with a 4-3 victory over Florida State (13-21, 4-13) in front of a sold-out crowd at Doak Field.
The Wolfpack were led by starting pitcher Logan Whitaker who tossed a career-best eight innings, en route to improving his record to 3-2 on the mound in 2023. Offensively, all four of NC State's runs came via the longball with a pair of solo home runs from LuJames Groover III and a game-tying two-run shot from Parker Nolan.
Seven of the eight frames dealt from Whitaker were perfect, as the redshirt junior limited the Seminoles to just four hits on the evening. Sam Highfill closed the game for the Pack, earning the first save of his career while striking out two in the ninth.
After falling behind in the second inning for the second night in a row, the Wolfpack offense found its groove in the third frame when Groover registered his first of two solo home runs.
The first of three Wolfpack home runs trimmed Florida State's lead to 3-1, with NC State making up the remainder of the deficit in the sixth inning.
A one-out double from Trevor Candelaria followed by a backside ground ball to move him to third gave the Pack a scoring chance in the sixth frame, with Nolan then belting his eighth home run of the season to left field. Nolan's two-run shot knotted the score at 3-3, with Groover later delivering in the eighth inning to seal the win.
Groover's leadoff home run in the eighth frame marked the final batter Seminole starting pitcher Conner Whittaker would face, dropping his record to 3-4 on the season while surrendering seven hits to Wolfpack batters.
Groover's home run marked his seventh of the season, having recorded a hit in 10 of his last 11 games and multiple hits in four of his last five appearances.
Highfill took over the duties on the mound in the ninth inning, adding a save to his résumé and closing out the Wolfpack's fifth series win at Doak Field in 2023.
Up Next
The Wolfpack will return to action on Sunday, Apr. 16, for the series finale against Florida State. The Sunday matinee is slated for 2 p.m. with the Wolfpack in search of its first three-game sweep over the Seminoles in program history. Fans can tune in for a stream on the ACC Network Extra in addition to a radio broadcast on 88.1 WKNC in Raleigh and the Varsity Network app.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Whitaker, Logan (3-2)
L: Conner Whittaker (3-4)
S: Highfill, Sam (1)
Batting:
2B: Jaime Ferrer 1 ; Ben Barrett 1
RBI: Titan Kamaka 1 ; Ben Barrett 1 ; Colton Vincent 1
SH: Nander De Sedas 1
SF: Titan Kamaka 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jaime Ferrer 1 ; Cam Smith 1 ; Ben Barrett 1
Batting:
2B: Candelaria, Trevor 1
HR: Groover III, LuJames 2 ; Nolan, Parker 1
RBI: Groover III, LuJames 2 ; Nolan, Parker 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Groover III, LuJames 2 ; Candelaria, Trevor 1 ; Nolan, Parker 1
