Saturday, May 20
Raleigh, N.C.
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NC State
34-18, 13-16
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23-30, 10-18
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Photo by: Mollie Mitchell
#Pack9 Completes Sweep of Pitt on Senior Day
5/20/2023 5:25:00 PM | Baseball
NC State Secures No. 9 Seed in ACC Tournament With the Victory
RALEIGH – The NC State baseball team completed the three-game series sweep of Pitt behind an 8-2 victory on Senior Day at Doak Field at Dail Park.
With the win, NC State (34-18, 13-16 ACC) enters the ACC Tournament as the No. 9 overall seed. The Wolfpack also extended its winning streak over Pittsburgh (23-30, 10-18 ACC) to 17 straight games, completing its third straight sweep of the Panthers at The Doak.
After Pitt struck first with a run in the second, graduate student Parker Nolan answered with a solo homer in the bottom of the second to knot it at 1-1. The Wolfpack then took its first lead of the afternoon when Eli Serrano III doubled to left center in the fourth, plating graduate student Trevor Candelaria all the way from first base.
Pitt's Anthony Lasala answered Serrano III's RBI double with a solo home run in the top of the fifth to tie the score at 2-2. NC State then pulled away for good with four runs in the bottom of the sixth behind a pair of two-run homers.
Jacob Cozart launched the first two-run homer in the sixth inning to break the 2-2 deadlock, lifting his 10th homer of the season over the wall in left field. Nolan then blasted his second home run of the afternoon to make it 6-2 Wolfpack after the sixth inning.
On senior day, Sam Highfill (6-2) delivered his best start of the season, pitching a season-high six innings and 98 pitches while tying his season best with five strikeouts. Highfill allowed just two runs (one unearned) and gave up just two hits in the Pack's final regular season game of 2023.
Justin Lawson took over for Highfill in the seventh after the Wolfpack established its four-run advantage, tossing back-to-back scoreless frames with three strikeouts. Lawson escaped a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the eighth with a three-pitch strikeout, fanning Justin Acal on a swinging punchout to leave three runners stranded.
Freshman Matt Heavner then capped off the afternoon with his first-career home run, hitting the Wolfpack's third two-run homer of the game with two outs in the eighth inning. Heavner's two-run shot extended the Pack's lead to its final margin at 8-2.
Carson Kelly then retired the final three outs, inducing a 6-4-3 double play before getting a groundout to Kalae Harrison at shortstop to complete the weekend sweep.
Nolan paced the Wolfpack at the plate with the fifth two-homer game of his career and second this season. The centerfielder recorded a team-high three hits, three RBI, three runs scored and two home runs. LuJames Groover III and Serrano III both joined Nolan with multi-hit performances, logging two hits apiece.
NC State's sweep of the Panthers marked its fifth three-game weekend sweep of the season. The sweep marked head coach Elliott Avent's 75th three-game weekend sweep during his 27-year coaching career at NC State and win No. 996 in his career as the Wolfpack's head coach.
Pitt starting pitcher Kyle Mosley (1-7) suffered the loss for the Panthers after allowing five runs over 5.1 innings pitched. NC State's three straight wins over Pitt marked the first time this season the Panthers were swept in a three-game series.
UP NEXT
NC State enters the ACC Tournament as the No. 9 seed and will be grouped with fourth-seeded Miami and fifth-seeded Duke in Pool D. The complete schedule for the 2023 ACC Baseball Championship will be released late Sunday morning.
#Pack9 | @NCStateBaseball
With the win, NC State (34-18, 13-16 ACC) enters the ACC Tournament as the No. 9 overall seed. The Wolfpack also extended its winning streak over Pittsburgh (23-30, 10-18 ACC) to 17 straight games, completing its third straight sweep of the Panthers at The Doak.
After Pitt struck first with a run in the second, graduate student Parker Nolan answered with a solo homer in the bottom of the second to knot it at 1-1. The Wolfpack then took its first lead of the afternoon when Eli Serrano III doubled to left center in the fourth, plating graduate student Trevor Candelaria all the way from first base.
Pitt's Anthony Lasala answered Serrano III's RBI double with a solo home run in the top of the fifth to tie the score at 2-2. NC State then pulled away for good with four runs in the bottom of the sixth behind a pair of two-run homers.
Jacob Cozart launched the first two-run homer in the sixth inning to break the 2-2 deadlock, lifting his 10th homer of the season over the wall in left field. Nolan then blasted his second home run of the afternoon to make it 6-2 Wolfpack after the sixth inning.
On senior day, Sam Highfill (6-2) delivered his best start of the season, pitching a season-high six innings and 98 pitches while tying his season best with five strikeouts. Highfill allowed just two runs (one unearned) and gave up just two hits in the Pack's final regular season game of 2023.
Justin Lawson took over for Highfill in the seventh after the Wolfpack established its four-run advantage, tossing back-to-back scoreless frames with three strikeouts. Lawson escaped a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the eighth with a three-pitch strikeout, fanning Justin Acal on a swinging punchout to leave three runners stranded.
Freshman Matt Heavner then capped off the afternoon with his first-career home run, hitting the Wolfpack's third two-run homer of the game with two outs in the eighth inning. Heavner's two-run shot extended the Pack's lead to its final margin at 8-2.
Carson Kelly then retired the final three outs, inducing a 6-4-3 double play before getting a groundout to Kalae Harrison at shortstop to complete the weekend sweep.
Nolan paced the Wolfpack at the plate with the fifth two-homer game of his career and second this season. The centerfielder recorded a team-high three hits, three RBI, three runs scored and two home runs. LuJames Groover III and Serrano III both joined Nolan with multi-hit performances, logging two hits apiece.
NC State's sweep of the Panthers marked its fifth three-game weekend sweep of the season. The sweep marked head coach Elliott Avent's 75th three-game weekend sweep during his 27-year coaching career at NC State and win No. 996 in his career as the Wolfpack's head coach.
Pitt starting pitcher Kyle Mosley (1-7) suffered the loss for the Panthers after allowing five runs over 5.1 innings pitched. NC State's three straight wins over Pitt marked the first time this season the Panthers were swept in a three-game series.
UP NEXT
NC State enters the ACC Tournament as the No. 9 seed and will be grouped with fourth-seeded Miami and fifth-seeded Duke in Pool D. The complete schedule for the 2023 ACC Baseball Championship will be released late Sunday morning.
#Pack9 | @NCStateBaseball
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Highfill, Sam (6-2)
L: MOSLEY, Kyle (1-7)
Batting:
HR: LASALA, Anthony 1
RBI: LASALA, Anthony 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HESS, Kyle 1 ; LASALA, Anthony 1
SB: HESS, Kyle 1
HBP: MARTINEZ, Noah 1
Batting:
2B: Serrano III, Eli 1
HR: Cozart, Jacob 1 ; Nolan, Parker 2 ; Heavner, Matt 1
RBI: Cozart, Jacob 2 ; Serrano III, Eli 1 ; Nolan, Parker 3 ; Heavner, Matt 2
SH: Harrison, Kalae 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Peebles, Cannon 1 ; Cozart, Jacob 1 ; Candelaria, Trevor 1 ; Serrano III, Eli 1 ; Nolan, Parker 3 ; Heavner, Matt 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
3
H
3
RBI
3
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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/ Baseball
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