NC State
29-15, 8-13
Notre Dame
26-17, 14-11
Wolfpack Falls to Notre Dame on Thursday Night
5/4/2023 11:07:00 PM | Baseball
Notre Dame (26-17, 14-11 ACC) scored the game's first three runs with one in the first and two in the second to take a 3-0 lead.
NC State (29-15, 8-13 ACC) took its first lead with four runs in the top of the fourth, scoring on back-to-back RBI singles, an RBI groundout and a fielding error on the third baseman. The Pack opened the third with back-to-back walks from Kalae Harrison and Noah Soles before LuJames Groover III singled down the right-field line to trim the deficit to 3-1.
Will Marcy then singled up the middle to cut Notre Dame's advantage to one run at 3-2. Cannon Peebles kept the rally going with a single through the left side before Jacob Cozart tied the score at 3-3 with an RBI groundout to second base. Trevor Candelaria drove in the fourth and final run of the inning to give the Pack a 4-3 lead.
Notre Dame tied the score with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth. NC State then responded with a clutch two-out, two-RBI single from Payton Green in the top of the fifth, giving the Wolfpack a 6-4 lead. After the Fighting Irish retired the first two Wolfpack batters in the fifth, NC State recorded three singles in four at-bats to break the 4-4 tie.
Notre Dame retook the lead with three runs in the bottom of the sixth. The Wolfpack again answered the Fighting Irish's scoring with a solo home run from Green. Green's 446-foot homer to left center tied the score at 7-7 and helped him move into a four-way tie for the team lead with nine homers on the season.
Vinny Martinez's go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning put Notre Dame in the lead for good. Martinez's two-run shot to right field broke the 7-7 tie before Will Mercer recorded the final three outs in the ninth to register the save.
Radek Birkholz (1-3) earned the win on the mound, while Dominic Fritton (3-3) suffered the loss. The Wolfpack pitching staff combined to toss 10 strikeouts in the setback.
Marcy and Green led NC State with two hits apiece, while Green's three RBI ranked as a team-high.
UP NEXT
Game two of this weekend's series against the Fighting Irish is set for 5 p.m. on Friday. The game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
#Pack9 | @NCStateBaseball
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Radek Birkholz (1-3)
L: Fritton, Dominic (3-3)
S: Will Mercer (3)
Batting:
2B: Marcy, Will 1
HR: Green, Payton 1
RBI: Groover III, LuJames 1 ; Marcy, Will 1 ; Cozart, Jacob 1 ; Candelaria, Trevor 1 ; Green, Payton 3
SH: Soles, Noah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Soles, Noah 1 ; Groover III, LuJames 1 ; Marcy, Will 1 ; Cozart, Jacob 1 ; Candelaria, Trevor 1 ; Green, Payton 1 ; Harrison, Kalae 1
PO: Peebles, Cannon 1
Batting:
2B: Carter Putz 2 ; Brady Gumpf 1 ; Estevan Moreno 1
3B: TJ Williams 1
HR: Vinny Martinez 1
RBI: TJ Williams 1 ; Zack Prajzner 3 ; Carter Putz 1 ; Vinny Martinez 3
SH: TJ Williams 1
SF: Zack Prajzner 1
Base Running:
RUNS: TJ Williams 2 ; Zack Prajzner 1 ; Carter Putz 2 ; Vinny Martinez 1 ; DM Jefferson 1 ; Brady Gumpf 1 ; Estevan Moreno 1
HBP: Brooks Coetzee 2
