Thursday, April 18
Raleigh, N.C.
7 p.m.
NC State
21-14, 11-8
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North Carolina
29-9, 14-5
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North Carolina
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NC State
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Photo by: Mollie Mitchell
Butterworth's Walk-Off Homer Powers #Pack9 to Win Over #11 North Carolina
4/19/2024 12:17:00 AM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State baseball team took game one over No. 11 North Carolina Thursday night at Doak Field at Dail Park 9-8 thanks to a ninth-inning, walk-off home run by junior shortstop Brandon Butterworth. This marks the Wolfpack's sixth walk-off win of the season.
On a day full of offense, the Pack was led by three batters with multi-hit performances. Jacob Cozart went 2-for-4 with five RBI, a home run and a walk. Garrett Pennington added a 2-for-5 performance with a double. Leading the Pack in hits was Josh Hogue, who went 3-for-5 with two base hits and a double.
The Tar Heels (29-9, 14-5 ACC) opened the scoring with a solo shot from Casey Cook that set the score 1-0 in favor of the visitors heading into the bottom of the opening frame. After placing runners in scoring position thanks to an Eli Serrano III leadoff single and Pennington double, the Wolfpack (21-14, 11-8 ACC) managed to erase the early UNC lead. With two outs and two strikes on the board, catcher Jacob Cozart sent a ball through the right side that plated both runners and provided the Pack the 2-1 lead heading to the second.
NC State's offense continued to find its way onto the basepaths in the bottom of the second inning. A Luke Nixon single sandwiched between walks drawn by Chase Nixon and Serrano III loaded the bases, but the Tar Heel defense held strong and left the Wolfpack runners stranded to end the frame scoreless.
In the top of the third inning, UNC grabbed the lead back from the Pack with a two-run homer by Vance Honeycutt and a solo shot from Cook, his second of the game, that made it 4-2.
It didn't take long for the NC State offense to answer, however. On the first pitch of the bottom of the third inning, Alec Makarewicz sent a ball over the left-field wall that ignited the capacity-crowd at Doak Field. Cozart and Butterworth followed up with consecutive drawn walks before Chase Nixon plated an RBI single to right field that tied the score at 4-4.
The Pack didn't stop there, as Luke Nixon reached on a fielder's choice that allowed another run to come in to score to make 5-4.
With the score resting at 5-4, the Tar Heels loaded the bases in the top of the fourth, but thanks to Wolfpack reliever Shane Van Dam and the NC State defense, the Wolfpack managed to escape the inning unscathed.
After a scoreless fourth for both teams, UNC drew back even in the top of the fifth with Parks Harber homering to left field, the fourth long ball of the day for the Tar Heels.
Both offenses cooled off until the bottom of the sixth when the Pack was able to regain the lead. Pennington and Josh Hogue each picked up singles early in the inning and advanced one base thanks to a wild pitch by UNC. Tar Heel reliever Kyle Percival then took the mound and was immediately met with a three-run homer by Cozart on the first pitch he threw to make the score 8-5.
The UNC offense continued to respond across the next two innings to draw the game even. In the top of the seventh, Alberto Osuna hit a solo home run and Alex Madera added an RBI single to narrow the Wolfpack lead to 8-7 before Harber sent a sacrifice fly deep into right field that allowed the tying run to score for the Tar Heels.
The next two half innings went scoreless, presenting a chance for the Wolfpack to win the game with one swing. With one out, Butterworth stepped to the plate and did just that. The Monroe, North Carolina native hit his first career walk-off with a bomb to deep left field that won the first game of the rivalry series for the Pack 9-8.
UP NEXT
NC State continues its three-game series against No. 11 North Carolina on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. with the game being streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
On a day full of offense, the Pack was led by three batters with multi-hit performances. Jacob Cozart went 2-for-4 with five RBI, a home run and a walk. Garrett Pennington added a 2-for-5 performance with a double. Leading the Pack in hits was Josh Hogue, who went 3-for-5 with two base hits and a double.
The Tar Heels (29-9, 14-5 ACC) opened the scoring with a solo shot from Casey Cook that set the score 1-0 in favor of the visitors heading into the bottom of the opening frame. After placing runners in scoring position thanks to an Eli Serrano III leadoff single and Pennington double, the Wolfpack (21-14, 11-8 ACC) managed to erase the early UNC lead. With two outs and two strikes on the board, catcher Jacob Cozart sent a ball through the right side that plated both runners and provided the Pack the 2-1 lead heading to the second.
NC State's offense continued to find its way onto the basepaths in the bottom of the second inning. A Luke Nixon single sandwiched between walks drawn by Chase Nixon and Serrano III loaded the bases, but the Tar Heel defense held strong and left the Wolfpack runners stranded to end the frame scoreless.
In the top of the third inning, UNC grabbed the lead back from the Pack with a two-run homer by Vance Honeycutt and a solo shot from Cook, his second of the game, that made it 4-2.
It didn't take long for the NC State offense to answer, however. On the first pitch of the bottom of the third inning, Alec Makarewicz sent a ball over the left-field wall that ignited the capacity-crowd at Doak Field. Cozart and Butterworth followed up with consecutive drawn walks before Chase Nixon plated an RBI single to right field that tied the score at 4-4.
The Pack didn't stop there, as Luke Nixon reached on a fielder's choice that allowed another run to come in to score to make 5-4.
With the score resting at 5-4, the Tar Heels loaded the bases in the top of the fourth, but thanks to Wolfpack reliever Shane Van Dam and the NC State defense, the Wolfpack managed to escape the inning unscathed.
After a scoreless fourth for both teams, UNC drew back even in the top of the fifth with Parks Harber homering to left field, the fourth long ball of the day for the Tar Heels.
Both offenses cooled off until the bottom of the sixth when the Pack was able to regain the lead. Pennington and Josh Hogue each picked up singles early in the inning and advanced one base thanks to a wild pitch by UNC. Tar Heel reliever Kyle Percival then took the mound and was immediately met with a three-run homer by Cozart on the first pitch he threw to make the score 8-5.
The UNC offense continued to respond across the next two innings to draw the game even. In the top of the seventh, Alberto Osuna hit a solo home run and Alex Madera added an RBI single to narrow the Wolfpack lead to 8-7 before Harber sent a sacrifice fly deep into right field that allowed the tying run to score for the Tar Heels.
The next two half innings went scoreless, presenting a chance for the Wolfpack to win the game with one swing. With one out, Butterworth stepped to the plate and did just that. The Monroe, North Carolina native hit his first career walk-off with a bomb to deep left field that won the first game of the rivalry series for the Pack 9-8.
UP NEXT
NC State continues its three-game series against No. 11 North Carolina on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. with the game being streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Smith, Derrick (3-0)
L: Matt Poston (2-2)
Batting:
2B: Anthony Donofrio 1
3B: Anthony Donofrio 1
HR: Vance Honeycutt 1 ; Casey Cook 2 ; Parks Harber 1 ; Alberto Osuna 1
RBI: Vance Honeycutt 2 ; Casey Cook 2 ; Parks Harber 2 ; Alberto Osuna 1 ; Alex Madera 1
SF: Parks Harber 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Anthony Donofrio 2 ; Vance Honeycutt 1 ; Casey Cook 2 ; Parks Harber 1 ; Alberto Osuna 1 ; Gavin Gallaher 1
HBP: Casey Cook 1
Batting:
2B: Pennington, Garrett 1 ; Hogue, Josh 1 ; Lanphere, Drew 1
HR: Makarewicz, Alec 1 ; Cozart, Jacob 1 ; Butterworth, Brandon 1
RBI: Makarewicz, Alec 1 ; Cozart, Jacob 5 ; Butterworth, Brandon 1 ; Nixon, Chase 1 ; Nixon, Luke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Serrano III, Eli 1 ; Pennington, Garrett 2 ; Hogue, Josh 1 ; Makarewicz, Alec 1 ; Cozart, Jacob 2 ; Butterworth, Brandon 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
5
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
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INF
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INF
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RHP
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