Wednesday, May 22
Charlotte, N.C.
7 p.m.
NC State
33-19
19
vs
9
Virginia Tech
32-22
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
R
H
E
NC State
0
0
6
4
0
2
1
6
19
20
0
Virginia Tech
0
0
0
1
0
6
0
2
9
13
1
#12 Wolfpack Routs Virginia Tech 19-9 in ACC Tournament Opener
5/23/2024 12:04:00 AM | Baseball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 12 NC State baseball team opened postseason play with a 19-9 victory in eight innings over Virginia Tech on Wednesday night at Truist Field. The third-seeded Wolfpack pounded 20 hits to plate 19 runs, setting a program record for runs scored in an ACC Tournament game.
NC State (33-19) will face sixth-seeded Duke (36-18) on Thursday night to determine the winner of Pool C. The Wolfpack won its regular season series against the Blue Devils in Raleigh and defeated Duke 8-7 in its ACC Tournament opener this past season in Durham.
After NC State and Virginia Tech (32-22) went scoreless over the first two innings, NC State's offense erupted for a six-run frame to make it 6-0 in the third. The Wolfpack tallied five hits in the six-run outburst, getting on the board first when Garrett Pennington ripped an RBI double to right-center. Back-to-back RBI singles from Alec Makarewicz and Jacob Cozart stretched the lead to 3-0.
Freshman Alex Sosa then slugged his third homer in four games to double the Pack's lead to 6-0, drilling a three-run shot over the right-field wall. Sosa's three-run homer capped off a stretch of five straight hits for the Wolfpack lineup.
NC State pushed across four more in the fourth to make it 10-0. The first four Wolfpack batters logged hits to extend the advantage to 9-0. Noah Soles opened the fourth with a double before a single from Eli Serrano III put runners at the corners. Pennington and Makarewicz then delivered RBI doubles for a nine-run lead. Sosa's two-out RBI single to center field stretched the lead to double digits.
Freshman left-hander Ryan Marohn shined in his postseason debut, tossing four innings while allowing just one run with four strikeouts. The southpaw faced the minimum in the second and third frames to maintain the Pack's 10-0 lead.
Virginia Tech scored one in the bottom of the fourth before NC State answered with two more runs in the sixth to make it 12-1. Brandon Butterworth smacked an RBI single before Sosa's RBI groundout made it an 11-run cushion for the Pack.
The Hokies tallied six runs in the bottom of the sixth to trim their deficit to 12-7. NC State responded with seven of the game's final nine runs to seal a run-rule victory. Serrano III smacked a solo shot in the seventh before the Wolfpack notched its second six-run frame of the night to make it 19-7 heading to the bottom of the eighth. Butterworth drilled a solo shot to ignite the six-run inning before the Wolfpack scored its final five runs of the night with two outs.
P.J. Labriola (1-0) earned the win for NC State after tossing a career-high six strikeouts in relief. Right-hander Hollis Fanning recorded the final out of the game by inducing a groundout to first base.
Pennington's three doubles set a new career-high, upping his total to 23 two-baggers on the season. Pennington's 23 doubles are now tied for eighth in NC State single-season history. The first six batters in NC State's lineup recorded multi-hit performances, highlighted by four-hit efforts from Pennington and Makarewicz. Sosa led the Wolfpack with a career-high five RBI.
UP NEXT
Third-seeded NC State concludes pool play against sixth-seeded Duke on Thursday night at Truist Field. Thursday night's contest against the 17th-ranked Blue Devils is set for 7 p.m. and will be televised on ACC Network.
The winner of Thursday night's game will advance to a semifinal matchup against the winner of Pool B on Saturday at 5 p.m.
NC State (33-19) will face sixth-seeded Duke (36-18) on Thursday night to determine the winner of Pool C. The Wolfpack won its regular season series against the Blue Devils in Raleigh and defeated Duke 8-7 in its ACC Tournament opener this past season in Durham.
After NC State and Virginia Tech (32-22) went scoreless over the first two innings, NC State's offense erupted for a six-run frame to make it 6-0 in the third. The Wolfpack tallied five hits in the six-run outburst, getting on the board first when Garrett Pennington ripped an RBI double to right-center. Back-to-back RBI singles from Alec Makarewicz and Jacob Cozart stretched the lead to 3-0.
Freshman Alex Sosa then slugged his third homer in four games to double the Pack's lead to 6-0, drilling a three-run shot over the right-field wall. Sosa's three-run homer capped off a stretch of five straight hits for the Wolfpack lineup.
NC State pushed across four more in the fourth to make it 10-0. The first four Wolfpack batters logged hits to extend the advantage to 9-0. Noah Soles opened the fourth with a double before a single from Eli Serrano III put runners at the corners. Pennington and Makarewicz then delivered RBI doubles for a nine-run lead. Sosa's two-out RBI single to center field stretched the lead to double digits.
Freshman left-hander Ryan Marohn shined in his postseason debut, tossing four innings while allowing just one run with four strikeouts. The southpaw faced the minimum in the second and third frames to maintain the Pack's 10-0 lead.
Virginia Tech scored one in the bottom of the fourth before NC State answered with two more runs in the sixth to make it 12-1. Brandon Butterworth smacked an RBI single before Sosa's RBI groundout made it an 11-run cushion for the Pack.
The Hokies tallied six runs in the bottom of the sixth to trim their deficit to 12-7. NC State responded with seven of the game's final nine runs to seal a run-rule victory. Serrano III smacked a solo shot in the seventh before the Wolfpack notched its second six-run frame of the night to make it 19-7 heading to the bottom of the eighth. Butterworth drilled a solo shot to ignite the six-run inning before the Wolfpack scored its final five runs of the night with two outs.
P.J. Labriola (1-0) earned the win for NC State after tossing a career-high six strikeouts in relief. Right-hander Hollis Fanning recorded the final out of the game by inducing a groundout to first base.
Pennington's three doubles set a new career-high, upping his total to 23 two-baggers on the season. Pennington's 23 doubles are now tied for eighth in NC State single-season history. The first six batters in NC State's lineup recorded multi-hit performances, highlighted by four-hit efforts from Pennington and Makarewicz. Sosa led the Wolfpack with a career-high five RBI.
UP NEXT
Third-seeded NC State concludes pool play against sixth-seeded Duke on Thursday night at Truist Field. Thursday night's contest against the 17th-ranked Blue Devils is set for 7 p.m. and will be televised on ACC Network.
The winner of Thursday night's game will advance to a semifinal matchup against the winner of Pool B on Saturday at 5 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Labriola, P.J. (1-0)
L: Brett Renfrow (6-4)
Batting:
2B: Pennington, Garrett 3 ; Makarewicz, Alec 1 ; Cozart, Jacob 1 ; Soles, Noah 1
HR: Serrano III, Eli 1 ; Butterworth, Brandon 1 ; Sosa, Alex 1
RBI: Serrano III, Eli 2 ; Pennington, Garrett 2 ; Makarewicz, Alec 4 ; Cozart, Jacob 2 ; Butterworth, Brandon 2 ; Sosa, Alex 5
Base Running:
RUNS: Serrano III, Eli 4 ; Pennington, Garrett 4 ; Makarewicz, Alec 4 ; Cozart, Jacob 1 ; Butterworth, Brandon 2 ; Sosa, Alex 2 ; Nixon, Luke 1 ; Soles, Noah 1
SB: Nixon, Luke 1
HBP: Nixon, Luke 1
Batting:
2B: Gehrig Ebel 2 ; Ben Watson 2 ; David McCann 1
HR: Gehrig Ebel 1
RBI: Gehrig Ebel 3 ; Ben Watson 3 ; Eddie Eisert 1 ; David McCann 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Jake Slade 1 ; Gehrig Ebel 3 ; Eddie Micheletti Jr. 1 ; Christian Martin 1 ; Sam Tackett 1 ; Eddie Eisert 1 ; David McCann 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
4
H
4
RBI
2
AB
4
R
4
H
4
RBI
4
AB
5
R
4
H
3
RBI
2
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF/OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
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