North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
27-18
Norfolk State
11-36
#23 Wolfpack Cruises to Shutout Victory Over Norfolk State
5/7/2024 9:58:00 PM | Baseball
NC State (27-18) scored multiple runs in four of its six team at-bats to notch a commanding shutout win in its final midweek game of the 2024 season. The Wolfpack also set a new single-season high with nine runs scored in the fifth inning, stretching its 8-0 lead into a 17-0 advantage entering the top of the sixth.
Jacob Cozart and Brandon Butterworth notched back-to-back RBI doubles to help NC State take a 3-0 lead in the first. Alec Makarewicz's RBI double pushed the Pack's advantage to 5-0 in the second. Freshman Alex Sosa then capped off a three-run frame in the third with his first home run at Doak Field, driving a 3-1 pitch over the right-field wall for a two-out, two-run shot.
After a scoreless fourth, NC State plated nine runs in the fifth to lead 17-0 after five. Andrew Shaffner recorded his first-career hit and the first two RBI of his career to put the Wolfpack in double digits at 11-0, singling through the right side for a two-RBI single. Carson Falsken also lined an RBI single in the nine-run frame.
Sosa concluded the Wolfpack's scoring barrage with an RBI groundout in the sixth to push the score to its final margin at 18-0.
Freshman left-hander Ryan Marohn (3-2) shined on the mound with 4.2 scoreless frames, limiting the Spartans to three hits while needing just 58 pitches to record 14 outs. The bullpen efforts of Jaxon Lucas, Heath Andrews and Hollis Fanning closed out the 18-run victory with 2.1 hitless innings with a pair of strikeouts.
Five NC State batters recorded multiple hits in the victory. Eli Serrano III paced the Pack with four runs scored out of the leadoff spot. Sosa finished a career night with a 2-for-3 performance with three runs scored, three RBI a home run and two walks. Makarewicz, Garrett Pennington and Sosa tied for the team lead with three RBI.
NC State's 18 runs scored tied a season high previously set in an 18-16 win over Boston College on March 10. Fifteen position players saw game action in the victory.
Norfolk State (11-36) starting pitcher Liam Royster (0-6) suffered the loss after allowing eight runs (seven earned) over three innings pitched.
UP NEXT
NC State plays its final road ACC series of the season this weekend at No. 10 Virginia. This weekend's series in Charlottesville will begin Friday night at 7 p.m. on ACC Network.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Marohn, Ryan (3-2)
L: ROYSTER, Liam (0-6)
Base Running:
CS: RITTER, Jamal 1
PO: RITTER, Jamal 1
Batting:
2B: Pennington, Garrett 1 ; Makarewicz, Alec 1 ; Cozart, Jacob 1 ; Butterworth, Brandon 1 ; Heavner, Matt 1
HR: Sosa, Alex 1
RBI: Serrano III, Eli 1 ; Pennington, Garrett 3 ; Makarewicz, Alec 3 ; Falsken, Carson 1 ; Cozart, Jacob 1 ; Butterworth, Brandon 2 ; Nixon, Luke 1 ; Shaffner, Andrew 2 ; Heavner, Matt 1 ; Sosa, Alex 3
SF: Pennington, Garrett 1 ; Makarewicz, Alec 1 ; Butterworth, Brandon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Serrano III, Eli 4 ; Pennington, Garrett 2 ; Falsken, Carson 1 ; Cozart, Jacob 2 ; Butterworth, Brandon 1 ; Nixon, Luke 1 ; Lanphere, Drew 1 ; Soles, Noah 1 ; Shaffner, Andrew 1 ; Heavner, Matt 1 ; Sosa, Alex 3
