Sunday, June 2
6 p.m.
NC State
36-20
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James Madison
36-25
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NC State
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James Madison
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Photo by: Gregg Forwerck
#Pack9 Punches Ticket to Super Regionals With 5-3 Win Over James Madison
6/2/2024 10:30:00 PM | Baseball
Tenth-seeded NC State Will Face Seventh-Seeded Georgia Next Weekend
RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State baseball team notched a 5-3 victory in the NCAA Raleigh Regional final to secure a spot in its sixth Super Regional in program history. NC State (36-20) never trailed as the Wolfpack polished off a 3-0 week in its seventh time hosting an NCAA Regional.
With the win, No. 10 national seed NC State will advance to a Super Regional matchup at seventh-seeded Georgia (42-15). Schedule details for the Wolfpack's trip to Foley Field in Athens, Georgia, will be provided when they become available.
The Wolfpack broke through in the top of the fourth with back-to-back bases-loaded walks to take a 2-0 lead. James Madison starter Todd Mozoki hit Matt Heavner with a pitch to open the frame before Noah Soles drew a walk to put two runners on with nobody out. After Mozoki retired the next two batters, the Dukes intentionally walked Alec Makarewicz to load the bases. Jacob Cozart and Brandon Butterworth both drew bases-loaded walks to bring the capacity crowd to its feet as NC State took a lead it never relinquished.
JMU (36-25) second baseman Mike Mancini sliced the Dukes' deficit in half with a solo home run in the fourth.
Makarewicz re-established the Wolfpack's two-run lead with a solo shot to right field in the sixth. Makarewicz's 20th home run of the season made it 3-1 NC State heading to the bottom of the sixth. Makarewicz's 20th homer helped him become the ninth player in program history to smack 20 home runs in a single season.
Mancini socked his second solo shot of the night to answer the Pack's score in the bottom of the sixth. Mancini's home run trimmed NC State's lead to 3-2 heading to the seventh.
Wolfpack starting pitcher Logan Whitaker cruised through the opening three frames, not allowing a hit until Mancini's solo shot in the fourth snapped the shutout and hitless start for the Dukes. Whitaker (3-1) notched the postseason victory after tossing six innings, giving up just four hits and two runs with six strikeouts. Whitaker needed just 89 pitches to record the quality start and hand over the final three frames to freshman Jacob Dudan and sophomore Derrick Smith.
Makarewicz stretched the Wolfpack's lead back to two with an RBI double into the left-center gap, bringing home Garrett Pennington all the way from first base for a 4-2 lead in the eighth.
Mancini drove in his third run of the game to again cut the Pack's lead to a single run, driving an RBI double down the left-field line in the eighth to make it 4-3. The Dukes put the tying run at second base with just one out in the eighth before Dudan struck out back-to-back batters to end the JMU threat.
Soles added an insurance run in the top of the ninth with a solo homer to right field, leading off the final frame with a homer to make it 5-3. After a pair of innings of relief from Dudan, Smith retired the side in order in the bottom half to seal the Regional victory. The sophomore closer notched back-to-back strikeouts to secure NC State's spot in the Super Regionals.
Five NC State student-athletes were named to the 2024 NCAA Baseball All-Raleigh Regional Team – Garrett Pennington, Brandon Butterworth, Alec Makarewicz, Eli Serrano III and Jacob Dudan. Makarewicz was also named the tournament's most outstanding player.
With the win, No. 10 national seed NC State will advance to a Super Regional matchup at seventh-seeded Georgia (42-15). Schedule details for the Wolfpack's trip to Foley Field in Athens, Georgia, will be provided when they become available.
The Wolfpack broke through in the top of the fourth with back-to-back bases-loaded walks to take a 2-0 lead. James Madison starter Todd Mozoki hit Matt Heavner with a pitch to open the frame before Noah Soles drew a walk to put two runners on with nobody out. After Mozoki retired the next two batters, the Dukes intentionally walked Alec Makarewicz to load the bases. Jacob Cozart and Brandon Butterworth both drew bases-loaded walks to bring the capacity crowd to its feet as NC State took a lead it never relinquished.
JMU (36-25) second baseman Mike Mancini sliced the Dukes' deficit in half with a solo home run in the fourth.
Makarewicz re-established the Wolfpack's two-run lead with a solo shot to right field in the sixth. Makarewicz's 20th home run of the season made it 3-1 NC State heading to the bottom of the sixth. Makarewicz's 20th homer helped him become the ninth player in program history to smack 20 home runs in a single season.
Mancini socked his second solo shot of the night to answer the Pack's score in the bottom of the sixth. Mancini's home run trimmed NC State's lead to 3-2 heading to the seventh.
Wolfpack starting pitcher Logan Whitaker cruised through the opening three frames, not allowing a hit until Mancini's solo shot in the fourth snapped the shutout and hitless start for the Dukes. Whitaker (3-1) notched the postseason victory after tossing six innings, giving up just four hits and two runs with six strikeouts. Whitaker needed just 89 pitches to record the quality start and hand over the final three frames to freshman Jacob Dudan and sophomore Derrick Smith.
Makarewicz stretched the Wolfpack's lead back to two with an RBI double into the left-center gap, bringing home Garrett Pennington all the way from first base for a 4-2 lead in the eighth.
Mancini drove in his third run of the game to again cut the Pack's lead to a single run, driving an RBI double down the left-field line in the eighth to make it 4-3. The Dukes put the tying run at second base with just one out in the eighth before Dudan struck out back-to-back batters to end the JMU threat.
Soles added an insurance run in the top of the ninth with a solo homer to right field, leading off the final frame with a homer to make it 5-3. After a pair of innings of relief from Dudan, Smith retired the side in order in the bottom half to seal the Regional victory. The sophomore closer notched back-to-back strikeouts to secure NC State's spot in the Super Regionals.
Five NC State student-athletes were named to the 2024 NCAA Baseball All-Raleigh Regional Team – Garrett Pennington, Brandon Butterworth, Alec Makarewicz, Eli Serrano III and Jacob Dudan. Makarewicz was also named the tournament's most outstanding player.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Whitaker, Logan (3-1)
L: Mozoki (5-2)
S: Smith, Derrick (7)
Batting:
2B: Makarewicz, Alec 1
HR: Makarewicz, Alec 1 ; Soles, Noah 1
RBI: Makarewicz, Alec 2 ; Cozart, Jacob 1 ; Butterworth, Brandon 1 ; Soles, Noah 1
SH: Serrano III, Eli 1 ; Nixon, Luke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pennington, Garrett 1 ; Makarewicz, Alec 1 ; Heavner, Matt 1 ; Soles, Noah 2
SB: Serrano III, Eli 1
HBP: Serrano III, Eli 1 ; Heavner, Matt 1
PO: Butterworth, Brandon 1
Batting:
2B: Trimble 1 ; Mancini 1 ; Peifer 1
HR: Mancini 2
RBI: Mancini 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Trimble 1 ; Mancini 2
SB: Schiavone 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
6
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
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RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
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/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
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