NC State Ends the Regular Season on a High Note; Defeats UNC 7-2

Saturday, May 16

Raleigh, NC

2 p.m.

NC State

32-21, 14-16

UNC

43-10-1, 22-8

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
North Carolina	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	4	1
NC State	2	0	0	0	2	0	3	0	X	7	13	0

NC State Ends the Regular Season on a High Note; Defeats UNC 7-2

5/16/2026 6:44:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Raleigh, N.C. – Anderson Nance, in his first start of the season, went a career-best six innings, holding the No. 2 team in the country to one run on three hits, as he led NC State (32-21, 14-16) to a 7-2 victory over No. 2 North Carolina (43-10-2, 22-8) Saturday afternoon at the Doak.

The Wolfpack sent its seniors and fans home happy as NC State saw big days from junior first baseman Chris McHugh, who recorded a four-hit game for the third time in his collegiate career, including a home run and two RBIs. With 9,250 fans in attendance across the weekend, the series with UNC is now the largest attendance for a three-game series in program history.

Third baseman Sherman Johnson extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a home run and two runs scored. Rett Johnson finished his first regular season with the Wolfpack on a 27-game hitting streak, and Ty Head added three hits and two runs scored on the day.

Wolfpack pitching held the Tar Heels to their lowest run total in eight games and matched their season-low hit count with four. This was the third-ranked win of the season for the Wolfpack, who have wins over #16 Coastal Carolina and #11 Florida State.

Nance (4-2) walked five and struck out four but got out of trouble with help from his defense. In a 2-1 game, Rett Johnson started a freshman relay from left field to shortstop Christan Serrano to catcher Vincent Decarlo, getting an out at home plate and keeping UNC from tying the game. Nance finished his day with four strikeouts, bringing his season-long ERA down to 3.78.

DeCarlo, who was told he'd get the start behind the plate only 15 minutes before the game, finished with the second multi-hit game of his young career and two runs batted in – DeCarlo's second knock brought in two runners.

Luke Hemric came out of the bullpen and continued what Nance had started, striking out four in 2.1 innings and allowing only a solo home run. Ryder Garino came on and recorded the final two outs without any trouble.

The Pack got on the board for the first time in six games, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by McHugh, followed by a shallow single down the right field line by Mikey Ryan with the bases loaded to bring in the second run. Ryan started at designated hitter; it was his first start since April 26th after going down with an ankle injury.

The Tar Heels homered to left field on a solo shot with two outs in the second. That would be the only run they would score off Nance.

Back-to-back home runs from Sherman Johnson and McHugh to lead off the Pack in the bottom of the fifth inning increased the advantage to three, with the former proving to be the game's winning run. It was McHugh's ninth home run of the season and just his first in ACC play.

The Pack tallied three more insurance runs in the seventh inning, with an RBI fielder's choice from Serrano, followed by a two-run hit by DeCarlo into right field, the Wolfpack's final runs of the afternoon.

North Carolina's second run came off another solo home run, but that was all they would manage the rest of the way.

NC State finishes the season 24-10 at home and will begin play in next week's ACC Tournament in Charlotte from Truist Field on Tuesday, May 19. Time and opponent will be announced later tonight. The Wolfpack finishes the regular season in a tie for eighth place in the ACC with Virginia.