The NC State baseball team secured an ACC sweep over the Boston College Eagles on Friday, April 15, taking both games of a doubleheader at Doak Field.
The Pack (23-11, 10-7 ACC) overcame a late 6-0 deficit to pull off a 7-6 win in 11 innings over the Eagles (15-21, 3-15 ACC) before completing the sweep with a 6-3 win in the series finale.
Game one
The Wolfpack made it three straight walk-off wins in a dramatic comeback victory to start the day. The Eagles looked to have the game well in hand through the first six and half innings, but the NC State offense sprang to life to the tune of six runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie it up at 6-6. Redshirt junior shortstop Josh Hood drove in the winning run in extra innings, reaching first on a throwing error that allowed sophomore first baseman LuJames Groover III to cross home plate for the win.
“It’s a tough game, especially at this level of competition,” Groover III said. “There’s gonna be a lot of close games like this. We’ve been able to win a lot of them because I think as a team, our character is very good. We’re able to push through as a team and come together and produce runs when we need them the most.”
Sophomore right-hander Matt Willadsen got the ball for the Wolfpack to start the day, but he was utterly outmatched by Boston College righty Henry Leake. While Willadsen had a characteristically rocky first few innings, Leake was untouchable for six innings, notching all nine of his strikeouts on swings and misses.
Willadsen eventually settled in, even stringing together seven consecutive outs at one point, but even that wouldn’t stop the Pack from surrendering five runs, four of them unearned, in the top of the sixth. Freshman right-hander Carson Kelly took over for Willadsen after a throwing error by Hood, a walk and hit by pitch loaded the bases with no one out.
The fielding issues, which have been a point of concern for the Pack all season, continued with Kelly on the mound. Two more errors in the top of the sixth fueled an Eagles rally and put NC State in a 6-0 hole.
NC State batted around in a resurgent seventh inning, scoring six runs on five hits and three walks. Hood and senior second baseman J.T. Jarrett got the rally going with a pair of singles then freshman designated hitter Payton Green put the Pack on the board with an RBI double.
The runs just kept on coming for the Wolfpack from there. Freshman outfielder Chase Nixon and freshman third baseman Tommy White each logged sacrifice flies. Groover III and sophomore outfielder Noah Soles each knocked in a run on RBI singles and Jarrett brought in the tying run by absorbing a 2-2 delivery for a bases-loaded hit by pitch.
Sophomore southpaw Chris Villaman took the mound of the Pack to start the eighth and ultimately got credit for the win. Villaman was lights out for four innings, racking up nine strikeouts and allowing just one hit and one walk. In the late innings of a tight ballgame, the lefty’s performance on the bump was instrumental to NC State’s victory.
“His teammates believe him and he believes in himself,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “He was really good because that’s the game that [he plays]. He’s done that a couple times now. Did it at Florida State, did it one more time where the game got extended and he went a little longer than we thought he would go.”
Game two
In the series finale, NC State was quicker to answer an early Boston College run. After senior lefty Canaan Silver allowed the Eagles to take a 1-0 lead on a sac fly in the top of the first, the Pack practiced its plate discipline by turning two walks and a hit by pitch into a run off a wild pitch to even up the score at 1-1.
Jarrett drew the Wolfpack’s third walk of the inning that same at-bat, but freshman left fielder Will Marcy grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the inning with the bases loaded. NC State could have easily ended up regretting leaving six runners on base in the first three innings, but Silver’s ability to weasel out of some early jams kept the score close as Boston College carried a measly 2-1 lead into the fourth despite stranding seven runners of its own.
In the bottom of the fourth, White knocked a two-run double into the gap in right center to give the Pack a 3-2 advantage. In the previous at-bat, Groover III singled to the left side thanks to an awkward hop that crossed up the Boston College third baseman. The hit extended Groover III’s hit streak to 21 games.
“Every time I walk up to the plate I like to tell myself ‘this pitcher can’t mess with me,’” Groover III said. “Not in a bad way, but ‘I just feel like I’m better than this guy.’ You got to have that mindset in this game because there’s a lot of failure that goes on so you got to find a way to keep your head even, just keep pushing on.”
The two teams would trade blows over the next few innings, but NC State finalized its lead at 6-3 in the sixth when Groover III scored on a wild pitch and Hood drove White home on a sac fly. On the mound, redshirt junior righty Logan Adams tossed four scoreless innings to keep the Eagles from mounting a comeback.
The Wolfpack will hit the road for its next game, a midweek matchup with the High Point Panthers on Wednesday, April 20. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
