The NC State baseball team looked like a completely different team on Sunday than the previous two days as the Pack avoided the sweep with a 10-3 win at Virginia Tech on Sunday, April 10.
From the very beginning of the game, the NC State (19-11, 7-7 ACC) bats were cooking as they quickly drove the Hokies (20-8, 7-6 ACC) into a hole. Virginia Tech was never able to truly respond due to the Wolfpack’s strong pitching and continued offense throughout the game.
On the very first at-bat of the game, senior center fielder Devonte Brown smashed a home run to put the Pack up 1-0. Later in the order, sophomore left fielder Dominic Pilolli would add to his great weekend as he would drive home sophomore first baseman LuJames Groover III. The inning continued as sophomore right fielder Noah Soles drove freshman third baseman Tommy White. At the end of the first, Virginia Tech had already used three pitchers as the Pack took a 3-0 lead.
The next few innings proved to be rather quiet until the fourth when three straight walks loaded the bases for White. He grounded into a double play but still scored freshman catcher Jacob Cozart from third. A wild pitch also helped Brown score as the Pack stretched its lead to 5-0.
In the fifth inning, the Hokie offense finally started to respond as Virginia Tech drew a walk and a hit by pitch to put two runners on base. A single brought the lead runner in to score the give the Hokies their first run of the day.
In the top of the sixth inning, Cozart smashed a dinger for his first collegiate home run. Pilolli continued to make his presence felt as he drove in Groover III for his second RBI of the day later in the inning. This helped make it a 7-1 NC State lead.
In the bottom of the seventh, Virginia Tech scored off of a home run to cut the Pack lead to 7-2.
After a relatively slow series this weekend, White was able to crush a homerun in the top of the eighth. White’s solo shot tied him for the NC State freshman home run record and extended the Pack’s lead to 8-2.
In the bottom half of that inning, Virginia Tech responded with another home run to yet again bring the game within five runs.
In the top of the ninth inning, the Wolfpack was still not done as senior second baseman J.T. Jarrett reached on an error. Soles would step up to the plate and hit a double which advanced Jarrett to third. An ensuing wild pitch would bring in Jarrett to make it a 9-3 ballgame. Next, Cozart would continue his solid day as he doubled to score Soles. The score would stand at 10-3 for the rest of the game as the Hokies were unable to do much in the bottom of the ninth.
The NC State pitching was equally important in securing the win. Senior left-hander Canaan Silver was instrumental in his start as he pitched six innings. He would keep the Hokies scoreless until the fifth inning. He would end his day an inning later with five strikeouts, while only allowing one earned run on one hit.
At the beginning of the seventh inning, sophomore left-hander Chris Villaman stepped in to finish the game. He struggled at first, giving up a home run in the seventh and eighth innings. However, he would soon gather himself and not allow another run. In the process, he recorded four strikeouts. The Wolfpack even managed to shut down Virginia Tech left fielder Jack Hurley, who saw his 26-game hit streak come to an end against NC State, speaking to the effectiveness of the Pack’s pitching.
With this win, the Pack avoided its first-ever sweep at the hands of the Hokies.
NC State will be back in action on Tuesday, April 12 against UNC-Wilmington at Doak Field at 6 p.m.
