The ‘Tommy Tanks’ show made another stop this season, this time at Truist Field in Charlotte as freshman designated hitter Tommy White grabbed three home runs in NC State’s 9-6 defeat over Miami in its second game of the ACC Championship.
Now at 26 homers on the year, White has set the new Wolfpack (35-20, 14-15 ACC) record all while powering the Pack over the highly ranked Hurricanes (39-17, 20-10 ACC) to advance to the ACC Championship semifinal.
White gave the Wolfpack an early lead with his first home run of the evening and first ACC Championship homer to right field in the bottom of the first inning.
Miami grabbed the lead soon after, jumping ahead 4-1 in the third on an RBI single and a three-run shot, forcing starting redshirt sophomore right handed pitcher Logan Whitaker out of the game.
Quick to respond though, Wolfpack sophomore first baseman LuJames Groover III doubled shortly into the bottom of the third, and White homered again for his second of the night to bring it back to a 4-3 ballgame.
Building on the momentum, NC State regained the lead in the fourth and went up 6-4 on a two-RBI double to right field by Groover III and a single off redshirt junior shortstop Josh Hood, who only had an opportunity to hit that inning as White was intentionally walked.
A solo shot to right field in the fifth put the Canes within one, but sophomore right fielder Noah Soles regained the Pack’s two-run lead in the bottom of the inning with a homer of his own.
Perhaps the biggest moment of the game came in the bottom of the sixth when White smoked his third shot of the evening, taking over the NC State school record and adding two more runs to the Wolfpack lead.
The Hurricanes added one more in the seventh on an RBI single to left field, but Miami was left with no response throughout the rest of the game to Tommy White’s incredible night.
Lost in the outstanding offensive performance from the Pack throughout the evening is the showing of sophomore right handed pitcher Matt Willadsen, who struck out eight and let up just two earned runs in six innings.
Willadsen came in the game in relief of Whitaker and was able to hold the Hurricanes offense at bay until part way through the ninth when sophomore left handed pitcher Chris Villaman came in and closed it out.
This win led NC State to the top of its pool in the 2022 ACC Championship and guarantees the Pack a semifinal matchup against Pittsburgh on Saturday, May 28 in the Queen City. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.
