In its second to last week of the regular season, the NC State baseball team made the short trip to Durham, where it grabbed the series win over Duke.
The Pack (32-17, 14-12 ACC) defeated the Blue Devils (21-29, 10-17 ACC) 5-3 and 13-5 in its first two matchups but couldn’t hold on for the sweep, losing 7-4 on Sunday afternoon.
Game one
Redshirt sophomore right-hander Logan Whitaker got the start on Friday and finished with three earned runs, eight strikeouts and one walk in six innings.
Senior center fielder Devonte Brown’s leadoff double and an RBI single from sophomore first baseman LuJames Groover III helped Whitaker out, giving the Wolfpack an early lead, but Duke responded with two runs in the third inning and another one in the sixth to go up 3-1.
However, a four-run seventh inning assisted with the comeback as the Pack jumped ahead 5-3 for the win.
The Wolfpack originally loaded the bases on a leadoff single from senior second baseman J.T. Jarrett, a double by sophomore left fielder Dominic Pilolli and a walk drawn by freshman third baseman Payton Green.
Freshman catcher Jacob Cozart then doubled to bring home the first two runs of the inning, Brown singled to bring in the go-ahead run, and Groover lll grounded into a double play that scored Cozart to increase the lead to two runs.
Game two
Game two was another dominant outing for the Pack despite the appearance of mother nature causing two separate rain delays.
Two bases-loaded walks to Brown and freshman designated hitter Tommy White and a sac-fly from redshirt junior shortstop Josh Hood gave NC State an early three-run lead in the second inning.
Duke responded in the third, tying the game back up on a two-RBI single and an RBI double, but the Wolfpack took the lead again in the fourth and never looked back from there.
Two four-run innings in both the fifth and the seventh gave the Pack a 12-3 lead, including a three-run homer from Brown and a solo shot from Groover lll.
A two RBI-double for Duke in the eighth cut the lead to 12-5, but the Wolfpack grabbed another run on a sac-fly in the top of the ninth, securing another ACC series win.
Sophomore right-hander Matt Willadsen had another excellent start, ending the day with just two earned runs and four strikeouts in seven innings.
Game three
Sunday was senior day at Jack Coombs Field for Duke, and the seniors surely stepped up for the Blue Devils to avoid the sweep.
The Pack jumped ahead early again off an RBI single by Jarrett in the second and added to that lead with a bases loaded walk and a sac-fly in the third to go up 3-0.
Both teams traded runs in the bottom of the third and top of the fourth, bringing the score to 4-1, but it was the bottom of the fourth that hurt the Wolfpack the most.
Senior left-handed starter Canaan Silver was taken out after the third and was replaced by sophomore right-hander Garrett Payne, who only lasted six batters.
Duke scored its first run of the inning on an RBI groundout and added two more on a bases-loaded walk and a sac-fly.
Only continuing to add to its score throughout the rest of the afternoon, the Blue Devils increased their lead to 7-4 in the sixth on a two-RBI double and an RBI single.
Despite a couple of chances to start a rally late, the Pack bats just weren’t able to overcome Duke’s pitching and defense, especially with runners on base.
NC State will conclude its regular season in a four-game stretch at home, hosting UNCG on Tuesday, May 17 at 6 p.m. and Wake Forest in a three-game series beginning Thursday, May 19 at 6:30 in the evening.
