NC State baseball secured a 4-3 win over No. 9 Duke in the series opener at Doak Field Friday.
After relying heavily on its offensive performance earlier this week, NC State (14-6, 4-3 ACC) utilized a strong performance from its rotation to power it to a win.
Graduate right-handed pitcher Sam Highfill led the way. Through seven innings, he allowed three runs on six hits while amassing a season-high eight strikeouts. When he left the game, freshman righty Jacob Dudan entered the game and pitched two innings of scoreless baseball. The pair were instrumental in handling Duke (16-6, 3-4 ACC) who has proven its ability to put together offensive firepower.
“[Highfill] was outstanding today, and we needed it because we weren’t getting much,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “For Dudan to come in as a freshman and do what he did in the end is pretty special.”
After a quick first inning, the scoring began in the second inning as the Blue Devils struck first. After back-to-back walks and a single, Duke loaded the bases with only one out. A sacrifice flyout brought in one run, but Highfill limited the damage as Duke only seized a 1-0 lead.
Unable to keep up with Blue Devils pitcher Jonathan Santucci, the Pack drew some walks in earlier innings but to no ultimate avail. Despite these opportunities on the base paths, Santucci boasted a no-hitter which he ultimately preserved at the end of the afternoon while tossing five strikeouts. However, he did allow seven total walks, which came to hurt Duke later on.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Pack began to gather steam as it took advantage of the walks. Three straight walks set up a bases-loaded opportunity for sophomore left fielder Josh Hogue as he grounded out, which allowed one run to come home. Graduate first baseman Garrett Pennington followed suit when he hit a ground out to bring home another run to put the score 2-1 in favor of NC State.
“You try to command the strike zone,” Avent said. “It’s hard when the guy’s got the ride and he’s gotten that slider he’s buried.”
The Pack’s newly acquired lead did not last very long as Duke’s Logan Bravo belted a homer in the top of the sixth to tie the game back up at two apiece. However, Highfill once again regrouped and struck out the side to escape the inning.
In the bottom of the inning, NC State continued its momentum and forced a Duke pitching change. The red-and-white loaded the bases once more. Freshman second baseman Luke Nixon then drew a walk to score another run to give the Pack a 3-2 lead.
Much like the previous inning, NC State quickly gave away its lead. Duke powered a triple in the seventh. That runner was then driven home to knot the score back up at 3-3. Highfill remained in the game, and he garnered the two remaining outs swiftly as he finished the inning with a staggering pitch count of 116.
“It’s key to keep them off the base paths because they can run the ball out of the yard at any point in time,” Highfill said. “So limit the walks, limit the free bases, that’s huge. … I mean, they were this close a handful of times, but the ballpark was big enough today.”
In the bottom of the seventh, the Pack once again came after it as graduate third baseman Alek Makarewicz powered a double. He did not remain on base long — junior catcher Jacob Cozart pulled a single to bring him home to regain the lead at 4-3.
As the game entered the eighth with the Pack nursing a one-run lead, it called on Dudan to pick up where Highfill left off. He did precisely so in the next two innings as he put forth two frames of scoreless ball with three strikeouts. His performance was crucial as he prevented Duke from gathering any sort of late-game momentum that sometimes accompanies a late pitching change.
“[Dudan’s] been so impressive early and I know he was a little bit frustrated after last weekend,” Highfill said. “But this whole week, I haven’t seen a difference in the way he’s acted, and it’s no surprise to me that he came out and did what he did today.”
NC State Baseball will look to win the series over Duke tomorrow, and first pitch is at 3 p.m. The game will be televised on ACC Network.
