ATHENS, GA., — Patience was not a virtue for NC State baseball.

It didn’t have much success in the first inning, but the Wolfpack knew if it stuck with the game plan it would pay off. Sophomore center fielder Eli Serrano III hit a hard line drive to left field on the first pitch of the game but it was caught. Graduate first baseman Garrett Pennington struck out on three pitches and junior catcher Jacob Cozart struck out to end the inning.

Before Cozart struck out, graduate third baseman Alec Makarewicz got on base with a single on the second pitch he saw. An example of what the Wolfpack was trying to do coming into the game. The Pack wanted to be aggressive at the plate — not exactly NC State’s M.O.

All season the Wolfpack has been a patient team at the plate. It has the least amount of strikeouts in the ACC and the fourth most walks. NC State prefers to let the pitcher make the mistake and capitalize on it.

Take for example earlier this season against Wake Forest. Senior right fielder Noah Soles had a walk-off walk. Then a week later at the Raleigh Regional final against James Madison, the Wolfpack walked twice with the bases loaded to score its first runs of the game.

It’s pretty clear that NC State is not an aggressive team at the plate, but it had to adjust its tendencies against Georgia in Game 1 of the Athens Super Regional. Bulldogs starting pitcher Kolten Smith entered the game with 99 strikeouts to just 19 walks, meaning he likes to attack the zone.

With that at the forefront of NC State’s mind, it came out aggressive in the first inning. Even though it didn’t work out in the first, it stayed true to the strategy set in place when it came back out for the second inning.

Junior shortstop Brand Butterworth started the inning with a single on the second pitch he saw. Freshman designated hitter Alex Sosa singled the very next pitch. Freshman left fielder Luke Nixon laid down a surprise bunt on the third pitch thrown to score Butterworth. Sophomore second Matt Heavner baseman followed up Nixon’s bunt with one of his own on his at-bat’s second pitch.

Just like that NC State had a 1-0 lead with the bases loaded and no outs due to its aggressiveness at the plate. But the Wolfpack was not even close to done yet.

While it took Soles six pitches, he cleared the bases with a line drive down the right field line to blow the game open. Soles was still aggressive in his at-bat, fouling off three pitches before his three-RBI hit. Serrano preferred a quicker route, so he launched the first pitch he saw over the right field wall for a 6-0 lead with no outs.

Despite the Wolfpack jumping all over Smith, Georgia still kept its starter in with the bases loaded and no outs. After leading off the inning, Butterworth came to the plate with the bases full and swung on the first pitch for another run.

Smith was finally taken out of the game after Butterworth’s RBI single, but NC State’s strategy didn’t change. Nixon drove in two on the second pitch he saw and Soles brought in the last two runs on the fourth pitch of his at-bat for an 11-0 Wolfpack lead in the second inning. Unsurprisingly, it was the most hits and runs in an inning of a Super Regional in NC State history and carried the Wolfpack to an 18-1 win in Game 1 of the Athens Super Regional.

“Hitting is contagious,” Cozart said. “We started the game with a quick inning and then the second inning came around and we got two really good bunts down, they found the hole. Just chaos unloaded and then we just started rolling.”

After the game, head coach Elliott Avent said his team’s approach was no different than usual, but it was clear it wanted to attack Georgia’s pitchers early. Later on in his presser, he gave in to that notion a little more.

“We’ve been a team that’s focused on not striking out a lot this year,” Avent said. “Having quality at-bats and being able to move the baseball and knowing when to take and knowing when to work the count and knowing what the inning is setting up as. That’s something you learn from this game and I think our guys have done a great job of that down the stretch.”

Not like the Wolfpack needed it, but graduate right-handed pitcher Sam Highfill put together one of his best starts of the season. “The Mayor” held Georgia’s offense to just four hits, no home runs and one run in six innings. The Bulldogs woke up this morning with 145 home runs – third most in the country — but couldn’t do anything against Highfill.

That included neutralizing the best hitter in the country: Charlie Condon. Condon entered Game 1 leading the NCAA in batting average (.445), home runs (36), slugging percentage (1.036) and OPS (1.602), but came up empty against Highfill.

Highfill is the only pitcher on the Pack’s roster who’s been on a stage like this. In 2021, Highfill went 6.1 innings and gave up three earned runs to National No. 1 seed Arkansas after the Razorbacks had scored 21 the night before. Highfill kept NC State alive in an 8-3 win, with the Wolfpack eventually winning the series and advancing to the College World Series, but what happened after that doesn’t need to be mentioned.

“What [Highfill] has given our baseball program, you can’t say enough about,” Avent said. “He was terrific today against a great offensive lineup and once again a tip of the hat to Sam Highfill.”

If an 11-0 lead didn’t make Highfill comfortable on the mound, his experience in a high-pressure situation worked to his benefit to prevent any sort of chance of a Georgia comeback. And with the win, he moves to 5-1 in postseason games.

“I’d really like to see this group of young men go to the World Series because they deserve it,” Avent said. “They’ve earned it and worked their tails off all year and gotten better.”

With an aggressive offense and a gem from Highfill, NC State is now just one win away from going to its second World Series in four years. First pitch for Game 2 against Georgia is set for noon on Sunday, June 9.