NC State baseball throttled No. 11 Louisville 10-0 for the team’s first ACC series win of the year.

Both squads started the game slow offensively, but the Wolfpack (20-7, 5-6 ACC) turned on the jets in the sixth and seventh innings, scoring nine runs in two innings and leaving no doubt about the final result. The Cardinals (20-6, 3-5 ACC) failed to respond, dropping their second consecutive series.

“We played well today; we played well two games in a row,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “We’re playing with a lot of confidence… We started playing a lot better as soon as [graduate right fielder Trevor] Candelaria got back into the lineup.”

After an inspiring rally the night before, the Wolfpack’s momentum carried over into game two of the series. Junior right-handed pitcher Matt Willadsen started the game hot, retiring his first eight batters faced. For the night, Willadsen threw 99 pitches, striking out four batters and giving up only two hits.

“Matt pitched amazing,” said freshman first baseman Eli Serrano. “He’s pitched good all year. We just haven’t had the run support and the clutch hits, and today we finally got that together.”

Meanwhile, sophomore catcher Jacob Cozart blasted a home run in the first inning to put the Wolfpack on top. However, the rest of the bats came out sluggish, with little success through the next several innings. This set up what appeared to be a tense pitcher’s battle.

Finally, in the fourth inning, the Pack appeared to find its groove at the plate. Candelaria hit a double into deep left field, bringing the crowd to life, and a pair of walks loaded the bases with sophomore shortstop Payton Green up to bat, but a high fly out ended the inning. Stranding batters allowed Louisville to linger, adding pressure on Willadsen to continue his strong night on the mound, which he did.

“[Louisville is] a great team — a lot of tough at-bats today, a lot of their hitters were tough to get out,” Willadsen said. “Playing in the ACC, you’re pretty much playing in the top-25 every weekend. Growing up as a kid, that’s what you want — you always want to play on the big stages.”

In the fifth, the Wolfpack again put a couple runners on base but failed to capitalize. Thanks to a strong outing from Willadsen, the Pack successfully kept its lead. However, the Cardinals nearly scored in the sixth, advancing a runner to third, but like the Pack, Louisville failed to capitalize on a golden opportunity.

After multiple missed opportunities earlier in the game, NC State finally reaped the benefits of getting on base. To begin a string of hits, sophomore left fielder Will Marcy hit a double, giving the Wolfpack some momentum. A couple of at-bats later, sophomore shortstop Payton Green drove in Marcy — the first of four runs in the inning. Then, Serrano hit a two-RBI single up the middle, breaking the game open for the Pack. A throwing error later in the inning then allowed Serrano to score, extending the lead to five.

“If you go up there with confidence, good things happen,” Serrano said. “It showed today; we put up 10 runs and had every clutch hit that you could ask for.”

With a five-run lead to start the seventh, Avent called it a day for Willadsen, allowing junior right-handed pitcher Justin Lawson to take the mound, and the reliever delivered, going three up, three down to close out the frame. The Pack then poured it on in the bottom of the seventh, essentially wiping away any chance of a Cardinal comeback.

A home run by Candelaria opened the explosive inning. After sophomore left fielder Will Marcy reached base, junior pinch hitter Carter Trice hit a double, giving the Pack a pair of runners in scoring position. Sophomore shortstop Payton Green extended the lead with a two-RBI single, putting the Pack up by eight. Despite making a pitching change, Louisville gave up two more runs before the end of the frame, making the score 10-0.

The Wolfpack got caught off guard to open the eighth inning when an error allowed the Cardinals’ batter to reach standard on what should have been a single. The Pack refocused and earned a double play on the next at-bat and maintained the shutout through the rest of the inning.

The bats cooled off for NC State in the eighth, with the Pack hitting just one single. However, the red-and-white remained sharp on the mound in the final inning. Lawson was unfazed despite a Louisville double and iced off the Cardinals with no damage done to the scoreboard. The result was NC State’s first conference series win, much to the delight of the home crowd.

“Every day you go out there and people are supporting you out there,” Serrano said. “It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever been a part of, that’s for sure.”

The Wolfpack will look to sweep the Cardinals and even its ACC record on Sunday, April 2, at 12 p.m. The matchup will be televised on ESPNews, and following the game, Wolfpack fans can participate in Meet the Pack Day.