The NC State baseball team beat Appalachian State 7-3 on Tuesday, April 27, to start its four-game road trip in Boone.
With the win, the Pack (20-13, 12-12 ACC) extended its win streak to four games while the Mountaineers’ (15-21) losing streak was extended to five.
With two out in the top of the first, sophomore catcher Luca Tresh (2-5, RBI) hit a double to finally get a runner on. Junior left fielder Jonny Butler (3-4, 3 RBI, HR) came up as the cleanup hitter and smacked a bomb to right field, scoring Tresh in the process, giving the Wolfpack a 2-0 lead that it carried to the end of the inning.
NC State did not wait long to continue scoring. Junior right fielder Devonte Brown (1-4) hit a single to start the inning and eventually made his way to third. Junior designated hitter Terrell Tatum (1-4, RBI) batted him in to bring the score to 3-0 at the end of the second.
App State scored two runs in the bottom of the third, narrowing NC State’s lead 3-2. The Pack picked up its scoring in the fifth, junior second baseman J.T. Jarrett (2-4, 2B) hit a leadoff double, followed by an out and a walk. Tresh batted Jarrett in and advanced to second on an error to bring the score to 4-2 with two on base. Butler would then hit his third and final RBI of the day with a sac fly; the inning would eventually end 5-2.
The Pack scored again in the sixth due to an App State error, and would score its seventh and final run off a leadoff homer from sophomore center fielder Tyler McDonough (2-4, HR, RBI, BB), extending his on-base streak to 50 games. The Mountaineers put together another run in the bottom of the eighth but stood defeated after too many runs were allowed early in the game.
Freshman pitcher Chris Villaman (7.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 H) started on the bump for the evening, striking out eight batters in seven innings and allowing two runs. He was credited with the win, moving his personal record to 4-2.
The Pack will travel to Winston-Salem to take on Wake Forest in a three-game series this weekend. The series will start Friday, April 30, and end Sunday, May 2. Every game will be broadcast on ACCNX.
