NC State baseball came from behind again Sunday afternoon at Doak Field to beat Virginia 8-7, using a four-run seventh inning capped by a go-ahead, two-run moonshot to right field from the bat of freshman center fielder Tyler McDonough to earn the series win.
The Wolfpack (27-2, 10-2 ACC) used seven pitchers to get through the ballgame but didn’t give up a run after the Cavaliers (16-12, 6-6 ACC) scored four in the top of the seventh to take the lead. Junior shortstop Will Wilson got back on track and collected three doubles and two RBIs after going 2 for 9 in the first two games.
“I’m just proud of the way they came back,” head coach Elliot Avent said. “This team just doesn’t quit, I’m telling you, it’s just amazing what they have done.”
NC State jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead early, loading the bases with no outs in the second inning. UVa would hold the Pack to just one run, thanks to a RBI sac fly by sophomore second baseman David Vazquez and a double play.
Feeney earned the start in the rubber match for the Pack, his first since 2017 after sitting out last year with an injury. A leadoff single and a subsequent stolen base moved the Virginia runner into scoring position in the fourth inning. Sitting at 55 pitches, his highest total all season, Feeney was removed after 3.1 innings in favor of sophomore left-hander Evan Justice.
Justice entered, surrendering a double that allowed UVa to score on an error to give the Cavaliers a couple of runs and the 2-1 lead, but escaped the inning without further damage.
The Pack would even the game with a single by Vazquez to tie the game at two in the next half inning, but UVa quickly relinquished the lead the very next frame. This time, a home run off the bat of Cavalier shortstop and leadoff man Tanner Morris easily cleared the center-field wall to put UVa back on top at 3-2 in the fifth.
In a game of lead changes and runs being traded back and forth, it was only fitting that NC State would tie it up. Freshman third baseman Vojtech Mensik doubled to lead off the fifth and a single advanced him to third. He’d end up scoring to tie the game back up, and the Pack would take a 4-3 lead two batters later on a wild pitch.
Freshman right-hander Baker Nelson threw a clean sixth inning, but a flurry of hits loaded the bases in the seventh and a ground-rule double scored two to put Virginia in the lead once again. Sophomore left-hander Nick Swiney entered to stop the bleeding for the Wolfpack, but a line-drive single to center plated two more to give the Cavaliers its largest advantage of the day at 7-4.
“This team doesn’t really panic very much,” Wilson said. “Like [Avent] said, he talked in the locker room, we’ve had a lot of come-from-behind wins, one-run wins this year. It’s just part of this ball club, you trust each other, you play for each other then something good is going to happen there.”
Not going away quietly, sophomore left fielder Jonny Butler followed up Saturday’s home run with a leadoff triple to start the seventh. Virginia’s Chesdin Harrington entered on the mound to put out the fire but to no avail.
A Wilson double drove in Butler to cut the UVa lead to two runs and an Edwards base hit drove in Wilson to cut the lead to one. McDonough proceeded to launch a no-doubt, go-ahead home run to right field, changing the lead once again and putting the Wolfpack up 8-7.
“With this club, we don’t really worry at all,” McDonough said. “It’s a new game. Keep the energy up and see what happens .”
Bienlien tossed a scoreless eighth inning in relief to preserve the lead. Junior pitcher Kent Klyman started the ninth to close it out, but a leadoff walk, a sac bunt and a wild pitch put the tying run on third.
With the game on the line, redshirt freshman Cameron Cotter entered and closed out the game on a mere seven pitches, earning the first save of his career and sealing the 8-7 win and series for the Wolfpack.
“They have a lot of belief in each other,” Avent said. “This team’s been very amazing, very resilient and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
The victory over the Cavaliers was the 11th one-run affair the Pack has won this season and the 13th come-from-behind win.
NC State baseball will take to the diamond in Charlotte when it takes on South Carolina at BB&T Ballpark on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.