NC State baseball weekend recap: Pack swept in shortened series

The seventh inning stretch was not kind to NC State baseball Sunday. In a shortened series reduced to a Sunday doubleheader due to rain in Winston-Salem on Friday and Saturday, the Pack was swept by No. 2 Wake Forest.

Both games were decided by the seventh inning. NC State had a 4-3 lead in game one but surrendered 3 runs in the bottom half of that frame that made the difference in a 6-4 Demon Deacons win. The first two of those runs were a bases loaded walk and a passed ball that was originally called out and then overturned on review.

Game two was tied 3-3 going into the bottom of the seventh when Wake Forest once again scored 3 runs that was the difference. The last two scored when NC State shortstop Payton Green dropped a pop up with two outs.

Subscribe to The Wolfpacker today with our limited-time $29.99 deal for premium access until 8/31/23

At The Plate For NC State Baseball

NC State junior third baseman LuJames Groover had a big doubleheader for the Pack. He went a combined 5 for 8 at the plate with a double, a run scored and run batted in (RBI).

Sophomore designated hitter/outfielder Chase Nixon hit the first homer of the season allowed by Wake Forest ace and projected first round MLB Draft pick Rhett Lowder.

On The Mound

NC State baseball allowed 12 runs over the double header, but five were unearned.

NC State junior right hander Sam Highfill took the loss in game one after all three runs in the seventh were attached to him, but only one was earned. Similarly, typical Sunday starter freshman lefty Dominic Fritton was charged with the three runs in game two, but just one was earned.

ACC Standings And Weekend Results

Atlantic Division

Team	Overall Record	Conference Record
Wake Forest	28-4	12-2
Louisville	24-7	7-5
LouisvilleBoston College	21-9	8-7
Notre Dame	17-12	7-8
NC State	20-11	5-9
Clemson	19-14	4-8
Florida State	13-18	4-11

Coastal Division

Team	Overall Record	Conference Record
Virginia	28-4	11-4
North Carolina	22-10	8-5
Miami	20-12	8-7
Duke	20-11	7-7
Georgia Tech	19-13	7-8
Pittsburgh	14-15	5-8
Virginia Tech	18-11	5-9

Weekend Series Results:

Wake Forest 2, NC State 0

Notre Dame 2, Pittsburgh 1

North Carolina 2, Georgia Tech 1

Louisville 3, Boston College 0

Clemson 2, Florida State 1

Virginia 3, Miami 0

Virginia Tech 1, Duke 1

NC State Baseball In The Polls

USA Today Sports baseball coaches: Unranked (previously 25th)

Collegiate Baseball: Unranked (previously unranked)

Perfect Game: Unranked (previously unranked)

D1Baseball.com: Unranked (previously unranked)

Baseball America: Unranked (previously unranked)

NCBWA: Not updated (previously 30th)

Midweek Action Ahead For NC State Baseball

NC State baseball currently has the No. 3 strength of schedule according to the RPI. That should continue to be the case with a challenging home game against UNC Wilmington Tuesday at 6 p.m. The game can been seen online on ACC Network extra.

Fifth-year senior righty Baker Nelson will get the start.

The two teams played a thriller in Wilmington on March 21 in a lengthy 10-inning game that took over four hours to complete.

The Pack had leads of 2-0 and 4-2 before UNCW tied it up each time and then broke through with 2 runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 6-4 advantage on NC State. In the top of the seventh, the Wolfpack used small ball and crossed four runs across home plate, all with two outs, to retake an 8-6 lead.

A two-out, two-run single for UNC Wilmington in the bottom of the ninth tied the game, but NC State answered with 3 runs in the top of the 10th, once again all with two outs. Reliever Justin Lawson, who blew the save in the ninth, bounced back to to strike out the side after giving up a leadoff single in the bottom half of the 10th.

Since then, UNCW has gone 6-3 to improve to 19-11 overall, and the Seahawks are second in the Colonial Athletic Association standings at 10-4, a game behind Elon. UNC Wilmington split a doubleheader with Elon this past weekend.