NC State Downs Duke in Extra Innings
DURHAM, N.C. – Early on, it didn’t appear NC State would have to win Tuesday night’s Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship game the hard way. But after sweating out a Duke comeback from a six-run deficit and having to work through extra innings to secure an 8-7 victory, the Wolfpack didn’t complain.
Cannon Peebles’ RBI single in the top of the 11th inning proved the difference as NC State finally shook off the relentless Blue Devils and escaped Durham Bulls Athletic Park with hopes of advancing still intact. The Wolfpack (35-18) will face fourth-seeded Miami (37-18) in Thursday’s 7 p.m. Pool D game with a chance to reach Saturday’s semifinal round. Duke (35-20) will face the Hurricanes on Friday night.
Fueled by LuJames’ Groover III’s two-run homer in the top of the first and a pair of run-scoring doubles by Kalae Harrison, the Wolfpack built a 7-1 lead midway through the second inning. But NC State’s bats then abruptly went silent, as Duke relievers Jason White, Charlies Beilenson and Fran Oschell III combined to hold the Wolfpack hitless over the next 6.2 innings. The Blue Devil trio was so effective, Duke’s outfielders did not even have to make a play during the stretch.
And the Blue Devils began to chip away.
Travis Albright delivered a two-run single in the top of the fourth inning, and then plated another run with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth. An error by Wolfpack second baseman Matt Heavner prolonged the bottom of the seventh, and Alex Stone responded with another RBI single that made it a 7-5 game. Each of Duke’s first five runs came with two outs.
The Blue Devils threw yet another scare into the sizeable Wolfpack cheering contingent in the bottom of the eighth, but reliever Dominic Fritton met the challenge to keep NC State ahead.
After a long fly ball to left field by Devin Obee that threatened to become a game-tying home run hooked just foul, Fritton struck out the Blue Devil pinch hitter on a 3-2 pitch for the second out of the inning. Then, after hitting Damon Lux with a pitch and intentionally walking Alex Mooney to load the bases, Fritton caught Andrew Fischer looking on another 3-2 pitch to end the inning and keep the Wolfpack two runs ahead.
But Duke kept coming. After Alex Stone singled with one out in the bottom of the ninth, MJ Metz launched an 0-1 offering from Fritton for an opposite-field home run to right field that tied the score at 7-7.
But the Wolfpack averted further damage as the tide turned back in its favor. Jacob Cozart led off the 10th inning with a single, finally breaking the hitless drought. Peebles’ winning RBI single in the 11th came after Noah Soles led off the inning with a base hit and move to second and third on a pair of wild pitches.
Logan Whitaker (5-3) – a regular starter in the Wolfpack rotation and the reigning ACC Pitcher of the Week – worked a hitless 10th and 11th inning to pick up the win. Jimmy Romano (1-1), the seventh of eight Duke pitchers to see action Tuesday night, took the loss.
Interestingly, the tournament meeting was the first of 2023 between the rival ACC schools, who did not face one another during the regular season.