CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After NC State graduate first baseman Garrett Pennington clubbed a hard-hit ball off the left field wall at Truist Field in the seventh inning, he was trying for a double the entire way. But his three trips around the bases before that might have made his legs tired in the process.
The Lenexa, Kan., native was thrown out trying for second, but if there was a time to attempt for a double, that was it. Pennington had three doubles in his first four at-bats, looking to become the first Wolfpack hitter with a quartet of two-baggers in program history.
Though Pennington didn’t make history, the red and white’s bats were alive and well against Virginia Tech.
The Wolfpack clubbed nine extra-base hits — three home runs and six doubles — to race past the Hokies 19-9 in eight innings during NC State’s ACC Tournament opener Wednesday night. The Pack will face Duke in a win-and-advance pool play contest Thursday night in the Queen City.
NC State entered the Virginia Tech game with nothing to lose. If it lost the game, it would still be in contention to advance to the semifinals by beating Duke. But by winning, it improved its RPI standings while also building momentum for the game against the Blue Devils.
Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent was appreciative of his team keeping a solid mindset for the contest.
“We were in a game where it meant something, every game you play in life means something,” Avent said. “I don’t think I’ve played a game where I thought of just going through the motions. Proud of our players for approaching the game that way and playing the game that way.”
NC State’s offense was slow moving to start, but once it found its groove in the third inning, it was smooth sailing from there. The Wolfpack broke the game open in the third frame with a six-run inning, capped by a freshman designated hitter Alex Sosa three-run shot to right field.
That set the tone, and from there the red and white was able to build a 12-1 lead by the top of the sixth. But once the Pack took the 11-run lead, the Hokies were able to cut that deficit in a hurry.
Virginia Tech scored six runs in the home half of the sixth inning off Pack relievers Jaxon Lucas and P.J. Labriola as NC State was saving its usual bullpen arms for its future ACC tournament games. Freshman lefty Ryan Marohn gave the Pack four quality innings with one earned run to go alongside four strikeouts and a walk before the bullpen entered the game.
Though the Hokies started to pull the momentum from the Wolfpack, NC State’s no-quit attitude that allowed the team to win five ranked ACC series this spring kicked in. The Pack scored once in the seventh before selling its lead to 12 runs after plating six more in the eighth.
Sosa, who had a game-best five RBI in the game, thought the Wolfpack’s regular season mentality paid off against the Hokies — even though NC State held a comfortable lead most of the night.
That was the difference and allowed the Pack to run-rule the Hokies.
“Honestly, [we’ve been] going after every team the same,” Sosa said. “Not giving up no matter if we go down or if we take the lead, keep fighting and play every game the same.”
NC State passed its first test in the ACC Tournament with the dominant effort over the Hokies, nearly solidifying its NCAA regional hosting spot next week. And the Pack is not alone in thinking that, either.
Virginia Tech coach John Szefc thought the same.
“They’re one of the best teams we played all year,” Szefc said afterwards. “They’re very comparable to a lot of the other teams in the league. We probably didn’t see their better arms, so I imagine they’re a lot better when those guys are on the mound. … That’s a regional host, I would think.”
NC State hopes Szefc is right, but it has the opportunity to build on its national reputation against Duke with a trip to the ACC semifinals on the line with graduate right-hander Sam Highfill on the mound Thursday night.
The post NC State coasts past Virginia Tech to open Pack’s ACC Tournament stay appeared first on On3.