Jackets Sink Pack9's ACC Hopes with Powerful Innings

Baseball

ATLANTA, GA - The hopes of an undefeated ACC start for No. 13 NC State took a major hit on Friday as the Wolfpack baseball team fell 8-5 to Georgia Tech at Russ Chandler Stadium.

The Pack9 seemed to be cruising early, riding a stellar start from Sam Highfill on the mound. The junior right-hander pounded the strike zone over the first 4.2 innings, allowing just one run on two hits while keeping the high-powered Yellow Jackets offense largely in check.

NC State grabbed an early 2-1 lead, but as has so often been the case in baseball, the game turned on a couple of big swings of the bat in the fifth inning. With two outs, Georgia Tech’s Carson Kerce tied the game with a solo home run. After a walk, star freshman Drew Burress then launched a two-run shot to put the home team up 4-2 just like that.

“Sam was rolling there for the first few innings, really attacking hitters and getting ahead in counts,” said NC State head coach Elliott Avent. “Then they got a couple guys on and Kerce and Burress didn’t miss their pitches. That’s the kind of damage this Jackets lineup can do in a hurry.”

Though the Wolfpack stranded a pair of runners in the sixth, the floodgates had already opened for Georgia Tech’s offense. Former NC State infielder Payton Green greeted reliever Hollis Fanning with a homer on his second pitch of the afternoon before the Yellow Jackets tacked on two more runs to push the lead to 8-2.

From there, Georgia Tech starter Camron Hill settled in, blanking the potent NC State lineup over the next two frames to protect the sizable cushion. The Wolfpack made things interesting with a 9th inning rally, scoring twice and loading the bases with nobody out, but could get no closer than the 8-5 final margin.

“We just didn’t get enough going offensively early on and left too many guys on base,” Avent said. “You can’t let a team as talented as the Jackets hang around like that and expect to play from behind successfully. We’ve got to regroup and get after it tomorrow.”

NC State will look to even the series on Saturday when Logan Whitaker takes the mound against Georgia Tech’s Aedan Finateri in the 4 p.m. contest.