NC State blast Virginia Tech in ACC Tournament, 19-9

Wolfpack take on Duke on Thursday night in what is essentially a quarterfinal game

With Virginia Tech having lost to Duke on Tuesday night, NC State didn’t need to win on Wednesday night against the Hokies… but they did anyways. In a game that seemingly lasted forever, the Wolfpack’s bats proved large in a 19-9 win in the ACC Tournament opener for the Pack.

NC State is set to face Duke on Thursday night at 7:00pm in the Pool C championship game with right to advance to the ACC Tournament semifinals on the line.

As you could guess from that final score, there was a lot of offense in this one. State’s lineup pounded out 20 hits on the night with six guys notching multi-hit efforts. Garrett Pennington (4-for-5, 3 2B, 4 R, 2 RBI, BB), Alec Makarewicz (4-for-4, 2B, 4 R, 4 RBI, 2 BB), Eli Serrano (3-for-5, HR, 4 R, 2 RBI, BB), Brandon Butterworth (3-for-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB), Alex Sosa (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, 5 RBI, 2 BB), and Jacob Cozart (2-for-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI, BB) all had huge nights. Luke Nixon (1-for-5, R, HBP) and Noah Soles (1-for-4, 2B, R, BB) also reached base safely multiple times.

The Pack jumped out to a 10-0 lead thanks to a 6-run 3rd inning and a 4-run 4th. Virginia Tech proved pesky, including a 6-run 6th inning to temporarily make things a bit iffy – even if it only cut State’s lead in half at the time. A 6-run 8th inning from the Pack put things away for good and the game ended an inning early due to run-rule restrictions.

On the mound, Ryan Marohn gave the pack a solid start to allow plenty of time for the bats to give the pitching staff all the cushion needed for the win. Marohn’s final line: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.

Here, enjoy some highlights: