NC State pounds UVA, 13-5, to take series

Big series win for the Pack.

After mostly being stifled on Saturday, NC State’s offense got back to cookin’ on Sunday, leading the Wolfpack to yet another series victory over a ranked ACC opponent.

State smacked three home runs on the afternoon, which accounted for eight of the team’s runs. Brandon Butterworth got the scoring started with a three-run shot in the first. After Virginia bounced back to take a 4-3 lead, NC State reclaimed the advantage for good with a four-run fourth.

State held a 7-5 lead in the sixth when Garrett Pennington clobbered a tape-measure shot over the batter’s eye in center field.

That ball might still be flying, who knows. Pennington had an outstanding weekend, with a homer in each game, and he was 3-4 with four runs scored in the finale. It’s fun watching that man tattoo the ball.

Luke Nixon closed out the scoring with a three-run shot in the eighth.

Logan Whitaker made his first start in a while and was able to settle down after the four-run second, giving the Pack some needed length. He took the game into the fifth, and was replaced by Cooper Consiglio, who stepped up big. Consiglio pitched 4-1/3 innings of one-hit ball to close out the game, needing just 49 pitches to do so. Hell of a job right there.

NC State has an impressive collection of series wins in league play—UNC, Duke, Clemson, and now UVA—and sits at No. 20 in the RPI. It’ll have a chance to add another next weekend, as it closes the regular season with Wake Forest.