WOLFPACK TO OMAHA! NC State tops Georgia, 8-5, to advance to College World Series

NC State wins the Athens Super Regional to advance to CWS for second time in the last four years

NC State used four home runs, a big start from Logan Whitaker, and some huge outs down the stretch from Jacob Dudan and Derrick Smith to top Georgia in the deciding game of the 2024 Athens Super Regional. The win sends the Wolfpack to the College World Series for the second time in the last four years.

It looked as though NC State would strike first when Eli Serrano led off the game with a deep drive to the right-center gap, but the ball hit just off the top of the wall and resulted in a double. Unfortunately, the Wolfpack were not able to push a run across the in the inning and it went to the bottom half of the frame still scoreless. Logan Whitaker kept it there in the bottom half of the frame with a 1-2-3 inning including a pair of strikeouts.

The Wolfpack put two men on in the 2nd on a pair of singles from Alex Sosa and Matt Heavner, but again State was left scoreless. Georgia, on the other hand, made the most of their first hit of the game as Tre Phelps lifted a 1-2 pitch just over the wall in center field for a 2-run home run, driving in himself and Dylan Goldstein, who had walked to open the inning.

Thankfully the Pack were quick to respond. Serrano worked a full count to start the 3rd before singling to left center. Garrett Pennington then jumped on the first pitch he saw from Georgia starter Zach Harris for a 424-foot blast over the trees in center field to tie the game.

The Pack would put two more on in the inning on another pair of singles, one from Jacob Cozart and another from Sosa, but again were unable to push across anymore runs. That appeared to be a common theme in the game and one that might come back to bite State.

Whitaker put up another 1-2-3 frame in the bottom of the 3rd, striking out two in the inning including an inning-ending K of Golden Spikes Award finalist Charlie Condon.

In the 4th, State took their first lead of the game. Heavner doubled to left field on the first pitch of the inning and Noah Soles followed with a five-pitch walk. Serrano laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. Heavner then scored on a passed ball to put State ahead 3-2 before Alek Makarewicz poked a two-out RBI single through the left side for a 4-2 State advantage.

Georgia notched a two-out single in the bottom of the 4th, but Whitaker kept them from threatening by ending the inning with yet another strikeout, this one of the looking variety.

NC State yet again put a pair of runners on the in the 5th via singles from Butterworth and Luke Nixon, but were – again – unable to plate the runners.

The bottom of the 5th saw Georgia put up a big opportunity for a big inning. Clayton Chadwick doubled to start the inning and Kolby Branch singled to put runners on the corners with one out. Whitaker then hit Corey Collins to load the bases with still just one out and signal the end of his day. Jacob Dudan came on in the high pressure situation and proceeded to strike out Condon swinging on four pitches and then induce a weak groundout on the eighth pitch of the at-bat to Slate Alford to end the threat without a single Bulldogs runner crossing the plate.

Serrano pushed the Pack lead to three with one swing of the bat, clearing the Foley Field scoreboard on the first pitch of the 6th inning.

That run was big as Georgia would plate one of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Phelps and Dillon Carter notched back-to-back opposite field one-out singles. Fernando Gonzalez hit a high fly ball down the right field line that Soles made a fantastic diving catch on. It ended up as a sacrifice fly to score Phelps and make it a 5-3 game, but if Soles doesn’t make that catch it likely turns into a big inning for Georgia.

Instead, Dudan struck out Branch to end the inning.

As was the case all night, the Pack had an answer for the little bit of momentum that Georgia mustered. This time, Sosa hit one of the longest home runs you’ll see to put the lead back up to a three-run advantage.

Dudan ran into trouble to start the bottom of the 7th, walking Collins and plunking Condon on a first-pitch slider. Derrick Smith came in to try and extinguish the rally. The first pitch out of Smith’s hand was driven deep to center field by Alford, but Serrano made a beautiful running catch just before crashing into the wall to secure the first out of the inning.

Smith then induced a weak groundout to first base by Goldstein to score Collins, who had advanced to third on the Alford flyout. With the tying run at the plate, Phelps then fouled out to Soles down the right field line to leave it at a 6-4 Wolfpack lead heading into the 8th inning.

After two quick outs, Pennington lined a double down into the left field corner. That was a huge baserunner as Makarewicz then cleared the green trees in right center on a 1-0 hanger of a breaking ball.

NC State went down in order in the top of the 9th and Condon got Georgia going with a one-out opposite field solo home run in the bottom of the 9th to make it an 8-5 game. Smith began to wear down, missing arm side on most pitches and issuing a walk to Alford. He batlled back from a 3-0 count to Goldstein to get a pop up to Heavner at second base. Phelps then swung at the first pitch of the last at-bat of Georgia’s season to loft a fly ball to centerfield and send NC State to the College World Series in Omaha.

The Serrano fist pump with the ball still in the air is amazing.

The win sends NC State to the College World Series for the fourth time in program history and the third time in the last 11 seasons. For a Wolfpack team that looked pretty dead in the water in mid-April, this has been quite the turnaround and is a testament to the fortitude of the players and coaches. The Pack are 15-8 in games against Top 15 teams team this year.

Serrano (3-for-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI, sac bunt), Pennington (2-for-5, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI), Makarewicz (2-for-5, HR, R, 3 RBI), Sosa (3-for-5, HR, R, RBI), and Heavner (2-for-4, 2B, R) each put up multi-hit efforts in the game in leading the Pack to victory. Every NC State hitter reached base safely in the game.

Whitaker (4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, 7 K) was outstanding in his start, keeping the explosive Bulldogs offense at bay and coming up with huge pitches when he needed them most. Whitaker’s best two starts of the year have come in NCAA Tournament play, which is about all you can possibly ask for. Dudan (1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) didn’t have the best line, but his working out of the 6th inning jam he inherited was huge; he earned the win, his 4th of the season. After relatively cruising through his first six outs, Smith (3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) gutted out the final three outs to earn his 8th save of the year.

The 2024 College World Series will start on Friday, June 14th. NC State’s opener in Omaha will be at 1:00pm on Saturday, June 15th, against Kentucky. The other two teams on the Wolfpack’s side of the bracket are Texas A&M and Florida.