Comeback comes up short. pic.twitter.com/cSBsvpfnse

— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 7, 2024

Ouch

The NC State baseball team's rally at Louisville came up short as the Wolfpack fell 7-6 to the Cardinals at Jim Patterson Stadium.

The Cardinals (20-11, 6-6 ACC) erased NC State's early 1-0 lead with seven runs over a three-inning span from the second to the fourth. Louisville plated three runs in the second to take a 3-1 lead before stretching its advantage to 7-1 with one run in the third and three more runs in the fourth.

Garrett Pennington's two-run home run trimmed the Wolfpack's deficit to 7-3 in the fifth. Pennington's blast marked his ninth of the season and his eighth in ACC play.

NC State (18-11, 8-7 ACC) cut Louisville's lead to 7-4 behind Chase Nixon's RBI groundout in the top of the sixth. Pennington then crushed his second homer of the afternoon to trim the Wolfpack's deficit to one at 7-5 in the top of the seventh. Pennington's two-homer effort was his third of the season.

The Wolfpack's rally in the seventh inning continued when Josh Hogue singled through the right side, driving home Alec Makarewicz to make it a one-run ballgame at 7-6. NC State put the tying run on second base with two outs in the eighth after back-to-back singles from Drew Lanphere and Luke Nixon before Louisville closer Tucker Biven ended the threat with a strikeout.

Biven remained in the game in the ninth and retired the side in order to pick up his second save of the weekend. Pennington lifted a towering fly ball that backed Louisville left fielder JT Benson to the warning track. Benson snared the deep fly ball for the first out before another flyout and a groundout ended the game.

Bullpen efforts from Jacob Dudan, Cooper Consiglio and Derrick Smith kept the Wolfpack within striking distance, allowing just two combined runs over five innings of relief work. Consiglio and Smith both posted scoreless outings with three combined strikeouts and no walks.

Brandon Butterworth needed just one pitch to put NC State ahead early, driving Carson Liggett's first offering over the left-field wall to make it 1-0 Wolfpack. Butterworth's leadoff homer marked the first time an NC State batter homered on the first pitch of the game since Devonte Brown on April 24, 2022, at Louisville. Butterworth's leadoff homer also marked the first leadoff homer in the top of the first for NC State since Brown on May 10, 2022, at UNCW.

Left-handed starting pitcher Ryan Marohn suffered the loss, dropping to 2-2 on the season. Louisville reliever Riley Phillips (2-2) earned the win.

UP NEXT
NC State's seven-game road trip continues on Tuesday as the Wolfpack travels to UNCW for a midweek matchup. Tuesday's game in Wilmington is set for 6 p.m. and will stream live on FloBaseball.

https://gopack.com/news/2024/4/7/baseball-pack9s-comeback-falls-short-in-7-6-defeat-at-louisville