Wolfpack Walks Off Against Notre Dame, Wins Series

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, Luke Nixon ripped a base hit through the right side to drive in No. 22 NC State’s (17-7, 7-4 ACC) winning run against Notre Dame (14-11, 2-9 ACC) Friday evening at Doak Field, 7-6.

The Wolfpack secured its third conference series win of the season, the second within the Atlantic division. The victory also marked State’s fifth over its last six games after a four-game losing streak earlier in the month.

Shane Van Dam (3-0, 4.40 ERA) earned the win after holding the Fighting Irish silent over the final 1-1/3 innings, striking out two batters and yielding just one hit. Caden Spivey (1-1, 9.00 ERA) got saddled with the loss for Notre Dame after giving up two runs on six hits and two walks over 2-1/3 innings despite striking out two Pack batters.

The Irish struck first in the top of the third inning. T.J. Williams led off with a double to right-center field before coming home on a base hit by David Glancy. State tied the game in the bottom half of the frame with Alec Makarewicz driving Chase Nixon home on a groundout to shortstop.

Notre Dame regained the lead in the fourth, bringing two runs home in the inning. Tito Flores doubled to begin the frame. Two batters later, Carson Tinney lined a double down the right-field line to drive Flores in. Then, Estevan Moreno followed suit with yet another double to plate Tinney for the final run allowed by Wolfpack starting pitcher Logan Whitaker.

NC State snatched the lead back in the bottom of the sixth inning. Jacob Cozart led off with an infield base hit, followed by a walk to Eli Serrano, III. Two batters later, Drew Lanphere loaded the bases with a single. Luke Nixon then drilled the first pitch he saw from Bennett Flynn over the right-field wall for a grand slam, his third home run of the season. One inning later, Josh Hogue drove Makarewicz home with a single to extend the lead to three runs.

The Notre Dame offense managed to neutralize the Wolfpack’s lead in the top of the eighth. Back-to-back singles by Jack Penney and Flores put runners on the corners. Jacob Dudan tossed a wild pitch to allow Penney to score. Spence then walked before Tinney bunted the runners to second and third. Moreno then ripped a line drive down the left-field line for a two-run double. Dudan issued a pair of walks before John Miralia and Van Dam were called upon to get out of the jam.

Cozart led off the bottom of the ninth with a single before Hogue reached base with a single of his own two batters later. Lanphere took Spivey’s 0-1 pitch off of his body to load the bases for Luke Nixon who came up with his second big hit of the game with the bags full.

The Wolfpack will look to secure the series sweep Saturday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.