CHARLOTTE, N.C. – No. 15 NC State baseball (30-16) will compete for an Atlantic Coast Championship title Sunday afternoon at Truist Field in Charlotte, N.C., thanks to an 8-1 win over Georgia Tech (29-23) on Saturday evening in the semifinals.
This will be the Wolfpack’s first tournament final appearance since 2015 as it seeks its first title since 1992.
J.T. Jarrett provided the opening scoring for the Wolfpack in the second inning thanks to his two-out bases-clearing double down the left field line. Terrell Tatum, Devonte Brown and Luca Tresh loaded the bases up on a pair of walks and double, respectively, and then Jarrett delivered the clutch hit.
Tech got on the board in the third thanks to an RBI groundout to first with runners in scoring position, but Tresh led off the fourth with his 12th home run of the season to left field to give the Pack its three-run lead back.
Tresh led the Pack’s offense with a 2-for-4 outing in the contest while six other players tallied a hit. Four of the team’s eight hits on the night were for extra bases.
After three scoreless innings, Jose Torres used an RBI single with Jonny Butler in scoring position in the eighth to make it 5-1. In the ninth, Vojtech Mensik turned a walk into a run with a pair of stolen bases and error, and Tyler McDonough hit a two-run shot to left field for his team-leading 14th homer of the year.
Starting pitcher Sam Highfill (6-2) went 6.1 strong innings and surrendered just one earned run on four hits, walked three and fanned five batters. Evan Justice tallied his ninth save of the season as he tossed 2.2 hitless innings, which is tied for the most among all relievers in the ACC.
First pitch for the title game is set for 12 p.m., as the game will be broadcast on ESPN2 and there will be a free audio stream on WKNC 88.1 and the TuneIn App.