NC State Triumphs Over Bryant, 9-2, to Stay in Raleigh Regional Winners Bracket…
The Wolfpack are scheduled to face South Carolina today at 6:00 pm.
NC State’s offense took a while to ignite, but a 3-run third inning and a 4-run sixth inning led them to victory in their opening game of the Raleigh Regional on Friday. This win sets up a match against second-seeded South Carolina on Saturday evening.
Bryant initially took the lead with a solo home run by Jackson Phinney in the second inning. However, NC State’s pitcher, Sam Highfill, remained strong on the mound until the seventh inning.
While Highfill kept Bryant’s offense quiet, NC State started scoring. After getting multiple runners on base in the first two innings, the Wolfpack finally broke through in the third inning. Garrett Pennington began with a double, followed by Alec Makarewicz’s double to tie the game at 1-1. Brandon Butterworth then hit a single to drive in another run, followed by Butterworth stealing second, advancing on an Alex Sosa double, and scoring on a Luke Nixon sacrifice bunt to make it 3-1.
Highfill faced minimal batters from the third to sixth innings, aided by double plays in the fourth and fifth innings. In the sixth, Luke Nixon walked, was bunted over by Matt Heavner, and brought home by Noah Soles’ home run. Pennington and Makarewicz added more runs with doubles and singles, increasing the lead to 7-1.
Bryant managed to score another run with back-to-back doubles in the seventh, ending Highfill’s night. Highfill’s final stats were 6.0 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts on 75 pitches. Jacob Dudan then pitched three scoreless, hitless innings with 6 strikeouts to secure the win.
NC State added two more runs in the eighth inning, with Makarewicz doubling in Serrano and a walk by Sosa bringing in the final run. Multiple NC State players had multi-hit games, including Makarewicz (4-for-5, 3 doubles, 3 RBIs), Pennington (2-for-4, 2 doubles), and Butterworth (2-for-5, 2 RBIs). Other contributors included Soles (home run), Serrano, Sosa, and Cozart.
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