Cards deal Pack a loss in series opener

NC State entered the seventh inning with a three-run lead but Louisville scored nine unanswered to take the series opener.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – No. 23 NC State baseball (24-12, 10-8 ACC) was unable to hold off a late nine-run surge from No. 11 Louisville (26-11, 10-6 ACC) on Friday night in the series opener at Jim Patterson Stadium, suffering an 11-4 loss.

The result snapped a six-game win streak for the Wolfpack.

The Cardinals plated the first run of the game when Cameron Masterman scored on Christian Knapczyk’s RBI single to right field after he led off the frame with a triple to left center.

In the third, Tommy White blasted his 15th home run of the season to left field to give the Pack a 3-1 lead after Devonte Brown and LuJames Groover tallied base hits prior to his at bat.

In his next at bat, which came in the fifth inning, White belted his second homer of the night and 16th of the year to left center to extend the Pack’s lead to 4-1. It was his fourth multi-homer game of the season.

Louisville surged back in the seventh with nine runs on five hits and two errors to take a 10-4 lead, and then a bases-loaded walk in the eighth tacked on an additional run. In the final two innings the Cards held the Pack to just two base runners to complete the comeback victory.

White led the offense with a 4-for-5 outing and was responsible for all four runs batted in. Noah Soles (2-for-4) continued his tear at the plate as he has tallied 24 hits in the month of April.

Additionally, Brown went 2-for-4 on the night to contribute to the team’s 11 hits in the contest while Groover extended his hit streak to 23 games and his reached base streak to 26.

Starting pitcher Logan Whitaker had a strong night on the bump, going a career-long six innings and surrendering three runs on three hits while matching his career high in strikeouts with seven.