Takeaways From NC State's Epic Walk-Off Moment

RALEIGH — NC State appeared to be steaming with relative ease toward a sweep of the visiting Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but things can unravel quickly on a baseball diamond. With a four-run lead heading into the top of the ninth inning, the Wolfpack bullpen completely collapsed, blowing the lead and forcing the offense to try to pick up the pieces.

Luckily for the Pack, the top of the order came up in the bottom half of the inning and proved to be clutch. Sophomore outfielder Ty Head played the role of hero, serving a single to right-center field, which scored two runs to win the game for NC State, 7-6. It had the feel of a turning point in the season for the Wolfpack.

The bullpen issues

Got all of that one! Bino Watters with a solo shot!#GoIrish ☘️ pic.twitter.com/cUoiNqwRPm
— Notre Dame Baseball (@NDBaseball) April 4, 2026

After seven-plus strong innings for Jacob Dudan, the talented NC State righty, head coach Elliott Avent turned to his exhausted and struggling bullpen to try to get the Wolfpack over the hump against the Fighting Irish. Senior righty Danny Heintz finished off the eighth for Dudan and had the trust of his coach to finish the job.

"Danny comes in with a big strikeout in the eighth with good stuff," Avent said. "Had a good slider, good fastball and gets the first guy (Bino Watters) to 3-2 and the guy gets one out to left field. Good hitter, good player. Then (Heintz) walks the guy."

Luke Hemric walks off the field during 7-3 win over Winthrop | Courtesy of NC State Athletics

Freshman lefty Luke Hemric was the next out of the bullpen for Avent. He didn't record an out, but got unlucky with what would've been a broken bat single in the majors, but aluminum bats don't usually break. Anderson Nance became the third pitcher to enter the game, riding just one day off after a lengthy outing in the Thursday game. He was the first arm to record an out in the inning.

Avent expressed some regret in not letting Hemric handle the entire ninth inning, but there was nothing he could do in hindsight. The veteran coach did reveal that lefty Cooper Consiglio lobbied for an opportunity in the final inning, but Avent refused to pitch him after he had extended work in Friday's win over Notre Dame. By the end of the inning, Collins Black walked off the mound with the Pack trailing by one run after suffering a complete and total meltdown.

The heroes arrive

❌ Brandon Logan says “NOPE!” ❌

The freshman with a huge diving catch in center field!#GoIrish ☘️ pic.twitter.com/NhH9msgFjd
— Notre Dame Baseball (@NDBaseball) April 4, 2026

Even after the blown lead, the Wolfpack still felt like a more confident group. The improved situational hitting in the first two games of the series, coupled with the fact that it only trailed by one run, meant NC State was still very much in the fight. It didn't hurt that the top of the order came up either, even though Rett Johnson's hard-hit ball couldn't get by Notre Dame center fielder Brandon Logan. That set up heroics from Luke Nixon, Chris McHugh and most importantly, Ty Head.

"That should've done it right there, you know what I'm saying?" Avent said. "Luke Nixon battled like he always does... He got the base hit with two strikes. McHugh gets two strikes and then hits the ball down the right-field line."

A WOLFPACK WALKOFF SWEEP!! pic.twitter.com/nvjxoQRyaK
— NC State Baseball (@NCStateBaseball) April 4, 2026

The aforementioned hits by Avent from Nixon and McHugh brought Head to the plate. He also ended up with a two-strike count, but battled in the at-bat, just waiting for his moment. It finally came and he fired his single into right field, bringing McHugh and Nixon home to win the game. Catharsis arrived for the Wolfpack.

"It's so good just to help the team win," Head said. "I mean, this is all we want to do and this is all we care about. Just doing that for the team really helped."