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The sixth-ranked NC State baseball team tallied a season-high 15 hits and turned four double plays on defense to earn an 8-2 road win against UNCG Wednesday afternoon at UNCG Baseball Stadium. The Wolfpack scored two runs in the first and two in the sixth and eighth innings to seal the victory.
NC State moves to 5-2 on the season, while UNCG falls to 2-6. The Pack's 15 hits in the contest topped its previous season high of 14, set against Austin Peay in the home opener. NC State was also stellar on defense, turning four inning-ending double plays.
The Wolfpack started fast in the contest, as the squad scored two runs on four hits in the top of the first. Brock Deatherage started the game with a single up the middle and Josh McLain followed with a double to right field, putting runners at second and third base with nobody out.
Will Wilson stepped to the plate two batters later and ripped a one-out single past the UNCG shortstop to score Deatherage and McLain to give NC State an early 2-0 lead.
The Spartans countered in the bottom of the inning with a run to trim the Wolfpack advantage to 2-1. Ben Spitznagel opened the UNCG first with a double to right field and Andrew Moritz drove him in with a single to center field.
UNCG knotted the score at two in the bottom of the fourth, when JoJo Underwood stole home on the throw back to the pitcher from the catcher. The Spartans looked to take the lead with a single to right field a batter later, but Deatherage fired a strike to the plate to throw out the runner trying to score from second base, ending the inning.
NC State regained the lead with three runs in the sixth to take a 5-2 lead. Brad Debo opened the inning with a single up the middle and moved over to second base on a single by Shane Shepard. Evan Mendoza followed with a base hit through the right side, loading the bases with one out.
Jack Conley reached on a fielder's choice to the shortstop, as Mendoza was cut down at second but Debo scored from third base and Shepard scored from second base thanks to a throwing error by the UNCG second baseman.
Deatherage tripled down the right field line to plate Conley to push the NC State lead to 5-2. The Burlington, N.C., native notched the Wolfpack's first triple of the 2017 season.
The Pack added three insurance runs in the eighth after an RBI groundout by Mendoza, RBI double to left field by Deatherage and an RBI double to right field by McLain to stretch the lead to 8-2.
NC State pitchers forced UNCG to ground into a 6-4-3 (shortstop to second base to first base) double play to end the eighth and induced the same result in the ninth inning to clinch the win.