Saturday 13 May 2017

NC State holds on, again, to beat Pitt

It’s the Pack 9’s first road series win of the season.

Stephen Pitarra and Brad Debo each had three hits, and NC State once again held on to a big lead late, however tenuously, to beat Pitt. The 8-6 win gave the Pack their fifth consecutive ACC win, evening their league record at 13-13, and they’ve won 10 of 11 overall to reach 30 wins on the season.

State held an 8-2 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth, when starter Brian Brown ran out of gas. Brown allowed the first two Pitt batters to reach and a then a Joe Dunand error helped open the flood gates for a four-run inning. Little-used righty Tim Naughton spelled Brown and allowed a couple of inherited runners to score on a groundout and a double, but, considering the no-out mess he inherited, did a pretty good job of escaping with the lead.

For the second straight night, Joe O’Donnell put an end to any thought of a Panthers comeback, notching his seventh save with an uneventful ninth.

Debo’s RBI double in the first put the Pack up early. Pitarra’s RBI single, part of a six-run explosion in the second, made it 3-1. Debo added his second RBI double of the game in the inning. Debo’s solo shot made it 8-2 in the sixth.

State led the series opener 7-0 before allowing Pitt to creep back into it but prevailed 7-4. The Pack will go for their second straight ACC series sweep tomorrow at 1 p.m. The series win is their first against a league opponent on the road this season.


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