NC State baseball avoids sweep with Peebles’ walk-off single, beats Virginia 5-4

NC State baseball found itself down 4-3 with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. 

Freshman designated hitter Cannon Peebles came to the plate as the last chance to avoid being swept by Virginia, and he converted, smoking a single up the middle to score two runs and win the game 5-4.

The Wolfpack (15-5, 2-4 ACC) handed the Cavaliers (17-2, 4-2 ACC) their lone loss of the series with an exciting final inning. The Pack had previously lost 2-1 in the first game and 7-0 in the second game to the Cavs.

Virginia struck early in the first with a triple to bring in the first run of the game. NC State answered in the second inning with two solo homers, the first by freshman first baseman Eli Serrano and the second by sophomore left fielder Chase Nixon, putting the Pack on top.

The score sat at 2-1 for the next six innings, but the Cavs broke the ice again in the top of the ninth with three straight runs off of back-to-back homers, the first of which being a two-run shot followed by a solo shot. Redshirt senior right-hander Baker Nelson came in relief of junior right-hander Justin Lawson on the mound and rang up the final two UVA batters, leaving the score at 4-2.

After junior right fielder Carter Trice grounded out to lead off the bottom of the ninth, Nixon put himself in scoring position with a double, but another groundout by graduate center fielder Parker Nolan left the Pack with one more out to spare in a two-run deficit.

Needing something, junior second baseman Kalae Harrison sent a single up the middle to score Harrison and cut the lead to just one. On the next at-bat, junior third baseman LuJames Groover hit another single, sending Harrison to second, and after a walk drawn by sophomore catcher Jacob Cozart, the Pack had the bases loaded and a chance to win the game.

Peebles wasted no time, hitting his single on the first pitch of the at-bat to bring home Cozart and freshman pinch runner Michael Gupton and send Doak Field into a frenzy.

Despite giving up two homers and three earned runs, Lawson was credited with the win, his third of the season. Freshman left-hander Dominic Fritton got the nod to start the game and pitched nearly six 5.2 innings, only allowing one earned run — Virginia’s first run in the game — and striking out five batters. He continues to have an impressive ERA at just 1.05. 

Serrano leads the Pack with a .408 batting average and hit his third homer of the season in this game. He finished the day 2-4 from the plate. 

Next up, the Pack will stop in Wilmington to play UNCW on March 21 before the next ACC series in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts against Boston College next weekend. That three-day series will begin on Friday, March 24.