Groover’s walk-off caps NC State baseball’s series-opening comeback over Louisville

After allowing four runs in the eighth inning, there was a feeling of “here we go again” at Doak Field as NC State baseball trailed No. 11 Louisville, still looking for the team’s first series-opening ACC win.

But the “Comeback Pack” was at it again, staging a ninth-inning rally capped by a walk-off base hit from junior third baseman LuJames Groover as NC State won 6-5 in dramatic fashion.

CLUTCH, GINO. CLUTCH!!#PACK9 | @groover_gino pic.twitter.com/L3obCMXh5r

— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 1, 2023

Except for the eighth inning, the Wolfpack (19-7, 4-6) played eight innings of solid baseball against the Cardinals (20-5, 3-4 ACC), and despite going down, the team knew it was capable of a comeback.

“We’ve had so many heartbreaking losses, and those are the ones you focus on sometimes,” said head coach Elliott Avent. “But then you think about this game and the Virginia game, and you quickly know that even though there’s been some disappointments, this team keeps fighting and keeps wanting to win for each other.”

Trailing 5-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth, NC State was in desperate need of a rally. That didn’t take long to materialize as the Pack quickly loaded the bases, and after one run scored on a walk, Groover stepped up to the plate with a chance to be the hero.

“I knew [the pitcher] was a 50-50 guy, fastball-changeup, so I was just looking for something up in the zone that I could just hit back up the middle of the field,” Groover said. “My initial goal was to just tie the game, and whatever else after that was a plus.”

Following two straight balls, Groover whacked a base hit past the shortstop and into the outfield, sending home freshman first baseman Eli Serrano from third and graduate center fielder Parker Nolan from second for the win, and consequently sending the team — and the stadium — into a frenzy.

Afterwards, Groover was immediately mobbed by his teammates, for he had just earned the Pack a much-needed win against a very good Louisville squad.

“When I hit it, I was like, ‘Man, I hit that hard — if he makes a play right here, I was gonna be a little hurt,’” Groover said. “It got through. I was just like, this is the moment everybody looks for right here, and I was just happy to come through for my team. It’s a great feeling.”

The walk-off hit from Groover pic.twitter.com/LGY4dKQOD2

— Technician Sports (@TechSports) April 1, 2023

The Pack had both a great finish and a great start, opening it up with two runs in the first inning. Graduate right fielder Trevor Candelaria hit a bloop single in between shortstop and centerfield, and junior second baseman Kalae Harrison scored the first run due to a fielding error on the same play. In the next at-bat, sophomore left fielder Chase Nixon slapped a shot into right field, driving in Candelaria for a 2-0 NC State lead, which held for the majority of the game.

As for the pitching, redshirt junior right-hander Logan Whitaker took the mound for the Wolfpack and threw an absolute gem. He was locked in from the very first pitch, retiring the first seven batters he faced, with his only blemish being a fielder’s choice in the fifth inning that drove in a run. Whitaker pitched seven innings, allowing one run on four hits and a season-high seven strikeouts.

“I feel like I did pretty good — I just kept telling myself, ‘I’ve got to make a good pitch here,’” Whitaker said. “Thinking like that throughout the game really helps me in the longevity in my game, not putting too much pressure on myself and just being able to execute pitch by pitch.”

Unfortunately for the Pack, Whitaker reached his pitch-count limit after the seventh, and the team had to rely on its bullpen to close out the game. Junior right-hander Sam Highfill relieved Whitaker in the eighth inning with a 2-1 lead but was not able to keep it, allowing four runs on three hits, and he didn’t finish the inning.

Junior left-handed pitcher John Miralia finished the eighth inning, and NC State trailed 5-2 going into the bottom of the eighth. Things looked dire for the Wolfpack as its last run came in the first inning, but Nolan crushed a solo home run to right field, the crucial spark for what would be a walk-off hit in the last inning.

The rest, as they say, was history, with the Pack mounting a dramatic ninth-inning comeback. Plate discipline in the last inning was key for the Wolfpack to stage its comeback, as multiple walks set up the game-winning hit.

“[Plate discipline] is something we go over a lot, but it’s not that easy… especially when you get in these situations,” Avent said. “I thought we had some really good at-bats in the ninth inning. Those last two [Louisville pitchers] got some good stuff, and to lay off some of the pitches they threw was great discipline.”

The start of conference play has been tough to say the least for NC State, losing all three of its ACC series thus far, but a win like this against the No. 11 team in the country can go a long way in boosting team morale and giving the Pack the rejuvenation it needs to go on a win streak.

“We’ve had a couple of tough breaks — it happens, but I think the ability to persevere through those, that’s why we come together as a team,” Groover said. “We take it one at-bat at a time, pass it to the next man. We trust each other to all go up there and have quality ABs, and that’s why we’re able to make runs like that.”

But the job isn’t finished for NC State, who will need to come back down to Earth if the team is to win either of the next two games of the series. The two teams will meet again on Saturday, April 1 with first pitch set for 6 p.m. on ACC Network.