
That was easy.
NC State’s offense didn’t have any of the early trouble it did Friday, scoring five runs over the first four innings on the way to a 10-run outburst. Gino Groover, firmly in a groove—the Groover Groove!—got the Wolfpack on the board with a two-run shot in the first inning, and it turns out that would be plenty of offense for the pitching staff.
Matt Willadsen was absolutely filthy, scattering three hits over seven innings of work while striking out 13 and walking just one. Radford’s a bad team, but it’d be great if this is a sign that Willadsen is taking it up a notch down the stretch.
NC State pushed its lead to 5-0 in the fourth, added one in the seventh, and put the game to bed with four in the eighth. Groover’s second homer of the night came there, a three-run shot to left:
TWO-HOMER DAY FOR GINO! pic.twitter.com/l2a93BwwMN
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) May 1, 2022
He finished the night 2-3 with two homers, five RBI, and a pair of walks. Groover, baby, yeah!
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Carson Kelly relieved Willadsen in the eighth and threw two scoreless to close out the game, striking out three guys in the process.
State goes for the sweep at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. The Pack will then be off until starting its big series against UNC on Friday.