The win gave the Pack (29-19, 15-11 ACC) the weekend series.
UVA (37-14, 15-12 ACC) has been having problems with its pitching staff all season, and State exploited the Cavaliers pitchers all weekend, scoring 25 runs on 30 hits in the weekend series.
Virginia starter Owen Coady (1-1, 4.73 ERA) gave up a three-run Brandon Butterworth homer in the first, but the ‘Hoos took the lead with a four-spot in the second, with two-out hits from Henry Godbout, Eric Becker and Griff O’Ferrall.
Coady got knocked out in the fourth after surrendering a two-out RBI single to Garrett Pennington, and then reliever Bryson Moore surrendered an RBI double to Alec Makarewicz that put NC State on top, ultimately to stay, as the Pack put up four in the inning to go up, 7-4.
Coady was charged for five runs, all earned, on four hits and four walks, striking out one, on 58 pitches, 36 of those for strikes.
O’Connor has used Coady as his #3 starter the past four weekends, and it’s not gone well – Coady has allowed 12 earned runs in 15 innings of work, which works out to a 7.20 ERA, and he’s allowed 16 hits and walked 15 batters for a 2.07 WHIP.
This is the guy who, right now, is either going to be asked to start a game that could send UVA to a Super Regional from the winner’s bracket, or pitch a do-or-die game in the Regional or Super Regional.
Not good.
Also not good: after Virginia got back to 7-5 on a solo homer from Harrison Didawick, his team-leading 19th of the season, the bullpen gave up long balls to Pennington and Luke Nixon, the latter a three-run shot in the eighth that sent most of the 4,514 on hand for the Mother’s Day game heading for the exits.
The regular season concludes with a three-game series with in-state ACC rival Virginia Tech (32-17, 14-13 ACC), which salvaged the finale of its three-game series with Miami on Sunday.
The UVA-Virginia Tech series opens on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Disharoon Park.
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Chris Graham
