NC State fell 1-0 to Duke in the ACC Baseball Championship game Sunday, falling short of claiming its first conference title since 1992 and what would have been head coach Elliott Avent's first in 25 seasons.
The third-seeded Wolfpack (30-16, 19-14 ACC) defeated Georgia Tech 8-1 Saturday in the semifinals. The ninth-seeded Blue Devils defeated Virginia 4-2 in the other semifinals contest Saturday to advance.
The Pack played in its first ACC Championship game since 2015. Duke played in the ACC Championship game for the first time in program history.
Here was the inning-by-inning recap of the game:
Bottom of the ninth
Butler singles to right field to put a runner on first with no outs.
Tatum strikes out swinging for out No. 1.
Tresh sends a ground ball to third and reaches first on a fielder's choice, Butler out at second.
Torres pops out to right field for the final out of the game.
FINAL: Duke 1, NC State 0
Top of the ninth
Schreck strikes out swinging for the first out of the inning.
Matt strikes out looking for out No. 2.
Rothenburg strikes out looking to retire the side 1-2-3.
Villaman with six strikeouts and no hits in 4.1 innings pitched.
Duke 1, NC State 0
Bottom of the eighth
Mensik strikes out looking for out No. 1.
Jarrett singles on a full-count pitch with a line drive to left field.
Murr steps up to the plate with one out and a runner on first.
Loper is replaced by Duke right-handed reliever Marcus Johnson, who had a season ERA of 3.10 and six saves in 52.1 innings pitched.
Murr pops out to the shortstop, and McDonough flies out to left field to end the inning with a runner left on first.
Duke 1, NC State 0
Top of the eighth
Cheek and Loperfido fly out top left field. Murray grounds out to the short stop for a 1-2-3 top half of the inning.
Duke 1, NC State 0
Bottom of the seventh
Right-handed reliever Jimmy Loper replaces Stinson to begin the seventh inning for the Blue Devils.
Tresh strikes out swinging for out No. 1.
Torres and Brown both fly out to center field for outs two and three to end the inning.
Duke 1, NC State 0
Top of the seventh
Rothenberg grounds out to third, and Crabtree strikes out swinging for a quick two outs.
Pauley draws a walk, but Nichols flies out to center field for out No. 3.
Duke 1, NC State 0
Bottom of the sixth
Murr reaches first on a fielding error to second. The first baseman ripped a screamer to shallow right field, where the Duke second baseman was already shifted. Pauley bobbled it, Murr turned on the jets and is called safe. The play is reviewed, and the call is confirmed.
McDonough grounds out to first, Murr advances to second then to third on a throwing error. Runner on third with one out with Butler coming up to the plate.
Butler flies out to center field, but Murr is held up at third after a timing mistake on the tag up for the potential sacrifice fly. Two outs with a runner on third.
Tatum grounds out to second, leaving a runner at third at the end of the inning.
Duke 1, NC State 0
Top of the sixth
Murray flies out to right field. Schreck and Matt strike out swinging. NC State gets out of the top half of the inning 1-2-3.
Duke 1, NC State 0
Bottom of the fifth
Brown strikes out looking. Mensik grounds out to third. Jarrett lines out to the shortstop. Stinson retires the side 1-2-3.
Duke 1, NC State 0
Top of the fifth
Crabtree grounds out to third. Pauley singles up the middle.
Nichols flies out to center field for out No. 2. Cheek singles on an infield grounder to the shortstop, Pauley reaches second.
After 72 pitches, Willadsen is replaced by left-handed reliever Chris Villaman.
Loperfido flies out to right field for out No. 3.
Duke 1, NC State 0
Bottom of the fourth
Bulter strikes out looking. Brown hits a single to left field. Tresh fouls out to first base. Torres strikes out swinging, leaving a runner on first to end the inning.
Duke 1, NC State 0
Top of the fourth
Murray blasts a liner to the left-field wall for a leadoff double. Schreck flies out to deep center field on a ball he thought was gone (flips his bat prematurely), but Murray advances to third.
Matt hits a sacrifice fly to right field, and Murray scores for the first run of the afternoon.
Rothenburg strikes out swinging for out No. 3.
Duke 1, NC State 0
Bottom of the third
Third baseman Vojtech Mensik flies out to right field. Second baseman J.T. Jarrett strikes out swinging for out No. 2, and the top of NC State's lineup is back at the plate.
Murr rips a bullet grounder just left of second base and it trickles into left-center field for a single. McDonough hits a deep fly ball to left but its caught just short of the warning track to end the inning.
Top of the third
Second baseman Graham Pauley draws a walk to become the first Blue Devils baserunner of the game. Third baseman Erikson Nichols strikes out swinging from a Willadsen changeup for out No. 1. Designated hitter Chase Cheek strikes out swinging, marking Willadsen's sixth strikeout of the afternoon.
Loperfido drills a double to right field, Pauley is sent home, but Jarrett finds Tresh at the plate in time to tag the baserunner for out No. 3. The Wolfpack escapes the inning without giving up a run.
NC State 0, Duke 0
Bottom of the second
Catcher Luka Tresh grounds out to the shortstop, and shortstop Jose Torres grounds out to second for the first two outs.
Right fielder Devonte Brown strikes out with a home run swing to end the inning. Just one combined hit from both squads through two innings.
Top of the second
Willadsen strikes out the side. Duke batters Peter Matt, Michael Rothenberg and Chris Crabtree all go down swinging.
Bottom of the first
Junior righty Cooper Stinson gets the start for the Blue Devils. The 6-6, 240-pounder is 2-3 with a season ERA of 5.83 through 54.0 innings pitched.
Wolfpack leadoff hitter first baseman Autin Murr grounds out to first base. Center fielder Tyler McDonough becomes the first to reach base of the game with a single off of a blooper to left field.
Left fielder Jonny Butler lines out to right field, McDonough remains at first.
Designated hitter Terrell Tatum strikes out swinging to end the inning.
Top of the first
Freshman righty Matt Willadsen gets the start for the Wolfpack. The 6-3, 179-pounder is 4-2 with a season ERA of 4.96 in 69.0 innings pitched.
Duke leadoff hitter center fielder Joey Loperfido grounds out to second. Shortstop Ethan Murray flies out to center field, and left fielder RJ Schreck pops up to the pitcher to retire the side. Three up, three down for the Wolfpack in the top of the first.
Pregame
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