Duke beats N.C. State with two-out magic in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE — Duke extended its season with an offensive masterclass to start the ACC tournament on Tuesday morning at Truist Field.

The Blue Devils took down N.C. State 21-12, thanks to many crooked numbers in the later innings.

First-year coach Corey Muscara spoke to the resiliency this team has had throughout the season.

“I want to see us keep the season going as long as possible,” Muscara said.

The 16th-seeded Blue Devils (25-30) advance to face No. 8 seed Virginia — and former coach Chris Pollard — on Wednesday morning in the second round.

The Blue Devils pulled away in the top of the seventh inning, as Adin Zorn singled, Coltin Quagliano singled, and Tyler Albright came around to score. Jake Lambdin came up for the third time in the game with the bases loaded and two outs. He drilled a ball to the third baseman, as he couldn’t make a play, driving in Zorn, to get the Blue Devils within one. RJ Hamilton then walked with the bases loaded, tying the game at 8-8.

Then the Blue Devils came up clutch as Kaden Smith hit a grand slam, 406 feet, to left field, to put the Blue Devils ahead for good.

The Blue Devils’ first 12 runs of the game all came with two outs — some real magic from Muscara’s squad.

The runs just kept coming for the Blue Devils. Brooks Perez singled to center field, driving in Zorn from second base.

Smith drove in two more runs to give the Blue Devils a 15-8 lead in the eighth. The Blue Devils added six more runs in the ninth, padding the lead to 21-9. Those came on three two-run hits, by Lambdin, Matthew Strand and Collin Anderson.

The Wolfpack tacked on to the score as Wyatt Peifer hit a three-run home run in the ninth, making the score 21-12. Drew Bryan closed out the game on the mound for the Blue Devils.

Before Duke’s late onslaught, N.C. State (32-22) built a lead.

The Wolfpack started the scoring in the bottom of the second inning, as Peter Lemke walked Ty Head and Mikey Ryan doubled down the left field line to drive him in. In the next at-bat, Dalton Bargo cranked a 420-foot home run to right field.

In the top of the third inning, the Blue Devils’ bats started to get going, as they scored two runs off Wolfpack starter Heath Andrews. A two-out single from Hamilton was followed by a Smith home run, bringing the score to 3-2.

The Wolfpack responded quickly, as Head came in and hit a solo homer 415 feet to right field.

The Blue Devils’ bats just kept heating up, as the weather did in Charlotte. Lambdin picked up three RBI on a triple in the top of the fourth inning as Zorn, Quagliano, and Perez came around to score, giving the Blue Devils a five-to-four lead. In the next at-bat, Hamilton drove Lambin in to extend the lead to 6-4.

Lemke’s day was complete in the fourth inning as his line was three innings, giving up five earned runs, four walks, and three strikeouts. David Boisvert replaced Lemke.

The Wolfpack got after Boisvert and later Ben Dean, as N.C. State took an 8-6 lead through the sixth.