DURHAM, N.C. — NC State flipped a deficit with a five-run seventh Friday night and closed a 7-4 decision over North Carolina at Durham’s DBAP rivalry showcase.
Wolfpack starter Ryder Garino needed just 28 pitches to fan the six Tar Heels he saw before exiting. Carolina answered in the third when CJ Egrie evened the score with a drive over the left-field Blue Monster and Mandela Browman followed with a two-run shot to left-center, putting the visitors ahead until the seventh.
State’s rally changed the night. Cooper Nicholson later supplied Carolina’s last run with a solo drive in the eighth. Browman finished with two hits and two RBI, Nicholson added two hits, and Devin Russell also collected a pair of knocks.
Carolina shuffled 11 pitchers through the fall lineup. Folger Boaz and Cameron Tarkenton each threw clean frames, and several others posted zeros as the staff worked through nonconference looks.
The Triangle rivals use the Durham Bulls park each autumn for the series. Photo galleries from the night were scheduled to post Saturday after the teams finished media sessions.
For State, the comeback capped an evening that began with Garino’s perfect punch-out string and ended with enough offense to hold off a late Tar Heel push. Fall results do not count in the ACC standings, but both coaching staffs treat the series as a measuring stick for February.
Fans packed the DBAP seats for the rivalry showcase, and both programs will carry film from the night into spring practices when the official ACC schedule tips off next calendar year for both clubs.
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