Wolfpack avoids sweep against Tar Heels

Johnny Piedmonte worked five scoreless innings of relief to lift the N.C. State baseball team to a 4-2 win over North Carolina in the series finale Sunday at Boshamer Stadium.

Josh Hiatt struck out six in a career-long 4 2/3 innings of relief for the Tar Heels, who had their 11-game winning streak snapped.

Brock Deatherage homered off Austin Bergner (3-2) to open the scoring in the third, and the Wolfpack (20-17, 8-10 ACC) added one in the fourth and two more in the fifth.

UNC (29-7, 14-4) quickly cut the lead in half on Brian Miller’s two-run single off N.C. State starter Michael Bienlien in the bottom of the fifth. But Piedmonte got Logan Warmoth to line into a double play before striking out Ashton McGee to end the threat.

The Tar Heels rallied again in the sixth, loading the bases with just one out, but Piedmonte again worked out of trouble. The fifth-year senior right-hander limited UNC to just a pair of singles by Warmoth and Cody Roberts over the final three innings to help NCSU salvage the series finale.

Stephen Pitarra and Will Wilson joined Deatherage with two hits each as the Wolfpack out-hit the Heels 9-8.

Duke: After the Blue Devils scored four first-inning runs, junior Ryan Day turned in his second quality start of the week to lead the Blue Devils to a 9-2 victory over Boston College in the series finale Sunday at Jack Coombs Field.

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons completed a series sweep over Notre Dame with a 5-1 victory Sunday at David F. Couch Ballpark. The Demon Deacons (28-10, 12-6 ACC) blasted three home runs and took advantage of another strong pitching effort to take down the Fighting Irish (15-20, 7-11) for the third straight day.

Elon: All nine starters had at least one hit as the Phoenix pounded out a season-high 19 hits to cruise to an 8-1 victory in game three of a Colonial Athletic Association series at Towson.

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons closed out the home portion of the regular season Sunday with a 6-1 victory over Louisville at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex. The Demon Deacons finished the regular season a perfect 12-0 at home, marking the first unbeaten home season since 1980

UNC: The Tar Heels celebrated Senior Day Sunday with a 6-1 win over Notre Dame, finishing the regular season undefeated at home and with a record of 66-2 at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center over the past four years.

St. Augustine’s: On Saturday Jumonne Exeter won the men’s triple jump in the Aggie Invitational at the Irwin Belk Track on the N.C. A&T campus.

Elon: The Phoenix saw its spring season come to a close on Sunday as the Phoenix wrapped up the CAA Championship in seventh place

From news releases

This story was originally published April 16, 2017 at 11:30 PM with the headline "Wolfpack avoids sweep against Tar Heels."