UNC ace Jake Knapp retired 18 straight NC State batters to help the Diamond Heels defeat the No. 16 Wolfpack 8-1 in the first game of a three-game series at Boshamer Stadium Thursday night.

Knapp’s dominance came after a shaky start to the game, one which saw him give up a solo home run with two outs in the top of the first inning to give NC State an early 1-0 lead. But UNC would quickly tie the game on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning, and Knapp locked in for the rest of the evening. After giving up a leadoff single to begin the second inning, Knapp wouldn’t allow another NC State baserunner until the eighth.

In the meantime, UNC took the lead with an Alex Madera RBI single in the second, extended it thanks to two runs in the third and blew the game open with three in the fifth. Kane Kepley, who finished the game 3-4 with three runs scored, reached base with a single to begin the inning, then advanced to second after another single from Jackson Van De Brake. Luke Stevenson would bring both men home with a hard-hit double down the right field line, and the sophomore catcher came in himself on a Hunter Stokely single.

It was more than enough run support for Knapp, but Tyson Bass added one more for good measure with a run-scoring double in the eighth.

Head coach Scott Forbes finally pulled Knapp following consecutive NC State singles to lead off the ninth, ending his night after 107 pitches. Walker McDuffie recorded the final three outs without incident to secure the win.

Knapp finished his night with five hits allowed, four strikeouts and no walks through eight-plus innings. Of his 107 pitches, 74 were thrown for strikes. The UNC ace is now 10-0 this season with a 1.94 earned run average.

At the plate, UNC’s top three hitters of Kepley, Van De Brake and Stevenson combined for seven hits, four RBIs and six runs scored. Hunter Stokely added three hits to improve his batting average to a team-high .351.

The win improves UNC to 37-10 overall and 16-9 in ACC play. The second game of the series against NC State is scheduled for Friday night at 6 p.m.

 

Featured image via UNC Baseball on Twitter

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