NC State jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning on Tuesday night in Charlotte on the backs of a pair of two-run home runs, but Wolfpack pitchers would surrender three home runs to South Carolina in the bottom half of the opening frame to turn a lead into a 7-4 deficit that would ultimately come back to haunt them.
After that first inning, NC State pitchers kept the Gamecocks bats quiet until a hanging curve ball with two away in the bottom of the 9th provided the opportunity for South Carolina’s best power hitter to end the game with a single swing.