CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cooper Stinson gave up three hits with no walks in six scoreless innings and Duke beat North Carolina State 1-0 in the ACC Tournament championship game on Sunday.
The ninth-seeded Blue Devils (32-20), who won their 12th straight, were the ACC championship game for the first time in program history. Duke won its last ACC title in 1961 before the conference tournament was established in 1973.
Stinson (3-3), who struck out six, came into the game with an 8.87 ERA over his last six starts. Marcus Johnson got his seventh save of the season.
The Blue Devils scored in the fourth inning when Ethan Murray got a lead-off double and advanced to third and home on a pair of fly outs, scoring on Peter Matt’s sacrifice.
Starter Matt Willadsen (4-3) struck out six in 4 2/3 innings the Wolfpack (30-17).
The Wolfpack’s Austin Murr had an opportunity to score from third on a deep pop fly in the sixth inning, but he left the base before the ball was caught and retreated to third, only to be stranded at the end of the inning. NC State was shut out for the first time since an 11-0 loss to Florida State on May 24, 2019, in the ACC Tournament.
