RALEIGH (Interstat) — Kaden Smith homered twice, including a grand slam in the seventh inning, and drove in eight runs as Duke defeated North Carolina State 21-12 on Tuesday evening.

The Blue Devils, who entered the game with a 26-30 record, pounded out 20 hits and took advantage of nine walks and three Wolfpack errors. Jake Lambdin went 3-for-5 with a triple, a walk and five RBIs, while Coltin Quagliano scored four times and added two hits.

The Wolfpack (32-22) matched Duke early with three runs in the second inning on a two-run homer by Dalton Bargo and an RBI double by Mikey Ryan. Ty Head then homered in the third to cut the Duke lead to 3-4.

Duke broke the game open in the fourth. With two outs and runners on second and third, Lambdin tripled to center field to clear the bases and give Duke a 6-4 lead. RJ Hamilton added an RBI single, and Smith walked to put runners at first and second before the inning ended.

The Wolfpack chipped away with single runs in the fourth and fifth, making it 7-5 after five innings. Mikey Ryan drove in Head with a double in the fifth, then scored on a wild pitch to cut the deficit to 7-6.

Duke answered in the seventh. After Quagliano and Zorn reached base, Albright walked and Perez was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Lambdin singled home a run, and Hamilton walked to force in another. Smith then launched a grand slam to deep left field, his second homer of the night, pushing the lead to 14-6.

The Wolfpack got one back in the bottom of the seventh on a walk to Head that forced in a run, but Duke kept scoring. In the eighth, Perez singled, stole second and scored on Smith’s single. Smith later walked in the ninth and scored on a double by Matthew Strand. Anderson capped the inning with a two-run single.

NC State mounted a rally in the bottom of the ninth. After a walk and a double, Wyatt Peifer hit a three-run homer to deep right field, making it 21-12. But the Wolfpack could not get closer, as the game ended with a popup.

Smith finished with three hits, including two homers, a walk and eight RBIs. Lambdin added three hits and five RBIs. For the Wolfpack, Head had two hits, a walk and three RBIs, while Bargo homered and doubled. Nixon also homered in the eighth.

Duke’s previous meeting with NC State this season had been a three-game series in April, with the Wolfpack winning two of three, including an 18-5 rout. The Blue Devils entered Tuesday having lost five of their last six games, while the Wolfpack had dropped five of their last seven.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of North Carolina State 5, Duke 2, and the ELO system gave the Wolfpack a 58.10 percent probability to win.