Sophomore infielder Will Wilson cranked two solo home runs for No. 10 NC State, including a late game-winning homer, and four NC State relievers combined to pitch eight innings without allowing an earned run against second-ranked Clemson as the Wolfpack beat the Tigers 5-4 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Wilson, who entered the contest with four home runs, sent his sixth blast of the season over the left-field fence in the eighth inning to give NC State a 5-4 lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

Nolan Clenney, Evan Justice, Kent Klyman and Joe O’Donnell did not allow an earned run in a combined eight innings pitched after NC State freshman starter Nick Swiney was charged with three runs in one inning pitched. O’Donnell (1-1) pitched the final three innings and picked up his first win of the year.

Ryan Miller (2-1) gave up the go-ahead homer to Wilson and took the loss for Clemson.

NC State swept the series after taking the first two games on Friday and Saturday. This marks the first time NC State has swept Clemson since 1997. The Wolfpack had never swept the Tigers at Doug Kingsmore Stadium prior to this weekend.

“It’s obviously tough,” Clemson head coach Monte Lee said. “It’s a tough pill to swallow right now losing three games at home to NC State. But they were the better team and they deserve it, and we just have to keep competing, keep working, stay positive, and hopefully we can find a way to get things turned in the right direction this upcoming week.”

The Tigers and Wolfpack traded punches for most of the game, resulting in a 4-4 score after seven innings.

Wilson and Clemson’s Logan Davidson exchanged solo home runs in the first inning. Davidson took the first pitch of the game from NC State starter Nick Swiney to left-center field for his third homer of the year.

Grayson Byrd gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead in the second inning. Following a four-pitch walk by Drew Wharton, Byrd ripped a double down the right-field line to drive in Wharton. Byrd advanced to third on the throw to home plate and then scored on a sacrifice fly to right field from Kyle Wilkie.

Clemson’s lead was short-lived, however. After Dillon Cooper was hit by a pitch to start the third inning, Josh McLain powered a two-run home run to left field to tie the score at 3-3.

The Tigers regained the advantage in the fourth inning thanks to a two-out hit by Wilkie. After Robert Jolly fouled out to the third baseman and Wharton popped out to third, Byrd hit the ball hard to the second baseman and reached first on an error. Wilkie then drilled a double to deep right-center field to drive in Byrd and give the Tigers a 4-3 edge.

NC State answered to tie the game again in the sixth. Brad Debo grounded into a double play with the bases loaded, but Wilson came home to score on the play.

Wilson then struck his go-ahead blast in the eighth to give the Wolfpack the lead for good.

Jake Higginbotham got the start for Clemson and allowed four runs on two hits with three walks and five strikeouts in five innings pitched.

Byrd led the Tigers with two hits and two runs scored along with an RBI, while Wilkie had a team-high two RBIs.

Offensively in the series, Clemson went 7-for-45 with runners on base and 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position. The Tigers left 23 men on base and struck out 26 times.

“The bottom line is we have to swing the bats better,” Lee said. “We have to score more runs. We have to find a lineup, find the right message, if there is one, to get our guys going. But we have to keep running them out there and hopefully get some confidence going, and we’ll be OK.”

The Tigers will return to action on Tuesday night in a 6 p.m. road game at Coastal Carolina.