Feb. 22, 2009

McGee's Home Run The Difference In 3-2 Victory Over Hofstra
After exploding for 21 runs in game one, Florida State (3-0) held on for a 3-2 victory over Hofstra (0-3) in game two to sweep Saturday's doubleheader on Mike Martin Field inside Dick Howser Stadium. Sophomore Mike McGee's solo home run in the bottom of the sixth was the difference as the Seminoles hung on for the one-run victory over the Pride.

McGee joined Tyler Holt and Stephen Cardullo with two hits a piece in Saturday night's game two victory.

Freshman Sean Gilmartin (1-0) threw six innings to pick up the win in his first collegiate start. The Moorpark, Calif., native gave up just one run on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts. 

Weislow Wins it for Miami in First of Two on Saturday
Down one with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, senior outfielder Jonathan Weislow smacked a two-run single to center to give the 12th-ranked University of Miami baseball team a 4-2 win the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against Rutgers at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.

The seven-inning contest remained close throughout as neither team led by more than a run until the deciding sixth. Miami (2-0) scored the first run of the game in third before Rutgers (0-2) plated two runs in the fifth. The 'Canes then came alive in the sixth to secure their second win of the series.

Yasmani Grandal led off the sixth with a walk and after Ryan Perry came on to pinch-run and Harold Martinez popped out, Dave DiNatale smacked a double down the line in left to put runners on second and third with one out. The next batter - Jason Hagerty - struck out looking before Weislow's clutch hit put the 'Canes ahead for good. 

Florida State Pounds Hofstra 21-7 In Game One
Sixth-ranked Florida State (2-0) scored early and often as the Seminoles took game one of a doubleheader 21-7 over Hofstra (0-2) on Mike Martin Field inside Dick Howser Stadium. The Garnet and Gold recorded 12 hits and took advantage of 15 walks, three hit-by-pitches and five Pride errors en route to the 14-run, seven-inning victory.

Five Seminoles registered multiple RBI, while three Seminoles unloaded on their first home run of the season in game one. Florida State ran out to a 16-0 lead through the first three innings scoring six in the first, four in the second and six again in the third. Every Seminole starter scored a run by the end of the second inning, while 11 of the 21 runs scored on Saturday afternoon came on two-outs.

In his first start behind the plate, sophomore transfer Rafael Lopez registered an RBI in his first at-bat in the first drawing a bases loaded walk. He would record the first Seminole home run of the season and his first as a Seminole in the second unloading on a grand slam over the fence in right center. After hitting a ball just foul down the right field line, Lopez worked the count to 3-2 before hitting his first career grand slam. Lopez finished the afternoon with a game-high five RBI. 

Virginia Sweeps DH with Bucknell
The Virginia baseball team swept a doubleheader with Bucknell Saturday afternoon at Davenport Field, winning the first game, 7-0, and taking the nightcap, 6-1. UVa pitchers continued to shine, allowing just 10 hits in the doubleheader with only two Bison baserunners advancing past second base.

Combined with the 12-0 win Friday, it marked Virginia’s first consecutive shutouts since the Cavaliers recorded three straight shutouts over Coppin State (12-0) and Bucknell (2-0, 3-0) in 2007.

In the opener, Virginia pitchers Danny Hultzen (Fr., Bethesda, Md.), Will Roberts (Fr., Richmond, Va.) and Kevin Arico (So., Flemington, N.J.) combined to blank the Bison on seven hits, while catcher Franco Valdes (Jr., Miami, Fla.) and third baseman Steven Proscia (Fr., Suffern, N.Y.) each had three hits at the plate.

In the second game, Proscia hit a three-run home run to support starting pitcher Neal Davis (Jr., Baltimore, Md.), who went six solid innings and did not allow an earned run in earning the victory. He surrendered just two hits and a walk while striking out two.

Skole Drives in Three as Georgia Tech Coasts Past Lipscomb, 13-3
Matt Skole drove in three runs on three hits to pace a 11-hit attack for Georgia Tech, and the 12th-ranked Yellow Jackets used a six-run third inning to coast past Lipscomb, 13-3, Saturday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.

The Yellow Jackets (2-0) will go for the weekend sweep over the Bisons (0-2) Sunday at 2 p.m.

Zach Von Tersch (1-0) scattered six hits in five innings to pick up the win, giving up three runs and a walk while striking out five batters. Brandon McClurg (0-1) took the loss after giving up seven runs, only two of which were earned, in three innings. He walked five and hit two batters.  

Freshmen Lead #19 Clemson to 4-0 Victory Over Charlotte Saturday
Four freshmen combined to pitch eight shutout innings and drive in three runs to lead #19 Clemson to a 4-0 win over Charlotte on Saturday in front of 5,681 fans at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers improved to 2-0 and the 49ers fell to 0-2.

Freshman Chris Dwyer (1-0), who made his first career appearance, pitched 6.2 innings and allowed only two hits with one walk and nine strikeouts. Dwyer had seven strikeouts through only three innings, including six consecutive from the first to the third inning. Andrew Smith (0-1) took the loss for Charlotte, as he allowed one run over 6.0 innings on five hits, one walk, and three strikeouts.

With the game scoreless entering the bottom of the sixth, Jason Stolz led off the inning with a line-drive single over shortstop Justin Roland for his first career hit. After a bunt single by Addison Johnson, Mike Freeman moved the runners over with a sacrifice bunt. Ben Paulsen followed with a groundout to second to score Stolz and give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. 

Offense Powers Boston College To 14-10 Win At Stetson
The Boston College baseball team scored nine runs in the seventh and eighth innings to beat Stetson, 14-10, in the first game of a day-night doubleheader at Melching Field at Conrad Park. Sophomore Kevin Moran pitched a solid 3.2 innings of relief to pick up the win.

Moran allowed three hits and two runs - both unearned - in his outing and struck out three. Junior Robbie Anston recorded career highs with four runs and four hits in a 4-for-5 performance. Sophomore Mickey Wiswall and junior Mike Belfiore both drove in three runs.

Freshman Brad Zapenas, Wiswall, junior Barry Butera and sophomore Mike Sudol all had two hits in the game. Sudol cracked his first career homer in the third inning while Belfiore blasted a three-run home run in the eighth. Sudol also drove in what would prove to be the game-winning run. 

Dean Tosses A Gem For Boston College's Third-Straight Win vs. Stetson
Sophomore Pat Dean tossed a complete game, four-hit shutout in his second-career start to pace the Boston College baseball team to a 6-0 win against Stetson on Saturday night at Melching Field at Conrad Park. The Eagles swept the doubleheader with a 14-10 win earlier in the day to improve to 3-0.

Dean struck out eight batters and walked just one. He threw 103 pitches and 77 of them were strikes. The two teams will finish the series when they meet at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow.

Sophomore Garret Smith went 3-for-4 in the game with two runs. Freshman Brad Zapenas went 2-for-5 with a pair of two-out RBI while sophomore Matt Hamlet went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Sophomore Mickey Wiswall notched his first homer of the season in the game.

Deacs Pick up Two Wins on Saturday at Wake Forest Baseball Tournament
The Wake Forest offense continued to show its explosiveness on Saturday, posting 26 runs in two games as the Wake Forest baseball team defeated Akron 16-15 and Old Dominion 10-3 at the Wake Forest Baseball Tournament presented by Hampton Inn and Sleep Inn.

With the two wins, Wake Forest improves to 3-0 on the season, winning its first three games of the year for the second time in the last three seasons.

The Demon Deacon offense has been tough to stop thus far this season, scoring 37 runs in the first three games of the year. The 37 runs scored is the most scored in the first three games of the season since 2003 when

Duke Sweeps La Salle 12-2 And 5-3 In Saturday Double Header
Duke senior Nate Freiman hammered two home runs and drove in seven RBI in the first game, and junior Alex Hassan went 6-for-8 with eight runs, a home run and a save on the day to help Duke sweep a Saturday double header over La Salle, 12-2 and 5-3, at Jack Coombs Field.

It was the sixth career multi-home run game for Freiman, who sent both of his three-run shots over the left field wall in the opener. He finished with three hits in the game – the other an RBI double – and four on the day, settling his batting average to .500 after Duke’s first three games.

Hassan, meanwhile, went 4-for-5 with four runs in the opening game and 2-for-3 with two runs and a solo homer in the nightcap. Hassan also came in from right field to close out game two and struck out three of his four batters faced to preserve the 5-3 win. The 2008 Rawlings Gold Glove winner also turned a double play in the second game by catching a fly ball in right field and firing to first base foil a botched La Salle hit-and-run. 

Hokies sweep double-header at Wofford
Thirteen Virginia Tech batters combined for 32 hits and nine pitchers joined for 27 strikeouts to help the Hokies sweep a baseball double-header from Wofford on Saturday in the Courtyard by Marriott Baseball Classic at Russell C. King Field.

Anthony Sosnoskie (Front Royal, Va.) smacked two home runs and Steve Bumbry (Cockeysville, Md.)added a third to power a 19-hit attack that led to a 14-10 Tech win in the opening game. Sophomore pitcher Sean McDermott (Walpole, Mass.) pitched six strong innings, striking out six batters and allowing just one unearned run as the Hokies finished out the day with a 10-2 victory in the nightcap.

Sosnoskie’s second homer put Tech (3-0) ahead for good in the see-saw first game. The junior catcher smacked a towering drive to left field with a man aboard to break a 10-10 tie in the top of the eighth inning. Earlier in the game, he blasted a solo homer to left to open the fifth inning. Sosnoskie also hit a round-tripper in the second game, topping off a 4-for-7 day that included three homers, a double, five runs scored, five runs batted in and four walks. 

Xavier Uses Big Innings To Defeat NC State 8-3
Xavier snapped a 2-2 tie with three runs in the sixth and added three more in the eighth Saturday and hung an 8-3 loss on NC State in the day two action at the Summit Hospitality Invitational. The Wolfpack fell to 0-2 with the defeat. Xavier

The Musketeers snapped a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning, scoring the go-ahead run on a bases-loaded wild pitch, then adding a pair of insurance runs on Jordan Conley’s two-out, two-run double to right. Xavier added three more in the eighth. Sean Farrell, who finished with two hits and three RBIs, drove in a run with a single through the right side of the infield. Farrell dropped a single into right-center to drive in a run, and Adam Pasono made it a three-run inning with an RBI-groundout.

NC State got solid starting pitching for the second game in a row. Sam Brown allowed two runs, one earned, on six hits in five innings. He walked one, struck out one, and handed a 2-2 tie to the bullpen, which struggled for the second game in a row. 

No. 12 Miami Falls Late to Rutgers, 5-4
The 12th-ranked University of Miami baseball team fell to Rutgers, 5-4, in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. With the game knotted at four heading into the final frame, Rutgers took advantage of a pair of defensive miscues to pick up its first win of the season.

After Brandon Boykin singled to lead off the seventh for Rutgers, he advanced to second on a Michael Lang sacrifice bunt to third. From there, Boykin moved up one more base with no one covering third and finally he stole home for the winning run.

The game changed hands a number of times throughout the course of the night, with single runs scored in nine of the 14 half-innings. Rutgers scored in the first, second, third, sixth and seventh while UM plated runs in the first, third, fifth and sixth.