Feb. 22, 2009

No. 1 Tar Heels Close Out VMI Sweep, 11-3
All-America had a career-best five hits and right-hander Matt Harvey struck out 11 batters to lift No. 1 North Carolina to an 11-3 win over VMI Sunday at Bryson Field at Boshamer Stadium. With Sunday's victory, the Tar Heels (3-0) swept their season-opening series for the seventh straight season.

Ackley, who also tied a career-best with four runs scored, was 5-for-5 with two doubles to raise his average to .692 on the young season. The Walnut Cove, N.C., product recorded the first five-hit game by a Tar Heel since Mike Cavasinni have five hits in the 2006 NCAA Tuscaloosa Super Regional.

In addition to Ackley's efforts, Mark Fleury drove in a game-high three runs, while Kyle Seager was 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI. Ben Bunting and Jacob Stallings added two RBI apiece, as Carolina pounded out 15 hits while scoring 11 unanswered runs. 

Florida State Completes Sweep With 10-4 Win Over Hofstra
Sixth-ranked Florida State (4-0) completed the four-game sweep of Hofstra (4-0) with a 10-4 victory Sunday afternoon on Mike Martin Field inside Dick Howser Stadium. The Seminoles registered 16 hits in game four including seven doubles all coming in the first four innings.

Leading the offensive attack on Sunday was leadoff batter Tyler Holt who finished with a game-high three hits. The sophomore center fielder reached base on four of his six plate appearances and finished the game with a pair of doubles, a single and a walk. He also scored three times in the series finale.

Sophomore Mike McGee wrapped up another successful opening weekend in a Seminole uniform as the Port St. Lucie, Fla., native worked six innings in his first start of the season. The right hander allowed two runs, all unearned, on five hits to pick up win number one on the year. He walked just one while striking out three Pride hitters.

Hagerty's Two Homers Lead No. 12 Miami Past Rutgers, 18-9
Junior Jason Hagerty hit a home run from both sides of the plate and sophomore left-hander Iden Nazario tossed six effective innings in his first career start as the 12th-ranked University of Miami baseball team won the series finale over Rutgers, 18-9, Sunday afternoon at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.

Miami (3-1) clinched the series win with Sunday's victory, taking three-of-four from Rutgers (1-3) in the season-opening series for both teams.

Hagerty, who finished the day 2-for-4 with three runs scored and a career-high six RBI, hit a fifth-inning grand slam from the right side of the plate an inning before blasting a two-run shot from the left side. Nazario allowed three runs on just four hits while striking out eight and walking just one to earn his first career win. 

#19 Clemson Rallies For 6-5 Win in 10 Innings to Complete Sweep of Charlotte Sunday
Clemson, ranked #19 in the country, rallied from a 5-0 deficit in the seventh inning to defeat Charlotte 6-5 in 10 innings on Sunday in front of 3,730 fans at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers, who swept the three-game series from the preseason Atlantic 10 favorites, improved to 3-0 on the season, while the 49ers fell to 0-3.

Wilson Boyd delivered a walkoff single to right-center with two outs in the 10th inning that scored Kyle Parker. It was the Tigers' first walkoff hit since June 1, 2007 in a 3-2 win over Saint John's in the first game of the 2007 Myrtle Beach (SC) Regional. Boyd was also involved in that play, as he scored the winning run on Brad Chalk's single.

Tiger reliever Ryan Hinson (1-0) earned the win by facing the minimum in 2.0 scoreless innings pitched with two strikeouts. Sam Pierce (0-1) suffered the loss for the 49ers, as he allowed two runs (one earned) in 2.2 innings pitched.

Six-Run First Propels UVa to Sunday Win, Series Sweep
The Virginia baseball team piled up six runs in the first inning, which was more than enough as the Cavaliers posted an 11-1 win over Bucknell Sunday afternoon at Davenport Field to sweep the four-game series. Virginia’s pitching was stellar all weekend, allowing just two runs and 20 hits while recording a miniscule 0.25 ERA.

Jarrett Parker (So., Stafford, Va.) had a monster day at the plate, going 3-for-5 while falling just short of the cycle. He had a double, triple and his first career home run. Franco Valdes (Jr., Miami, Fla.) added a home run and three RBI, while Tyler Cannon (Jr., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) had two hits and two RBI.

Jeff Lorick (Jr., Duluth, Ga.) started for Virginia and went five innings, allowing just an earned run, three hits and two walks while striking out three in earning his first win of the season. Robert Morey (So., Virginia Beach, Va.) and Matt Packer (Jr., Germantown, Tenn.) combined to shut the Bison out on just three hits over the final four innings.

Boston College Sweeps Stetson With 7-2 Win Sunday
Freshman Mike Dennhardt was stellar in his first career start, throwing 6.2 innings of four-hit ball to lead the Boston College baseball team to a 7-2 victory at Stetson Saturday to sweep the four-game series with the Hatters.

Dennhardt allowed two runs in the first inning but settled in and dominated the next five innings. He retired nine in a row at one point and 16 out of 17. He finished with seven strikeouts and two walks.

Sophomore Mickey Wiswall and redshirt freshman Andrew Lawrence both had three RBI on the day. Wiswall hit his second homer in as many games and Lawrence blasted a pair of doubles. Freshman Brad Zapenas and junior Tony Sanchez also recorded a pair of hits.

Nichols' Walk-Off Home Run Lifts Georgia Tech Past Lipscomb, 5-3
 walk-off two-run home run lifted No. 12 Georgia Tech (3-0) over Lipscomb, 5-3, Sunday afternoon to help the Yellow Jackets sweep the season-opening three-game series against the Bisons.

Nichols' home run came with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning after the Bisons tied the game in the top of the frame. Luke Murton led off Tech's portion of the ninth with a single to right field, and pinch runner Evan Martin advanced to second on a groundout by Tony Plagman. Connor Winn then pushed Martin to third base with a ground ball to the left side before Nichols yanked an 0-1 pitch over the right field wall to win the game for the Yellow Jackets.

Tech closer Mark Pope (1-0) picked up the first win of his career after tossing the final 1.1 innings. The freshman right-hander yielded one run on three hits to the Bisons, with the run coming off a throwing error with two outs in the top of the ninth inning. Pope also struck out two batters and walked none.

Duke Pitching Shuts Down La Salle In 11-1 Win
Duke starter Will Currier combined with three relievers to hold La Salle to one run in nine innings on Sunday as Duke topped La Salle 11-1 in the finale of a four-game series at Jack Coombs Field.

Currier (1-0), a junior right-hander, shut down the Explorers (1-3) for five complete innings in his first start of the season, scattering five hits while throwing 67 pitches. Sophomore right-hander Dennis O'Grady took over in the sixth and seventh with two perfect innings of relief before freshmen Eric Pfisterer and David Putman split the final two innings and combined for five strikeouts to lock up the win and the series for the Blue Devils (3-1).

Junior outfielder Jeremy Gould, senior catcher Matt Williams and junior second baseman Gabriel Saade each provided two RBI in the win with Gould and Williams each mashing their second doubles of the series. Senior first baseman Nate Freiman drew three walks, two of which were intentional free passes, and was one of 10 Blue Devils to score a run. 

NC State Baseball Bounces Back, Tops Santa Clara 9-3
Pratt Maynard went 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs, and Jimmy Gillheeney scattered four hits and allowed just one run in six innings to help NC State break a two-game season-opening slide and defeat Santa Clara 9-3 Sunday in the final game of the Summit Hopsitality Invitational at Doak Field at Dail Park.

The Wolfpack (1-2) ended two days of frustration at the Broncs’ expense, jumping on starter Cory Hall (0-1) for four runs in three innings, then roughing up freshman reliever J.R. Graham for four runs on five hits in the seventh.

Gillheeney (1-0) continued a weekend of strong starting pitching for the Wolfpack, which got excellent performances from Jake Buchanan on Friday and Sam Brown on Saturday. Gillheeney turned a 4-1 lead over to the bullpen, and John Lambert, Cory Mazzoni, Grant Sasser and Joey Cutler combined to limit Santa Clara (1-2) to two runs on four hits over the final three innings.

Wake Forest Downs Marshall 7-6 in 10 Innings
Senior second baseman Dustin Hood drove in the game-tying run and scored the game-winning run in the 10th inning as Wake Forest (4-0) claimed a 7-6 victory over Marshall (2-2) on Sunday at the Wake Forest Baseball Tournament presented by Hampton Inn and Sleep Inn.

The Deacs are 4-0 to start a season for the first time since the 2001 season.

With the game tied at five after nine innings, Marshall took the lead with a run in the top of the 10th. Thor Meeks opened the inning with a single and Ramone Tate pinch ran for Meeks. After Tate advanced to second on a wild pitch, Alfredo Brito singled to center field, scoring Tate and giving the Thundering Herd a 7-6 lead.

Price, Ryan spark Virginia Tech to win over USC Upstate
Freshman pitcher Mathew Price pitched six solid innings in his first collegiate start and senior outfielder Sean Ryan collected four hits as Virginia Tech took a 12-3 victory over USC Upstate on Sunday afternoon in the final game of the Courtyard by Marriott Baseball Classic at Harley Park.

The win improved the Hokies’ record to 4-0, marking the first time Tech has opened a season with four consecutive seasons since winning its first five games of the 1993 season. USC Upstate fell to 1-2 with the loss.

Price, a right-hander from Marietta, Ga., worked six complete innings allowing just four hits and two runs. He walked four batters, including two of the first three he faced, but settled down quickly and posted seven strikeouts on the way to his first collegiate win.

Moss Homers Twice as Terps Fall to UNC Wilmington, 7-4
Mike Moss hit a pair of solo home runs and Ian Schwalenberg struck out a career-high six batters, but the University of Maryland baseball team fell short in the final game of its three-game set at UNC Wilmington, falling 7-4 to the Seahawks Sunday afternoon to drop to 0-3 on the young season.

After falling behind early in the first two games of the series, UNC Wilmington took the early lead Sunday. Cody Stanley hit a one-out fly ball to left field that appeared to be an easy fly-ball out, but the ball got caught in the strong right-to-left wind and carried over the fence for a solo home run against Schwalenberg. The Seahawks added a second run in the inning due to a Schwalenberg throwing error that extended the inning. With two outs and a man on second, Bobby Leeper hit a soft single to right-center to plate Grayson Evans for a 2-0 Wilmington lead.

The Seahawks added a single run in the bottom of the second inning on a double to left field by Cameron Cockman. Left fielder Gerry Spessard misplayed the ball in left, allowing Mike Rooney to score from first base. However, Schwalenberg limited the damage, stranding a runner at third base with one out.