Feb. 28, 2008

Blue Devils Shut Out Alabama A&M 9-0

Dennis O'Grady scattered three hits over six scoreless innings while Jonathan Nicolla pounded a pair of two-RBI doubles to lead Duke to a 9-0 win over Alabama A&M Wednesday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field.

Duke's offense, led by Nicolla, gave O'Grady a five-run cushion before he exited after the sixth inning. A senior designated hitter, Nicolla drove in four of Duke's eventual nine runs on a pair of RBI doubles which were his second and third extra base hits of the season. Nicolla finished 2-for-4 on the day.

Hokies rally to beat Davidson

Ty Hohman's first hit as a Hokie broke a 9-9 tie in the top of the eighth inning and helped Virginia Tech to a 14-10 victory over Davidson College on Wednesday afternoon at Wilson Stadium.

After trailing by six runs early in the game, Tech battled back to within a run heading into the eighth. Center fielder Sean Ryan (Ashburn, Va.) was hit by pitch to start what would turn out to be a six-run inning for Tech. Ryan stole second base and move to third on a throwing error by Davidson's catcher. Senior first baseman Sean O'Brien (Chappaqua, N.Y.) singled home Ryan to tie the game and advanced to second when catcher Anthony Sosnoskie (Front Royal, Va.) became the second hit batsman of the inning. Designated hitter Jose Cueto (Miami, Fla.) put down a sacrifice bunt that resulted in a late throw to third base in an attempt to retire O'Brien. With the bases loaded, Hohman, a junior transfer from Tomball, Texas, laced a single that brought home two runs. After right fielder Steve Bumbry (Cockeysville, Md.) drew his third walk of the game, second baseman Matt Hacker (Richmond, Va.) plated a run with a groundout down the first-base line. Third baseman Matt Blow (Richmond, Va.) then followed with another two-run single to give the Hokies a 14-9 advantage.

No. 16 Virginia Tech Holds Off Old Dominion, 7-3

The Virginia baseball team built an early lead and held off a late Old Dominion rally to top the Monarchs, 7-3, Wednesday at a chilly Davenport Field. Matt Packer (So., Germantown, Tenn.) gave the Cavaliers another solid starting pitching performance, while David Adams (Jr., Margate, Fla.) and Jeremy Farrell (Jr., Westlake, Ohio) each had three hits to pace a 15-hit attack.

Packer (1-0) tossed six innings, surrendering just an unearned run, one hit and two walks while striking out seven. Michael Schwimer (Sr., Alexandria, Va.) recorded the final out of the ninth inning to pick up his second save. ODU starter Matt Walls (0-1) was saddled with the loss after giving up six runs (three earned), 11 hits and two walks in 5.2 innings. He also struck out three. Packer, Robert Morey (Fr., Virginia Beach, Va.) and Schwimer combined to allow just three hits and no earned runs while fanning 11.

Farrell went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI, while Adams went 3-for-5 with an RBI and run scored. Greg Miclat (Jr., Concord, N.C.), Tyler Cannon (So., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.), Ryan Smith (So., Waldorf, Md.) and John Barr (Fr., Ivyland, Pa.) each posted two-hit games.

Four Tigers Homer as #13 Tigers Tame Panthers 12-3 Wednesday

Ben Paulsen, Kyle Parker, John Nester, and Wilson Boyd each hit home runs to highlight #13 Clemson's 12-3 victory over High Point on Wednesday in front of 3,491 fans at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers improved to 4-0 and the Panthers fell to 3-2.

Paulsen went 2-for-2 with a three-run homer and four RBIs to lead Clemson's 14-hit attack. Boyd added a three-run homer, his fourth of the season, and went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Parker, a freshman, hit his first career homer and Nester hit his second homer of the year. Stan Widmann also went 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Four Panthers had multiple hits.

Seven Tiger pitchers contributed to the win without walking a batter. Craig Gullickson (1-0) earned his first career win, allowing four hits and one unearned in 3.0 innings pitched in a starting role. Zach Scott (0-1) pitched 3.0 innings as well, as he allowed six runs on eight hits to take the loss.

Blackmon's RBI Single Lifts No. 22 Tech to 1-0 Win in 10 Innings

Charlie Blackmon's two-out single in the bottom of the 10th inning lifted No. 22 Georgia Tech (5-0) to a 1-0 victory against Georgia Southern (1-4) Wednesday afternoon, helping the Yellow Jackets sweep the midweek series from the Eagles.

Jason Haniger singled to lead off the bottom of the 10th inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jeff Rowland. After reliever Kyle Kamppi struck out Patrick Long for the second out of the inning, Blackmon looped a single over the head of shortstop Brian Pierce and just out of reach of diving left fielder Jonathan King.

Brad Rulon (2-0) picked up his second win of the season by pitching a scoreless 10th. He yielded just one hit and struck out one in the process. Yellow Jacket pitchers Brandon Cumpton, Kevin Jacob, Andrew Robinson and Rulon combined to toss Georgia Tech's third shutout of the season, one more than the Jackets recorded in all of 2007.

Deacons Fall to Appalachian State, 18-8

Appalachian State spoiled Wake Forest's baseball home opener on Wednesday afternoon as the Mountaineers scored an 18-8 win in wind-blown Hooks Stadium on the Wake Forest campus.

The loss leaves Wake Forest at 1-3 on the season while Appalachian State improved to 3-2.

The Mountaineers struck for six runs in the top of the first, knocking Wake Forest starter Matt Hammond out after just one-third of an inning. Appalachian utilized three walks, a hit batter and three singles to take a 6-0 lead before the Deacons came to bat.