March 3, 2008

Duke Finishes Off Columbia 4-1 And 19-5 To Complete Four-Game Sweep

Led by a pair of four-RBI days from freshman Jake Lemmerman and sophomore Gabriel Saade, the Duke baseball team completed a four-game sweep over Columbia Sunday afternoon, winning by 4-1 in game one and 19-5 in game two in a doubleheader at Jack Coombs Field.

Duke (10-0) drove a combined 52 hits over the four-game series, including 10 in Sunday's opener and 20 in the 19-5 series finale. The Blue Devils batted .356 for the series with 16 extra base hits, while the pitching staff held Columbia (0-4) to just 10 runs, including a pair of one-run performances in each doubleheader opener.

Saade went 4-for-8 over Sunday's games with all four of his hits going for extra bases. The sophomore leadoff man mashed three doubles and a home run and now owns the team lead with 10 extra base knocks. He contributed two hits, two RBI and at least one run in each game on Sunday while going errorless in 11 opportunities at second base.

No. 2 UNC Clips St. John's To Claim Coca-Cola Classic Title

Catcher Tim Federowicz belted a key solo home run in the eighth inning, and four pitchers combined on a four-hitter to give No. 2 North Carolina a 4-2 win over St. John's Sunday in the championship game of the Coca-Cola Classic at The Winthrop Ballpark. Second baseman Kyle Seager had his fourth straight two-hit game and led the Tar Heels (7-1) with 10 RBI on the weekend.

Federowicz and Seager each went 2-for-3 with an RBI, and first baseman Dustin Ackley scored two runs, drove in one and hit safely for the 12th straight game in the victory.

Wake Forest Hammers Penn State, 15-4

A four-run third inning and a six-run seventh propelled Wake Forest to a 15-4 win over Penn State Sunday in the Screentech Wiregrass Classic in Dothan, Ala.

First baseman Evan Ocheltree was 3-for-6 with 6 RBIs and one run scored. Ocheltree began his day with a double to right field in the top of the second to score Dustin Hood and Brett Linnenkohl and give the Deacs a 2-0 lead.

McDermott pitches Tech by Binghamton 12-1

Freshman Sean McDermott pitched seven scoreless innings and Virginia Tech posted double-digit runs for the fifth straight game as the Hokies closed out the Hawthorn Suites Invitational with a 12-1 victory over Binghamton on Sunday at English Field. McDermott, a left-hander from Walpole, Mass., evened his season record at 1-1 by limiting the Bearcats to just three hits over the first seven innings.

Von Tersch Pitches No. 22 Tech Baseball to 6-0 Shutout of Rutgers

Zach Von Tersch, Kevin Jacob and Taylor Wood combined on a three-hit shutout and Tony Plagman drove in four runs to lead No. 22 Georgia Tech (7-1) to a 6-0 win over Rutgers (2-3) Sunday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium. Von Tersch (1-0) earned his first win of the year by holding the Rutgers hitters to three hits while striking out seven and walking two.

Florida State Sweeps Series With 10-1 Win Over Auburn

Florida State (7-0) kept its undefeated season intact on Sunday afternoon with a 10-1 victory over Auburn (4-4) to sweep the four-game series from the Tigers. Freshman Mike McGee threw seven shutout innings to earn his second win in as many starts, while the Seminole hitters pounded out double-digit hits for the seventh straight game. McGee took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and had retired eight straight Tiger batters before giving up a walk to Kevin Patterson and then a single to Brian Fletcher in the top of the fifth.

NC State Baseball Holds On For 4-3 Win Over The Citadel

Eryk McConnell was masterful for six innings, and Jimmy Gillheeney struck out the side on 10 pitches in the ninth to record the save, but that's not to imply that there weren't some tense moments in NC State's 4-3 win over The Citadel in the final game of the Charleston Firefighter Memorial Challenge. The Wolfpack pecked its way to a 4-0 lead through five and a half innings, scratching out runs here and there off The Citadel's ace, Wes Wrenn (0-1), who took the loss after allowing all four runs on nine hits in seven innings of work.

No. 16 Virginia Rolls Past Cornell, Earns Best-Ever Start

The Virginia baseball team won its 10th-consecutive game Sunday, downing Cornell 12-3 at Davenport Field. With the win, the 10-0 Cavaliers are off to their best start to a season in school history. Dan Grovatt (Fr., Tabernacle, N.J.) paced Virginia's offensive attack, going 4-for-5 with three doubles, three runs scored and two runs batted in. For the week, Grovatt went 11-for-15 (.733) with five doubles and eight RBI.

BC Baseball Defeats Notre Dame, 7-2

Junior James MacDonald pitched a career-high 8.0 inning of seven-hit baseball and used a three-run home run from Tony Sanchez and solo homers from Ryan Akel and Dave Laufer to help Boston College (4-3, 0-0 ACC) defeat Notre Dame (3-3, 0-0 Big East), 7-2, Sunday afternoon at the Santaluces Sports Complex. In 8.0 innings, MacDonald held the Fighting Irish to only two runs, one earned, on seven hits. The right-hander tallied four strikeouts to bring his record to 2-0 on the season.

BC Baseball Falls to Lehigh in 10 innings, 16-14

The Boston College baseball team (3-3, 0-0 ACC) scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings, but fell to Lehigh (3-5), 16-14, in 10 innings.

The Eagles trailed 14-11 entering the bottom of the ninth frame. Marc Perdios started the rally by getting hit by a pitch with one out in the inning. Barry Butera followed by hitting a single to right centerfield. Tony Sanchez and Eric Campbell each hit back-to-back RBI singles to cut the deficit to one run, 14-13.

No. 8 UM Drops Series Finale to Florida, 6-2

Florida shortstop Cole Figueroa broke a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning with a grand slam to left field as the No. 8 University of Miami baseball team dropped its first game of the season Sunday, 6-2, in the series finale against the Gators (6-2) at Mark Light Field. The Hurricanes (5-1) won the series two games to one. Freshman left-hander Chris Hernandez was effective in his second consecutive Sunday start, allowing just one earned run on two hits in six innings to earn the no decision. Hernandez struck out seven in six innings.

Terps Drop Series Finale to Hofstra, 6-5

Gerry Spessard (Hagerstown, Md./Smithsburg) homered for the second straight day and Steve Braun (Granada Hills, Calif./Pierce CC) extended his hitting streak to nine games, but the University of Maryland baseball team dropped it series finale with Hofstra, 6-5, Sunday afternoon at Shipley Field.

#3 South Carolina Outlasts #13 Clemson 5-1 Sunday

Blake Cooper and Curtis Johnson shut down the Tiger bats to lead #3 South Carolina to a 5-1 victory over #13 Clemson Sunday in front of 6,258 fans at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Gamecocks improved to 5-1 overall, while the Tigers fell to 5-2.

Cooper (1-1) pitched 6.0 solid innings to earn the victory. The sophomore righthander allowed one unearned run on seven hits while striking out three and walking none. Reliever Curtis Johnson pitched 3.0 scoreless innings with four strikeouts to earn his first save of the season. D.J. Mitchell (1-1) suffered the loss, as he allowed two runs (one earned) on 10 hits while striking out a career-high-tying six batters in 5.1 innings pitched.