March 4, 2009

Fleury Slugs No. 2 Tar Heels Past Gardner-Webb, 10-3
Mark Fleury connected on a grand slam and drove in a career-best five runs, and right-hander Bryant Gaines earned his first career win in No. 2 North Carolina's 10-3 victory over Gardner-Webb Wednesday at Boshamer Stadium. The Tar Heels improved to 8-1 with their fifth straight win, while the Bulldogs dropped to 3-4.

Fleury, who leads the Tar Heels with 17 RBI and three home runs, went 2-for-2 with an RBI double in the third, the grand slam in the sixth and a pair of walks. Ben Bunting made his first start in the leadoff spot and responded with his second straight three-hit game, and Levi Michael, Kyle Seager and Ryan Graepel added two hits apiece to pace the Carolina offense. Garrett Gore chipped in with two RBI and two runs scored.

Gaines (1-0) posted career bests of five innings and six strikeouts in just his second start. He allowed just one earned run on six hits and three walks en route to his first victory. 

No. 8 Miami Cruises Past Mount St. Mary's, 14-3
Freshman Harold Martinez homered, scored four runs and drove in three while junior right-hander Michael Rudman won his first career game as the eighth-ranked University of Miami baseball team defeated Mount St. Mary's, 14-3, Wednesday night at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.

After Mount St. Mary's (0-5) opened the scoring with three runs in the top of the third, Miami (7-2) scored all 14 of its runs over the next five innings to secure its first mid-week win of the 2009 season. The Hurricanes evened the score at 3-3 at the end of three, before plating two more in the fourth, four in the fifth, three in the sixth and the final two in the seventh.

Martinez finished the night 2-for-3 with a homer, a double, two walks, three RBI and four runs scored for the Hurricanes. Senior Dave DiNatale also homered and drove in three, finishing the night 1-for-3 with two runs scored. Freshman Vickash Ramjit - making his first start as a `Cane - finished a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI and one run scored while Ryan Jackson (2-for-3, one RBI, two runs) also had a strong night at the plate. 

#19 Tigers Pound Out 15 Hits in 17-2 Win Over UNC Asheville Wednesday
The #19 Clemson Tigers pounded out 15 hits in a 17-2 win over UNC Asheville Wednesday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers improved to 5-2, and the Bulldogs dropped to 2-7.

Clemson scored 12 runs over the first four innings including seven in the first two innings with two outs. The Tigers scored in six of the eight innings they batted. The game saw 16 pitchers used, including nine by UNC Asheville.

Clemson reliever Justin Sarratt (1-0) earned the win for the Tigers as he pitched 1.0 inning and gave up one hit and one unearned run to go with one walk. UNC Asheville starter Taylor Wohlwend (1-3) took the loss for the Bulldogs giving up four runs on four hits with three walks in 1.0 innings pitched. 

Long Day at the Baseball Yard for Wolfpack
NC State played three games to win two Wednesday, taking a split-opponent doubleheader against Villanova and Akron and taking 27 innings to do so.

The Wolfpack, which improved to 7-2 and extended its winning streak to seven games, hammered Villanova 15-0 in the first game of the twin-bill, then played Akron for 18 innings and five hours and twelve minutes before outlasting the Zips 5-4. The 18-inning game was the longest in NC State history.

Eleven NC State pitchers, two shy of the NCAA record for a single game, combined to strike out 31 Zips batters, setting a new NCAA Division I mark and easily eclipsing the old record of 26, set by Murray State on April 12, 1987, vs. Austin Peay. That game was a 15-inning affair. Akron used five pitchers in the game, and they combined to fan 20 Wolfpack hitters, and the 51 strikeouts for the two teams combined also is an NCAA Division I record.

Virginia Thumps George Washington, 17-4
The Virginia baseball team racked up 20 hits in a 17-4 win over George Washington Wednesday afternoon at Davenport Field. Phil Gosselin (So., West Chester, Pa.), Dan Grovatt (So., Tabernacle, N.J.) and Jared King (Fr., Radford, Va.) each had three hits for Virginia.

Virginia used seven pitchers in the contest. Neal Davis (Jr., Baltimore, Md.) earned the win after starting and going two scoreless innings. He improved to 2-0 this season. Tom Gately (0-1) took the loss for GW after allowing five earned runs, six hits and four walks in three innings.

Gosselin also drove in four runs, while King scored three times and knocked in a pair. Steven Proscia (Fr., Suffern, N.Y.) hit a double and a triple and Franco Valdes (Jr., Miami, Fla.) and Corey Hunt (R-So., Charlottesville, Va.) each had a pair of hits. Eleven Cavaliers recorded at least one hit in the contest. UVa also stole five bases. 

Freiman’s Two Home Runs Lift Duke Over UNC Greensboro 11-3
Nate Freiman launched two home runs and sent in four RBI to lead Duke to an 11-3 win over UNC Greensboro Wednesday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field.

It was the second multi-home run game of the season for Freiman, who now boasts four long balls, 13 RBI, a .391 average and a .957 slugging percentage on the season. Junior Alex Hassan also homered and reached base safely in all five of his plate appearances, drawing two walks, singling twice and mashing a two-run homer. Hassan also stole a base for the first time this season.

Duke (6-1) scored 11 runs on 13 hits, scoring in double digits for the third time this season. The win was the sixth straight for the Blue Devils and was credited to junior reliever Michael Ness (1-0), who came into the game in the second inning and gave up just two hits until exiting at the end of the fifth. He struck out two and walked one while lowering his season ERA to 1.35. 

Late Inning Home Run Lifts North Florida Over Florida State 5-4
An eighth inning home run by North Florida's Steve Hillian was the difference Wednesday night as the Ospreys (4-6) handed sixth-ranked Florida State (6-3) its third straight loss of the season downing the Seminoles 5-4 on Mike Martin Field inside Dick Howser Stadium. It marked the first victory for UNF over FSU as the Seminoles entered the mid-week game undefeated in the series in four previous games.

It hasn't happened often but Wednesday night was one of those rare occasions. For just the fifth time since 2005, Florida State suffered three or more losses in a row. The last time such a feat occurred came at Clemson, May 12-14, 2006. The last time FSU suffered three consecutive losses to a non-conference opponent came at the hands of Hawaii, March 12-14, 2005.

Despite giving up just five hits on the evening, the Seminoles struggled defensively committing a season-high four errors. 

Florida Gulf Coast Earns Split With 6-4 Win Over Boston College
Patrick Nathanson pitched 7.0 innings and allowed three earned runs to lead Florida Gulf Coast to a 6-4 win against the Boston College baseball team Wednesday night at Swanson Stadium.

Nathanson shut down the BC offense for the first seven innings by allowing just one run and two hits. He walked two and struck out four. The Eagles got the other two runs against him when they put two men on in the eighth inning before he was pulled.

Junior Tony Sanchez picked up his third home run of the season in the fourth inning, finishing 1-for-3 with two RBI and a run.

Deacs Drop 12-7 Decision at UNC Wilmington
Wake Forest jumped out to a 7-2 lead, but UNC Wilmington scored 10 unanswered runs to pick up a 12-7 win on Wednesday night at Brooks Field.

Wake Forest suffers its first loss of the season, dropping to 6-1 on the season, while UNC Wilmington improves to 8-0 on the year.

Carlos Lopez and Weldon Woodall were the offensive stars of the night for the Deacs. Lopez hit a pair of home runs, becoming the first Wake Forest player to hit two home runs in a game since Tyler Smith accomplished the feat at Virginia on April 19, 2008. Weldon Woodall went 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored. Austin Stadler and Lopez tied for the team high in RBIs with three each.