Baseball ACCtion: Friday, March 14 :: Upsets highlight start of the second set of conference series.

March 14, 2008

Late Rally Propels Duke To 9-8 Win Over No. 16 Virginia

Freshman Jake Lemmerman drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out double in the bottom of the eighth to lead Duke to a 9-8 come-from-behind victory over No. 16 Virginia Friday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field.

Lemmerman went 2-for-3 with a triple, double and three RBI while also scoring once and drawing a pair of walks. The freshman shortstop's go-ahead double capped a two-out rally in the bottom of the eighth in which Duke (15-2, 2-2 ACC) overcame an 8-6 deficit by scoring all three runs with two outs on the board.

The Blue Devils banged up Virginia ace Jacob Thompson, scoring six runs in three innings off of the junior right hander. Thompson entered the game with a 0.98 ERA, but could not hold down a Blue Devil offense that knocked out eight hits off of the highly touted junior.

The game featured four lead changes, as Duke first overcame a 2-0 deficit to go ahead 6-2 before Virginia rallied to take an 8-6 lead. Jeremy Gould, Kyle Kreick and Jonathan Nicolla each drove in two RBI, with both of Nicolla's runs coming on a two-run homer in the third inning. The homer was the first of the season for the senior first baseman, who has now driven in nine RBI in his seven games played. Kreick's second RBI was perhaps the most clutch hit of the game, as the senior drove in Gould from first base in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out double after falling behind 0-2 in the count.

Swinson Tosses Complete Game Victory at Wake Forest

Backed by a brilliant performance by starting pitcher Scott Swinson, the Maryland baseball team earned its first ACC victory of the season, 8-2, at Wake Forest Friday afternoon.

Swinson (Ellicott City, Md./George Washington University) pitched the first complete game by a Maryland starter since Ben Pfinsgraff did it against UMBC April 7, 2004. In nine innings, Swinson allowed one earned run

The Terps (8-7, 1-3) scored the first run of the game on a two-out, bloop single to center field off the bat of senior catcher Chad Durakis (Cockeysville, Md./St. Pauls).

Maryland increased its lead to 2-0 in the top of the fourth on a solo home run to left field from third baseman Mike Murphy (Silver Spring, Md./Georgetown Prep), a no-doubter into the trees behind the left-field wall at Wake's Hooks Stadium.

Sanchez's Two-Run Homer Lifts Eagles Past No. 24 Clemson, 6-4

Boston College (7-7, 1-3 ACC) scored three runs with two outs in the top of seventh, capped off by a Tony Sanchez two-run homer, to earn its first ACC win of the season with a 6-4 victory against Clemson (9-5, 1-3 ACC) at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, Friday afternoon.

Sanchez went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs and extended his hit streak to 11 games. Matt Hamlet added a double, two runs scored and two RBIs, while Ryan Akel chipped in with a double and two runs scored in the win.

Terry Doyle (2-1) pitched 6.0 innings and allowed three earned runs on 10 hits. The senior right-hander tallied six strikeouts and one walk to earn his second win of the season.

Kurt Hayer tossed the final 3.0 innings to earn his first save of the season and his career.

Federowicz Slugs No. 3 North Carolina Past Hokies, 11-1

Junior Tim Federowicz drove in a career-high six runs and also pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief to lead No. 3 North Carolina past Virginia Tech, 11-1, Friday in the opening game of an Atlantic Coast Conference series at Cary's USA Baseball National Training Complex. The Tar Heels (12-3, 3-1 ACC) also got six strong innings from starter Adam Warren, who picked up his third victory.

Federowicz, who recorded his first three-hit game of the season, drove in five straight runs for Carolina. After a first-inning sacrifice fly, the Apex native followed with a two-run single in the third and a two-run double in the seventh. Following his shutout stint on the mound, Federowicz returned to designated hitter spot and closed the scoring for UNC with an RBI double in the five-run eighth inning.

Warren (3-0) allowed just one unearned run and cruised through the Hokie lineup until the sixth, facing just one over the minimum through 5 1/3 innings. He struck out three, allowed three hits and three walks and helped his own cause with a pair of pickoffs at first base. Following the 1 1/3 innings from Federowicz, who struck out one and allowed two hits, sophomore lefty Brian Moran went two-thirds of an inning, and freshman Nate Striz closed with a scoreless ninth.

Ninth Inning Rally Pushes FSU Past Georgia Tech 8-7

Florida State (14-1, 4-0) recorded its second consecutive walk-off victory in ACC play with a two-run ninth inning rally to post an 8-7 victory over Georgia Tech (13-2, 3-1) on Friday night at Dick Howser Stadium. Sophomore Ohmed Danesh provided the walk-off hit delivering a two-out, two-run bases loaded single up the middle off Georgia Tech closer Chris Hicks to snap a six-game losing streak to the Yellow Jackets on Mike Martin Field.

Tony Delmonico got things started in the ninth with a two-out single to right center. Hicks (0-2) then issued back-to-back walks to Dennis Guinn and Tommy Oravetz to load the bases for Danesh. After watching ball one, the Orlando, Fla., native took the next pitch up the middle just beyond the out stretched glove of Georgia Tech shortstop Derek Dietrich to score Delmonico and pinch runner Luke Smierciak for the game-winner. Danesh's walk-off single follows last Sunday's game-winning hit by Stuart Tapley in the bottom of the ninth to beat Maryland.

No. 5 UM Defeats NC State for 7th Straight Win, 12-5

Junior second baseman Jemile Weeks matched a career-high with four hits and sophomore lefty Eric Erickson won his fourth straight start as No. 5 Miami knocked off NC State,12-5, Friday night at Doak Field in game one of their Atlantic Coast Conference series. Sophomore catcher Jason Hagerty went 3-for-5 with two RBI for the Hurricanes (12-1, 4-0 ACC) who won their seventh straight.

Erickson (4-0) limited the Wolfpack (9-4, 2-2 ACC) to one earned run on seven hits and struck out three. Sophomore right-hander Kyle Bellamy picked up his second save, tossing the final 2 1/3 innings after NC State had pulled within, 8-5. Bellamy struck out the side in the eighth and recorded the final seven outs.

Ryan Pond and Matt Payne each had a pair of hits for NC State, but Miami out-hit the Wolfpack, 13-10.

NC State's Eric Surkamp lasted only 2 1/3 innings after giving up seven runs, three earned, on six hits. He walked five guys. Five NC State relievers combined to pitch the final 6 2/3 innings.