Baseball ACCtion: Saturday, March 15 :: BC, Miami and Virginia win on the road. FSU and UNC at home. Maryland/Wake will play extras on Sunday.

March 16, 2008

Late Inning Rallies Propel BC Past No. 24 Clemson, 7-6

Webcast on ACC Select

Boston College (8-7, 2-3 ACC) scored three runs in the eighth and two runs in the ninth to defeat Clemson (9-6, 1-4 ACC) 7-6, Saturday afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Michael Belfiore led the Eagles offensively. The sophomore first baseman went 3-for-5 with a double and four RBIs to help BC capture its second straight win against the Tigers. His two-run double in the ninth proved to be the difference in the victory.

Four other starters posted multi-hit games in Barry Butera (2-for-5; one run scored), Tony Sanchez (2-for-5; solo home run), Eric Campbell (2-for-4; three runs scored) and Garret Smith (2-for-4; one RBI) as the Eagles pounded out 12 hits on the afternoon.

Freshman Pat Dean (1-1) tossed 2+ innings of relief to earn his first collegiate win. Chris Kowalski struck out two in the ninth frame to close out the game and earn his first career save.

Left-handed Clemson reliever Casey Harman (0-1) was saddled with the loss. D.J. Mitchell worked the first 7.1 innings for the Tigers and allowed three earned runs on seven hits with six strikeouts.

No. 3 Tar Heels Outlast Hokies in 11 innings, 6-5

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Sophomore second baseman Kyle Seager's walk-off sacrifice fly in the 11th inning lifted No. 3 North Carolina to a 6-5 victory over Virginia Tech Saturday at Cary's USA Baseball National Training Complex. The Tar Heels (13-3, 4-1 ACC) also got seven shutout innings from their bullpen to secure the series victory from the Hokies (7-10, 0-5 ACC).

After leaving the bases loaded in the ninth and stranding two in the 10th, Carolina took advantage of some Virginia Tech miscues to set up Seager's game-winning RBI opportunity. Sophomore Dustin Ackley drew a one-out walk, advanced to second on a wild pickoff attempt by reliever Rhett Ballard, took third on a wild pitch and scored the game-winner on a fly ball to deep left by Seager, who went 2-for-5 with two RBI on the day.

Sophomore right-hander Alex White (3-1) picked up the win with 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. He came on for a big strikeout with runners on the corners in the eighth, finished with four strikeouts, walked one and allowed two hits. Right-hander Colin Bates gave up just two hits and struck out two over 3 2/3 shutout innings. Ballard (1-2) walked five and allowed one hit over three innings.

Third baseman Chad Flack also drove in two runs and matched Seager with two hits for the Tar Heels. Ackley beat out an infield single in the seventh to extend his hitting streak to 20 games, while Seager (12 games), Mark Fleury (eight games) and center fielder Seth Williams (eight games) also kept hitting streaks alive. Right fielder Tim Fedroff went 0-for-5 to snap his streak at nine games.

Hernandez, Gutierrez Lead No. 5 UM Past NC State, 2-1

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Freshman lefty Chris Hernandez turned in another solid pitching performance through 7 1/3 innings for his third win and junior closer Carlos Gutierrez picked up his fourth save as No. 5 Miami clinched the Atlantic Coast Conference series over NC State with a 2-1 win Saturday afternoon at Doak Field. The Hurricanes (13-1, 5-0 ACC) won their eighth straight game and at 13-1 are off to their best start under UM head coach Jim Morris since 1995. Miami went 12-2 in their first 14 games that season.

Hernandez (3-0) held the Wolfpack (9-5, 2-3 ACC) to one run on seven hits and struck out five. Gutierrez came on in the eighth with one out and recorded the final five outs. He allowed one hit in 1 2/3 innings.

Blake Tekotte, Yonder Alonso, Adan Severino, Mark Sobolewski and Yasmani Grandal each had one hit for the Hurricanes. Alonso and Sobolewski each drove in a run. Alonso's proved to be the game-winner.

Devon Cartwright had a game-high three hits for NC State. Marcus Jones and Matt Payne each finished with two hits. NC State's Clayton Shunick (2-1) was impressive in the start, but ended up losing his first decision. He held the Hurricanes to two runs on five hits and struck

McAnaney, Timely Hits Propel Baseball to 10-1 Win over Duke

Pat McAnaney (Sr., Syracuse, N.Y.) fired his first career complete game and the Virginia baseball team benefited from timely, two-out hitting in earning a 10-1 win over Duke Saturday at Jack Coombs Field.

McAnaney (2-1) gave up just an unearned run, four hits and a walk while striking out eight. After giving up a run in the second inning, McAnaney retired the next 14 hitters until allowing a seventh-inning walk.

The Cavaliers posted 16 hits in the game and scored their first seven runs with two out. Jeremy Farrell (Jr., Westlake, Ohio) tied a career high with four hits, while Franco Valdes (So., Miami, Fla.) went 3-for-5 with four RBI and fell a triple short of hitting for the cycle.

Patrick Wingfield (Sr., Winchester, Va.), Jarrett Parker (Fr., Stafford, Va.) and Dan Grovatt (Fr., Tabernacle, N.J.) each had two hits for Virginia. Phil Gosselin (Fr., West Chester, Pa.) did not have a hit, but reached base four times on two walks and two hit by pitch. Duke starting pitcher Will Currier (2-2) took the loss after going 3.2 innings and allowing six runs (five earned), seven hits and three walks while striking out three.

Florida State Downs Georgia Tech 11-2 To Remain Unbeaten In The ACC

Webcast on ACC Select

Florida State (15-1, 5-0) recorded its fifth straight win over Georgia Tech (13-3, 3-2) with an 11-2 victory in game two of a three game set on Mike Martin Field inside Dick Howser Stadium. Matt Fairel pitched eight innings to earn his fourth victory of the season, while Jason Stidham extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a three-run blast in the eighth.

Fairel was once again in control on the mound in his fourth career start as the sophomore southpaw registered career-highs in innings pitched (8.0) and strikeouts (9). The Winter Haven, Fla., native allowed just four hits in the game and at one point retired 11 straight batters. It wasn't until two outs in the fourth that the Yellow Jackets picked up their first hit of the ball game. Eight of the nine strikeouts posted by Fairel came in the final four innings as he finished the night striking out the side in the eighth.

Stidham recorded his second four-RBI game of the season, while Tyler Holt drove in a career-high three runs. Mike McGee was the only Seminole with multiple hits on Saturday night going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. With the win, the Seminoles have now captured 12 of their last 13 ACC series dating back to the final series of the 2006 season.

Conclusion of Wake Forest-Maryland Game Suspended to Sunday

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The conclusion of Wake Forest's ACC baseball game against Maryland has been suspended due to rain until Sunday at 1 p.m. The Demon Deacons and Terrapins are tied 4-4 heading into the top of the 10th inning. The game will be played until completion on Sunday, and the third game of the series will follow.

Wake Forest battled back from a 3-1 deficit to take a 4-3 lead, only to see Maryland tie the game in the eighth. The two teams have went scoreless over the eighth and ninth innings. The Deacs put the leadoff runner on in the eighth but were unable to score. Willy Fox almost gave Wake a walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth, but his drive to rightfield was knocked down by the steady rain just short of the wall.