Baseball ACCtion: Saturday, March 22 :: Three of five games decided by one run as ACC series continue.

March 22, 2008

No. 19 Virginia Wins See-Saw Battle With Boston College, 5-4

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Virginia baseball team was down to its final strike in the ninth inning but rallied with a run in the ninth and another in the 10th to down Boston College, 5-4 in 10 innings, Saturday at Davenport Field. The Cavalier freshmen stepped up, as Dan Grovatt (Fr., Tabernacle, N.J.) hit the tying single on a 3-2 pitch in the ninth and Jarrett Parker (Fr., Stafford, Va.) singled in the winning run in the 10th to give Virginia its 16th-consecutive home victory.

Neal Davis (So., Baltimore, Md.) earned his first win of the season by tossing two innings of scoreless relief. Boston College's Chris Kowalski (0-1) was saddled with the loss.

Both starting pitchers threw well. Virginia's Pat McAnaney (Sr., Syracuse, N.Y.) pitched 6.2 innings and gave up two runs (one earned), six hits and two walks while striking out eight. Boston College's Dan Houston went eight innings and gave up three earned runs, 10 hits and four walks while fanning seven.

Tyler Cannon (So., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) led the Cavaliers with a 3-for-4 effort, while Phil Gosselin (Fr., West Chester, Pa.) had two hits, including an RBI double. Tony Sanchez paced the Eagles with three hits.

Trailing 4-3, Virginia (18-4, 4-4 ACC) started its rally in the bottom of the ninth. Greg Miclat (Jr., Concord, N.C.) was hit by a pitch to lead off. He advanced on a sacrifice and wild pitch. With two outs, Grovatt hit the 3-2 pitch into right field to tie the score.

Burns, Rowland Carry Tech Past Duke, 4-2

Webcast on ACC Select

ATLANTA - Eddie Burns carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning, and Jeff Rowland had two hits, including a home run, to help No. 17 Georgia Tech (17-4, 5-3 ACC) defeat Duke (18-5, 3-5 ACC), 4-2, Saturday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.

Burns (3-1) earned his third win of the season by holding the Blue Devils to two runs, only one of which was earned, on four hits while recording four strikeouts in seven-plus innings.

Rowland, Derek Dietrich and Jay Dantzler each had two hits for the Yellow Jackets while Duke's offense was led by Ryan McCurdy, who went 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Brad Rulon picked up his first save of the season, and fifth of his career, by working out of a jam in the eighth inning and tossing a 1-2-3 ninth.

Rowland's home run, his second of the year, led off the fifth inning for Tech after Duke had tied the game 1-1. He also started a two-run rally for Tech in the seventh, drawing a walk and coming around to score on an error, and Brad Feltes extended the lead to 4-1 with a sacrifice fly.

Ackley, Williams Lead No. 3 Tar Heels Past Maryland, 14-1

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - First baseman Dustin Ackley and center fielder Seth Williams each homered and combined to drive in seven runs in a 14-1 win for No. 3 North Carolina over Maryland Saturday at Shipley Field. The Tar Heels (17-4, 6-2 ACC) pounded out a season-high 18 hits and posted a pair of five-run innings to even the three-game series.

Ackley was 2-for-3 with three runs and four RBI on a two-run home run in the third and a two-run double in the eighth, while Williams was 2-for-5 with three runs and three RBI. He homered in the second for Carolina's first run of the day and drove in two more with a double in the third. Ackley and Williams were two of seven Tar Heels with two or more hits on the day.

Designated hitter Tim Federowicz and right fielder Tim Fedroff tallied three hits apiece, while second baseman Kyle Seager, third baseman Chad Flack and catcher Mark Fleury each added two hits. Fedroff, Seager and Fleury also drove in two runs apiece. With two base hits Saturday and five on the weekend, Flack moved past associate head coach Chad Holbrook for fourth on Carolina's career hit list with 274.

With plenty of run support, junior right-hander Adam Warren (4-0) won his fourth straight start and ran his career record to 17-0 with a season-best seven strikeouts over six innings. He scattered seven hits and three walks but picked up key outs when he needed to and stranded seven Maryland base runners. Relievers Nate Striz, Logan Munson and Rob Wooten combined for three shutout innings out of the bullpen.

FSU Holds On For 12-11 Victory Over Virginia Tech

Webcast on ACC Select

Blacksburg, Va. - Florida State (18-2, 8-0) withstood a ninth inning rally by Virginia Tech (7-14, 0-8) to remain undefeated in the ACC with a 12-11 victory Saturday night. In the longest and coldest game played this season, the Seminoles registered 14 hits and drew a season-high 14 walks to win their third conference series of the year and 13 of their last 14 dating back to the final series of the 2006 season.

Florida State trailed by as many as three runs before putting together an eight-run sixth to take a five run lead. The Hokies made things interesting in the ninth to draw within one but Buster Posey came in to close the door on Virginia Tech to record his third save of the season.

Posey entered the game in the bottom of the ninth with the Hokies down two and runners at first and third with nobody out. He gave up an RBI single to the first batter that he faced as Sean O'Brien took a 1-2 offering through the right side to cut the Seminole lead to one. The junior right hander then found his grove as he got an infield fly out and a fielder's choice groundout at second as the Hokies put the tying run 90 feet away with two outs. But the tying run would remain at third as Posey struck out Jose Cueto to end a wild and crazy game. Cueto was caught looking on a Posey fastball on the inside corner.

Tigers Nip Wolfpack 3-2 in Game-Two Saturday

Webcast on ACC Select

Clemson, SC - The Clemson Baseball team downed the N.C. State Wolfpack (13-6, 4-4 ACC) 3-2 in ACC action on Saturday night in front of 4,987 fans at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers (13-7, 3-5 ACC) rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the bottom of the seventh, with the decisive run scoring on a double-play groundout by J.D. Burgess.

D.J. Mitchell (2-2) earned the win for the Tigers, pitching 7.0 strong innings, allowing seven hits and two unearned runs while striking out five against only one walk. Matt Vaughn pitched 2.0 hitless and scoreless innings with two strikeouts to record his sixth save of the season. Wolfpack starter Clayton Shunick (2-2), who came into the game having allowed only two earned runs in 23.0 innings pitched all season, was charged with three runs and struck out a career-tying-high nine batters in the loss.

N.C. State took advantage of a pair of Tiger mistakes in the top of the sixth inning to get the scoring started. Dallas Poulk led off with a single through the right side. Following a strikeout, Marcus Jones grounded a ball back to Mitchell, who spun and threw to second. Second-baseman Mike Freeman was unable to collect the throw, which bounced into centerfield, advancing Poulk to third.

The Tigers finally got to Shunick in the bottom of the seventh inning. Jeff Schaus reached on Shunick's first walk of the game to lead off the frame. Kyle Parker followed with a single through the right side, moving Schaus to third. Freeman then knocked in the Tigers' first run, lacing a single to right-center to plate Schaus. John Hinson followed with another single to right-center, plating Parker and moving Freeman to third.

Miami-Wake Forest Series Postponed Until Sunday

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Game two of the Miami-Wake Forest baseball series scheduled for Saturday night at Mark Light Field has been postponed due to inclement weather in the South Florida area. The teams will now play a doubleheader Sunday beginning at 10 a.m. The second game of the doubleheader will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one.