March 26, 2008

Eagles Shut Down Hartford, 7-1

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Freshman John Leonard scattered three hits over six innings to earn his first collegiate victory as Boston College (10-11, 2-7 ACC) defeated Hartford (3-9, 0-0 AE) 7-1 on Tuesday afternoon at Commander Shea Field.

Leonard (1-0) notched a career-high in innings pitched (6.0) and strikeouts (6) and allowed one earned run on the day.

Ted Ratliff tossed three scoreless innings with five strikeouts to close out the game and record his first save of the season.

At the plate, Sam Shaughnessy and Tony Sanchez each collected multi-hit games. Shaughnessy tallied two hits, including a triple, and three RBIs, while Sanchez added a single, double and run scored.

Eric Campbell and Garret Smith each collected a hit and RBI in the contest, while Mickey Wiswall clubbed his third home run of the season in the eighth inning.

Paulsen Leads Tigers Over Elon 5-4 Tuesday

CLEMSON, S.C. - Sophomore Ben Paulsen plated the Tigers' fifth run of the game by blasting his seventh home run of the season to lead Clemson to a 5-4 victory over Elon on Tuesday in front of 4,325 fans at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Clemson improved to 15-7 and Elon dropped to 19-5.

En route to his third win of the season, Matt Zoltak (3-0) pitched 2.0 innings, allowing two runs on two hits while striking out two and walking none. Casey Harman allowed one run on three hits with five strikeouts in 3.0 innings pitched in relief to keep the Tigers ahead. Matt Vaughn picked up his seventh save of the season, as he pitched a hitless final inning.

Lefthander Cory Harrilchak (2-1) allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits in 5.2 innings pitched to take the loss.

The Phoenix got on the scoreboard first with a run in the top of the third inning, as Harry Austin drew a leadoff walk and stole second before Donny Jobe drove him in with a single to center.


Duke Rallies To Top Brown 7-6 In Extra Innings

DURHAM, N.C. - Ryan McCurdy drove in the tying run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth while Jeremy Gould followed with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the 10th to lift Duke to a 7-6 win over Brown Tuesday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field.

After trailing 6-5 since the fifth inning, Duke (20-5, 4-5 ACC) was down to its last out in the bottom of the ninth before McCurdy came through with a clutch two-out single to left field. The line drive base knock sent in Gabriel Saade from second base after the sophomore Blue Devil battled back from a 1-2 count to draw a walk before stealing second base to put himself in scoring position.

Following McCurdy's game-tying single, Duke strung together three singles in the bottom of the 10th, including Gould's go-ahead knock down the third base line to end the game. Gould's single sent in junior Tim Sherlock, who singled and moved into scoring position after a two-out base hit from junior catcher Matt Williams.

Florida State Downs Stetson 11-2

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida State (20-2) ran its win streak to eight straight over Stetson (11-12) with an 11-2 victory over the Hatters Tuesday night at Dick Howser Stadium. The Seminoles pounded out 15 hits reaching the double-digit hit mark for the 19th time in 22 games. Tony Delmonico tied a career-high with five RBIs, while Jack Rye registered three hits for the second straight game and set a career-high with four runs scored.

Freshman Mike McGee ran his record to 3-1 on the year as he gave the Seminoles seven strong innings to tie a career-high. The right hander from Port St. Lucie, Fla., allowed just one hit through the first five innings and at point retired eight straight Stetson hitters. McGee finished the game allowing two runs on five hits with two walks and a pair of strikeouts.

"I was happy that I was able to throw my change up for strikes today," said McGee. "I am definitely gaining a lot more confidence after each start and feeling a lot more comfortable out there."

Murton and Feltes Lift No. 17 Georgia Tech to 12-1 Win Over Georgia State

ATLANTA - Brad Feltes' grand slam broke open a tight game in the fourth inning and Luke Murton hit two home runs to lead No. 17 Georgia Tech (18-5) to a 12-1 victory over Georgia State (14-8) Tuesday night at Russ Chandler Stadium.

With the Yellow Jackets leading 3-1, Thomas Nichols and Derek Dietrich earned walks and Charlie Blackmon was hit by a pitch to load the bases in the fourth inning for Feltes, who drilled his fourth home run of the season off the left field pole to push the score to 7-1.

Tony Plagman followed the grand slam with a walk before Murton sent his first home run of the season over the center field wall, making the score 9-1 in favor of the Jackets.

Feltes and Murton both drove in four runs on the night, and Murton had a game-high three hits for the Yellow Jackets. Plagman, Jeff Rowland and Chris House added two hits apiece.

Maryland Comes From Behind to Top George Mason 6-4

FAIRFAX, Va. - The University of Maryland baseball team took advantage of a crucial fielding error and got a clutch, game-tying single from pinch hitter Dan Benick in a 6-4, come-from-behind victory Tuesday afternoon at George Mason.

After falling behind 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Terps answered with three in the top of the seventh to re-gain the advantage.

The Terps (12-11) drew first blood, pushing across a pair of runs in the top of the third against Patriots starting pitcher Ryan Brecko. Second baseman Steve Braun (Granada Hills, Calif./Pierce CC) led off with a single and moved to second two batters later when Nick Jowers (Beltsville, Md./DeMatha Catholic) was hit by a pitch.

Joe Palumbo (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic) scored Braun with an RBI single to right and Jowers scored a batter later on a groundout by designated hitter Jensen Pupa (Germantown, Md./Northwest).

The Patriots (9-12) tied the score at 2-2 with single runs in the third and fourth innings. The Patriots took advantage of Maryland fielding miscues on both runs. Right fielder AJ Casario (Pine Hill, N.J./Overbrook) misjudged a fly ball off the bat of Josh Steinberg in the third, resulting in an RBI triple.

Jackson, No. 2 Hurricanes Knock Off Bethune-Cookman, 10-5

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Sophomore shortstop Ryan Jackson went a perfect 4-for-4, including his second career home run in the bottom of the fourth, as the No. 2 University of Miami baseball team won the first of two mid-week contests against Bethune-Cookman, 10-5, Tuesday night at Mark Light Field.

Jackson scored a career-high three runs in addition to tying his career-best marks with four hits and four RBI. Sophomore catcher Jason Hagerty went 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBI for the Hurricanes (18-2), who set a new school record with their sixth straight game with 10 or more runs. Sophomore third baseman Mark Sobolewski also went 2-for-4 for Miami.

John Housey earned his second win of the season in his just fourth career start, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out four. Iden Nazario, Kyle Bellamy and Carlos Gutierrez combined to throw the final 3 2/3 innings to secure the victory.

No. 3 Tar Heels Down Davidson, 12-6

CARY, N.C. - Chad Flack and Garrett Gore each had three hits and three RBI, and No. 3 North Carolina scored in double digits for the third straight game in Tuesday's 12-6 win over Davidson at Cary's USA Baseball National Training Complex. The Tar Heels (19-4) have combined for 44 runs and 54 hits over their last three wins.

Flack went 3-for-4 with two doubles, while Gore was 3-for-5 with his first home run of the season, a three-run shot in the second inning. Center fielder Seth Williams also added three hits, two runs and an RBI to match his career-best hitting streak at 14 games.

Dustin Ackley, who scored three runs and drove in one, and Tim Federowicz chipped in with two hits apiece. Second baseman Kyle Seager singled and scored in the first to move his hitting streak to 19 games.

Carolina starter Patrick Johnson cruised through four innings but could not make it out of the fifth and did not qualify for the win despite striking out six batters over 4 1/3 innings. He allowed three runs on five hits and three walks.

Wolfpack Takes Marshall 9-5 In Series Opener

RALEIGH, N.C. - Matt Payne's two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the eighth gave NC State some breathing room Tuesday night as the Wolfpack came away with a hard-earned 9-5 victory over Marshall at Doak Field at Dail Park.

The Herd had scored twice in the top of the seventh to cut the Pack's lead to two runs at 7-5 and seemed to have the momentum going into the late innings, but Drew Martin led off the eighth with a single to left and Tommy Foschi on four pitches. Dallas Poulk bunted the runners to second and third, and Marshall reliever Adam Dobies came in and struck out Marcus Jones for the second out of the inning. Payne, who earlier delivered a run with a sacrifice fly, whistled Dobies' 0-2 pitch off the tip of the glove of second baseman Kenny Socoro for a two-run single.

Drew Taylor (2-1), who worked three innings in relief of starter Jeff Stallings, got credit for the win. Taylor allowed a leadoff single to Socorro, the first man he faced in the game, then retired seven in a row before running into trouble in the seventh.

No. 15 Virginia Defeats VCU, 5-3

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Behind a solid pitching effort from Jake Cowan (Fr., Roswell, Ga.) and three RBI from Dan Grovatt (Fr., Tabernacle, N.J.), the Virginia baseball team posted a 5-3 win over VCU Tuesday at Davenport Field. The win stretches the Cavaliers' school-record home winning streak to 18 games.

Virginia plays George Washington at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Please note that because of the men's basketball game Wednesday night, baseball parking will be limited to the Cage parking lot.

Cowan (1-0) pitched five innings and allowed two runs (one earned), five hits and two walks while striking out five as he earned his first collegiate win. Neal Davis (So., Baltimore, Md.), Kevin Arico (Fr., Flemington, N.J.) and Michael Schwimer (Sr., Alexandria, Va.) combined to pitch the final four innings, with Schwimer tossing the final 1.1 innings to earn his seventh save.

Virginia Tech Snaps Skid With 18-11 Win Over James Madison

HARRISONBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech baseball team cranked out a season-high 19 hits to defeat James Madison 18-11 on Tuesday at Long Field, snapping a 12-game losing streak in the process.

The 18 runs was also a season high for the Hokies, who improved to 8-15 on the season. Freshman Jake Peeling (Waynesboro, Va.) made the first start of his career for Tech, but it was redshirt sophomore Rob Waskiewicz (1-0, Manchester, Md.) who earned the win, tossing four innings in relief as Tech's offense helped out with it's most productive game of the year. Sophomore Kyle Cichy (Vineland, N.J.) finished the game with two scoreless innings to earn his second save.

Every Hokie who played had at least one hit and one run scored, with catcher Anthony Sosnoskie (Front Royal, Va.) turning in four base knocks and designated hitter Austin Wates (Richmond, Va.) scoring a team-high four times. Third baseman Michael Seaborn (Atlanta, Ga.) drove in a career-best five runs on a home run and a double.

Wake Forest Drops 12-6 Contest to UNC Asheville

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - UNC Asheville scored four runs in the first inning and held off Wake Forest the rest of the way for a 12-6 defeat of the Demon Deacons Tuesday afternoon at Hooks Stadium.

Wake drops to 11-10 overall with its fourth-straight loss. UNCA moves to 12-13 on the year.

The Deacons left 11 men on base, and walked 10 batters on the day. Wake was able to pull to within one run on two occasions but could never plate the tying run.

Tyler Smith led Wake Forest at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs, a run and a pair of doubles. Allan Dykstra, Willy Fox and Andy Goff each registered two hits in the loss. Dykstra hit a solo home run in the third for his seventh of the season.