April 1, 2009

Fleury Rallies No. 5 UNC Past Old Dominion, 7-6

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. * Mark Fleury hit a solo home run in the eighth and followed with a walk-off RBI double in the ninth to rally No. 5 North Carolina past Old Dominion, 7-6, Wednesday at Boshamer Stadium. Led by Fleury and Garrett Gore, the Tar Heels (22-6) scored three times in the eighth and answered the Monarchs (8-16) with a run in the ninth for their third straight victory.

Fleury was 2-for-4 with two runs, his seventh homer and two RBI for his third straight multi-hit game. Gore matched his career high with three hits for the seventh time and put Carolina in front in the eighth with a two-run triple. Ben Bunting added two singles and a walk.

Max Most led ODU with three hits, and Gerard Hall was 2-for-4 with a two run home run.

Right-hander Matt Harvey (4-1) earned the win after allowing a run on three infield singles in the ninth for the Tar Heels. Robbie Watkins (0-2) took the loss after allowing go-ahead runs in both the eighth and ninth innings.

No. 10 Baseball Improves to 24-4, Downs Norfolk State

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Jarrett Parker (So., Stafford, Va.) and Phil Gosselin (So., West Chester, Pa.) each recorded three hits as the No. 10 Virginia baseball team earned a 6-2 win over Norfolk State Wednesday night at Davenport Field. Parker swatted his seventh home run and knocked in two, while Gosselin doubled twice as the two combined to go 6-for-8 at the top of the UVa batting order.

Danny Hultzen (Fr., Bethesda, Md.) had the go-ahead two-run single in the sixth inning, and David Coleman (So., Richmond, Va.) added a two-run single and scored twice. Virginia went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left a season-high 14 runners on base.

On the mound, Shane Halley (Fr., Burke, Va.) tossed a career-high 3.1 innings and gave up only one hit while striking out three to earn the win and improve to 2-0 this year. The Cavalier bullpen of Halley, Justin Thompson (Fr., Danville, Va.) and Brad Grove (Sr., Glen Allen, Va.) was solid, allowing just four hits over the final five innings and not walking a batter.

NSU reliever Ryan Davis (0-2) took the loss and allowed two earned runs and three walks in 1.1 innings. He did not give up a hit but struck out one.

UVa starting pitcher Jeff Lorick (Jr., Duluth, Ga.) went 3.2 innings and gave up two runs (one earned), four hits and a walk while striking out four. NSU starter Jason Barker stymied the Cavaliers for much of the evening and allowed one earned run, five hits and three walks while fanning three in 4.1 innings.

Brooks' Walk-off Single Lifts Deacs to 4-3 Win over UNC Greensboro

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - A routine fly ball to left field off the bat of Steven Brooks with two outs in the bottom of the ninth turned into a walk-off single when the UNC Greensboro outfielder slipped, allowing the ball to drop and scoring Shane Kroker, as Wake Forest rallied for a 4-3 win over UNCG on Wednesday night at Wake Forest Baseball Park.

Wake Forest improves to 15-11 on the season, while UNCG drops to 8-14.

With the game tied at three entering the bottom of the ninth, the Wake Forest offense mounted a rally, scoring the game-winning run. Austin Stadler hit a one-out double down the right-field line. Bentley Heyman flew out to center field for the second out of the inning. With two outs and two strikes, Brooks hit a fly ball to left-center field. Left fielder Pedro Leon was striding over to catch the ball, but slipped and the ball fell between the left fielder and the center fielder, allowing Kroker, who had pinch ran for Stadler, to trot home for the game-winning run.

The Wake Forest pitching staff enjoyed a strong night on the mound. The four pitchers combined to allow three unearned runs and six hits, while striking out nine and walking one. The three Demon Deacon relievers, Mark Adzick, Brandon Johnson and Zach White, combined to allow just one hit in four innings of action.

East Carolina Pounds NC State 14-4

RALEIGH, N.C. - East Carolina's hot bats burned NC State Wednesday night at sold-out Doak Field at Dail Park.

The No. 16 Pirates, hitting .362 on the season, used a pair of three-run homers in the third inning to jump out to a 7-0 lead, and cruised to a 12-4 victory in front of 2,750 spectators in the midweek, non-conference contest.

Pirate lead-off hitter Trent Whitehead, who had not homered in 110 at-bats this season, began the offensive barrage in the third inning, with a three-run shot off the scoreboard in centerfield. He followed up with a two-run shot to left-center the next inning. The sophomore centerfielder, who leads ECU with a .430 batting average, was 3-for-6 with five RBIs on the night.

Outfielder Devin Harris added a three-run homer five batters later to extend ECU's lead. Third baseman Drew Schieber finished the game with a pair of hits and four RBIs.

The loss ended the Wolfpack's five-game winning streak over the Pirates, which dated back to 2006.

Three-Run Ninth Lifts #1 Georgia Over #17 Clemson 4-2 Wednesday

CLEMSON, S.C. - Top-ranked Georgia scored three runs in the ninth inning to top #17 Clemson 4-2 in front of 5,239 fans at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Wednesday night. The Bulldogs, who won both games of the home-and-home midweek series, improved to 24-3, while the Tigers dropped to 18-9. The loss snapped Clemson's nine-game home winning streak as well.

The Bulldogs tallied just one run on three hits in the first eight innings, but they put runners on first and second with no outs in the ninth and Rich Poythress' groundball single plated the tying run. An error in the outfield on the play enabled Johnathan Taylor to score all the way from first base and the Bulldogs tacked on another run.

Bulldog reliever Will Harvil (2-0) earned the win, as he pitched 1.1 perfect innings with a strikeout. Four Georgia relievers combined to allow just one hit, no runs, and one walk with six strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched. Matt Vaughn (1-1) suffered the loss, as he yielded three runs (two earned) on two hits in the ninth inning.

Casario Lifts Terps to 12-3 Victory Over UMES

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Terrapin center fielder A.J. Casario went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double and five RBIs to lead the University of Maryland baseball team to a 12-3 victory against in-state foe UMES Wednesday evening at a rainy Shipley Field.

Casario tied a career high with four hits, came a triply short of hitting for the cycle and missed a third home run by mere feet.

After a scoreless first inning for both teams, the Terps (13-15) jumped on Hawks starting pitcher Russel Deutschmann in the bottom of the second.

With one out, Jensen Pupa doubled to right-center field and first baseman Curtis Lazar followed with an RBI double off the center-field wall. Second baseman Matthew Murakami drove in Lazar with an RBI single and Casario homered to center field two batters later, a three-run shot that put the Terps up 5-0. Right fielder Will Greenberg plated the sixth run of the inning with a sacrifice fly.

Duke Bullpen Holds Off Elon In 3-2 Blue Devil Win

DURHAM, N.C. - Duke's bullpen trio of Eric Pfisterer, Michael Ness and Alex Hassan combined to hold Elon scoreless on just four hits over the final five innings to preserve a 3-2 Duke win Tuesday evening at Jack Coombs Field.

Pfisterer (2-1) picked up the win after taking over for starter Jonathan Foreman in the fourth inning and holding Elon (14-10) to three hits over 3.1 scoreless innings. Pfisterer struck five without giving up a walk before handing the ball over to Michael Ness, who pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, and closer Alex Hassan, who locked up his seventh save of the season with a hitless ninth inning. In addition to the five strikeouts he picked up, Pfisterer picked off two Elon runners, bringing his total to an ACC-leading six pickoffs on the season.

Duke scored all three runs in the fifth inning, thanks to a rally that started with leadoff singles by freshman center fielder Will Piwnica-Worms and sophomore third baseman Dennis O'Grady, who each went 2-for-3 with a run. After those two jump-started the inning, catcher Matt Williams came through with an RBI fielder's choice ground ball that Elon mishandled and threw into the outfield to allow two runs to score on the play. Hassan then sent in the final run in the inning by grounding into a double play with leadoff batter Tom Luciano standing on third base.

Duke's three-run fifth offset a pair of solo home runs from Elon's Bennett Davis and Neal Pritchard. Davis and Pritchard homered in the second and third inning for Elon's first two hits to give the Phoenix a temporary 2-0 lead before Duke went on top with the three-run fifth off of starter Tom Porter (0-2).

No. 7 Miami Outlasts Barry, 15-10

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The seventh-ranked University of Miami baseball team out-slugged Barry University Wednesday night, picking up a 15-10 win at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.

The Hurricanes' 15 runs marked the third-highest scoring out-put of the season, with Jason Hagerty and Dave DiNatale combining for four hits, seven RBI and four runs scored. Hagerty, who went 2-for-3 with a homer, a double and two walks, finished with four RBI and two runs while DiNatale went 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs.

With the win, Miami improved to 21-7 overall while Barry dropped to 28-4.

With the score tied 10-10 in the bottom of the seventh, the Hurricanes put up five runs in the frame on to take a 15-10 lead. DiNatale broke the tie with a two-run ground-rule double before Hagerty's bases-loaded double two batters later brought in three more to put the `Canes up for good.

Boston College Comes From Behind To Beat UConn, 5-4

STORRS, Conn. - Down a run entering the ninth inning, the Boston College baseball team scored twice to come from behind and beat Connecticut, 5-4, Wednesday afternoon at J.O. Christian Field. Junior Tony Sanchez went 3-for-4 with two homers and three RBI for the Eagles.

Sanchez has hit five home runs in the last five games and now has 10 on the year which is tied for the fifth-most in a single season at BC with Vinny Scavone (2003). His 20 career blasts is tied for seventh on the Eagles' all-time list with Gregg Radachowsky (1987-90) and Jeff Mackor (1999-2002).

Sophomore Garret Smith went 2-for-4 at the plate with a game-tying RBI double in the ninth. He then scored the game-winning run later in the inning on a wild pitch. BC used seven pitchers on the day and junior Mike Belfiore picked up his second win of the season, working 2.0 innings of scoreless ball.