April 2, 2008

FSU Evens Season Series Against Florida With 10-2 Victory In Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Florida State (24-3) used the short game and long ball combination to perfection on Tuesday night to post a 10-2 victory over Florida (20-7) in front of packed crowd of 7,215 at the Baseball Grounds in Jacksonville, Fla. The win snapped a three game losing streak to the Gators and avenged a 6-1 loss to their intra-state rival two weeks ago in Gainesville to even the season series at a game apiece.

"We did a lot of bunting tonight and I was very pleased with our execution," said head coach Mike Martin. "It was a very well played game by our ball club tonight. I was very proud of the way our guys played the game and it was a good win for us."

In his first career start against the Gators, Ryan Strauss pitched seven solid innings to push his record to 3-0 on the year. The senior right hander eclipsed the 100 pitch mark for the fourth time in six starts as he gave up just one run on four hits. He walked a season-low one batter while striking out four. It marked the second time this season that Strauss completed seven innings of work.

No. 2 Hurricanes Storm By FAU, 16-7

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Junior left fielder Dave DiNatale posted career highs in RBI and hits going 4-for-5 with five RBI and No. 2 Miami bounced back from a first inning grand slam to down Florida Atlantic, 16-7, Tuesday night at Mark Light Field. Sophomore right-hander John Housey (3-0) won his third straight mid-week start as Miami (22-2) ran its winning streak to nine games.

DiNatale fell one triple shy from hitting for the cycle. His two-run home run in the fourth inning put the Hurricanes ahead for good. Sophomore shortstop Ryan Jackson finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. Blake Tekotte, Jemile Weeks and Mark Sobolewski also each added a pair of hits for the Hurricanes, who out-hit the Owls, 16-13.

Housey (3-0) settled down after a first inning grand slam to toss four scoreless innings. He allowed four runs, three earned on six hits, walked three and struck out two. Alex Koronis limited the Owls (16-10) to one run on four hits in three innings and struck out four while P.J. Fisher tossed the ninth inning.

Boston College Battles to Victory against Northeastern, 8-7

BROOKLINE, Mass. - Leftfielder Sam Shaughnessy fielded a base hit and fired to third baseman Eric Campbell who relayed the ball to Tony Sanchez to gun down the potential tying run at home plate in the bottom of the eighth inning to help Boston College hold on and defeat Northeastern 8-7 on Tuesday afternoon at Freidman Diamond.

Northeastern's Mike Tamsin hit a two-out double in the eighth of BC reliever Ted Ratliff. Mike Lyon followed with a base hit to left field that Tamsin attempted to score and tie the game. The 7-5-2 putout at the plate kept the Eagles ahead and they escaped with a one run win. Mike Belfiore struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth to secure the victory.

Every BC starter recorded at least one hit as the team totaled 11 on the afternoon, including three home runs. Mike Sudol made a strong contribution in his first start of the season. The sophomore went 2-for-3 with two doubles, with one RBI and one run scored. Campbell was the other starter to collect a multi-hit game, with a 2-for-5 day at the plate.

Three Home Runs Power Virginia Tech to 9-5 Win Over Radford

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Virginia Tech used a season-high three home runs and a dominating performance by freshman relief pitcher Justin Wright to defeat Radford 9-5 on Tuesday night in non-conference baseball action at English Field.

Third baseman Michael Seaborn (Atlanta, Ga.), second baseman Austin Wates (Richmond, Va.) and left fielder Jose Cueto (Miami, Fla.) each went yard for Tech, while Wates added three singles to record the Hokies' fourth four-hit game of the year.

Wright (Chesterfield, Va.) was just as important as the power outburst for Tech (9-18), as the lefty took the mound in the middle of the sixth inning with the game tied 5-5 and two runners on. He struck out the first two batters he faced to get out of the jam, and went on to fan five more Highlanders for a total of seven while earning his first collegiate win (1-0) in 3.2 innings of work.

No. 14 Georgia Tech Rallies for 13-6 Win Over ETSU

ATLANTA - Derek Dietrich and Brad Feltes each drove in three runs, while Tony Plagman and Jason Haniger belted home runs to rally 14th-ranked Georgia Tech past East Tennessee State, 13-6, Tuesday night at Russ Chandler Stadium.

Tech (23-5) fell behind 6-2 in the fifth inning before the Jackets rallied for three runs in the fifth and four in the sixth to take the lead.

Aided by a pair of walks and a catcher's interference, Tech closed to within 6-5 in the fifth. Haniger cracked his third homer of the season to lead off the sixth, tying the game at 6, and Dietrich broke the tie with a two-run double and scored on Feltes' single.

The Jackets added four runs in the eighth, two on Patrick Long's double and another on Luke Murton's sacrifice fly.

Terps' Jowers Homers Twice as Rupp Wins No. 400

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Nick Jowers belted a pair of home runs and drove in four runs as University of Maryland head coach Terry Rupp earned career victory number 400 as the Terrapins defeated Navy, 13-6, on Monday night in a non-conference baseball game played at Shipley Field.

Maryland improved to 15-13 with the victory, which was the Terrapins' eighth straight in non-conference matchups. The Midshipmen fell to 17-10 overall despite touching up five Maryland pitchers for 16 hits while stranding 16 runners on base.

The win was the 400th in the 13-year career for Rupp, who has been at Maryland for eight seasons following five years at the University of Tampa.

Steve Braun finished 3-for-4 for the Terrapins, including a home run, and joined Jowers with three runs scored. Matt Quinn (4-1), the second Maryland pitcher, earned the victory after scattering six hits and a walk while allowing two earned runs in 2-2/3 innings.

Wolfpack Pitching Shuts Down No. 24 East Carolina, 4-3

GREENVILLE, N.C. - Sunday's rainout against North Carolina in Cary had unintended consequences for NC State's game Tuesday against No. 24 East Carolina. The rainout meant that Eryk McConnell, the Wolfpack's normal Sunday pitcher, was available to face the Pirates on Tuesday, and McConnell and three of the Pack's front-line relievers combined to defeat the Pirates 4-3 at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

McConnell, Joey Cutler, Drew Taylor and Jimmy Gillheeney each turned in a strong pitching performance, and the Wolfpack needed it against the 24th-ranked Pirates, who entered the game batting .327 as a team and were scoring more than nine runs per game. McConnell (3-1) worked the first five innings and allowed just one run on six hits, and he worked out of some hot spots. ECU had runners on second and third with one down in the second, but McConnell retired Broc Sutton on a pop-up and struck out Jamie Ray to end the inning.

No. 3 Tar Heels Shut Down Spartans, 4-1

CARY, N.C. - Four North Carolina pitchers combined on a five-hitter, and third baseman Chad Flack belted his 40th career home run to pace the No. 3 Tar Heels to a 4-1 win over UNC Greensboro Tuesday at Cary's USA Baseball National Training Complex. Flack, right fielder Tim Fedroff and second baseman Kyle Seager each had two hits for Carolina (22-5).

Freshman right-hander Matt Harvey (4-1) picked up the win in a predetermined staff outing with four shutout innings. He held the Spartans (18-8) to just one hit over four innings but issued a career-high five walks, while striking out five.

Senior righty Rob Wooten fanned five of the six batters he faced over the seventh and eighth innings to match a career high, and freshman righty Nate Striz struck out the side in the ninth to claim his second save. He allowed two singles and a walk but left the bases loaded to close out the win.

The Tar Heels, who average 10 strikeouts per game to rank fifth nationally, fanned 16 UNCG batters for their 14th double-digit strikeout game of the season.

No. 14 Virginia Downs Towson, 9-8

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Virginia baseball team earned its fourth straight win with a 9-8 victory over Towson Tuesday night at Davenport Field. Greg Miclat's safety squeeze in the eighth inning scored Patrick Wingfield (Sr., Winchester, Va.) with the eventual winning run.

Virginia (24-5) jumped to a 4-0 lead after one inning, only to see the Tigers rally with six of their own in the second inning. From there, the Cavaliers' bullpen allowed just two unearned runs and four hits in the final 7.1 innings.

Matt Packer (So., Germantown, Tenn.) pitched two-thirds of an inning to earn the win and move to a team-best 5-0 on the season. Michael Schwimer (Sr., Alexandria, Va.), tied for the national lead in saves, earned his ninth save by firing a perfect ninth inning.

Neal Davis (So., Baltimore, Md.) was sensational out of the bullpen, as he tossed a career-high 5.1 innings and gave up just two hits while striking out four.

Georgia Sinks Clemson 11-3

ATHENS, Ga. - Georgia jumped on the Tigers early with nine runs in the first four innings and cruised to an 11-3 victory over Clemson in front of 3,432 fans at Foley Field on Tuesday night. Every Bulldog starter had at least one hit, as the team totaled 13 hits in the game. Georgia improved to 16-10, while Clemson dropped to 18-9.

Georgia starter Alex McRee (3-1) earned the win, as he pitched 4.0 innings in a scheduled short start. He allowed no hits, no runs, and two walks with seven strikeouts. Craig Gullickson (3-1), the first of six Clemson pitchers, suffered the loss, as he allowed four hits, five runs (two earned), and two walks with two strikeouts in 2.0 innings pitched.

In the bottom of the first inning, the Bulldogs took a 3-0 lead. All the Bulldogs needed were a leadoff single and a couple of Tiger miscues. Ryan Peisel led off with a single up the middle and stole second base after Gullickson had him picked off. Matt Olson walked and Gordon Beckham hit a grounder to first. Ben Paulsen booted the ball, allowing the Bulldogs to load the bases with no outs.

Wake Forest Suffers 5-1 Loss to Streaking No. 20 UNC Wilmington

WILMINGTON, N.C. - No. 20 UNC Wilmington ran its winning streak to a national-best 21 games by shutting down Wake Forest, 5-1, Tuesday evening at Brooks Field.

The Demon Deacons fall to 12-14 on the season with the loss. The Seahawks move to 22-4 on the year, not having lost since Feb. 27.

Wake Forest fell behind early, as UNCW scored four runs over the first three innings. Other than a solo home run from Willy Fox in the third, the Deacons could not sustain a rally to catch up. The Seahawks pushed an insurance run across in the eighth.

Wake finished with just five hits and left 10 runners on base. The Deacs stranded a runner in scoring position in each the fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth innings.