April 2, 2008

Butera's Blast Boosts Eagles Past Connecticut, 10-4

STORRS, Conn. - Boston College scored six runs in the sixth inning, capped off by a three-run homer by Barry Butera to defeat the Connecticut Huskies 10-4, Wednesday afternoon at J.O. Christian Field. With the win the Eagles improved to 13-14 overall this season, while the Huskies dropped to 14-12.

Butera went 2-for-4 at the plate with a single and sac fly to go along with his three-run homer. Eric Campbell (3-for-5, two runs) and Mickey Wiswall (2-for-3, two runs) rounded out the multi-hit players for the Eagles.

John Leonard (2-0) worked the first seven innings to earn the victory. The freshman scattered eight hits and recorded two strikeouts.

Chris Kowalski and Nick Asselin each pitched a scoreless inning to secure the win.

The Eagles broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third off UConn starter Dusty Odenbach (2-2). Harry Darling, Butera and Michael Belfiore hit consecutive one-out singles to push across the first run of the game. Odebach got out of the jam when Tony Sanchez hit into a double play to end the BC threat.

Hokies Claim 8-7 Win Over Longwood

BLACKSBURG, Va. - An eight-run, seven-hit third inning was all the Virginia Tech Hokies needed to record an 8-7 win over visiting Longwood on Wednesday night at English Field in non-conference baseball action.

Tech scored all eight of those runs with two outs to move to 10-18 on the year, while Longwood fell to 17-11. Eight of the ten Hokies who batted recorded a hit, and one of those who didn't was Brandon Lower (Roanoke, Va.), who walked in all three of his plate appearances. Five different Hokies had two hits apiece.

Rob Waskiewicz (2-1) earned the win for Tech by pitching 4.2 innings in relief of starter Sean McDermott (Walpole, Mass.). Rhett Ballard (High Point, N.C.) finished off the ninth to record his second save, and all three pitchers combined to walk just one batter, which tied a season low.

Jackets Hold Off Buccaneers, 5-4

ATLANTA - Brandon Cumpton, Kevin Jacob, Michael Hutts and Chris Hicks combined to hold the Buccaneers to four runs and No. 14 Georgia Tech (24-5) held off late East Tennessee State rally to win, 5-4, Wednesday night at Russ Chandler Stadium. With the loss, the Buccaneers dropped to 6-21 on the season.

Hutts entered the game with two outs and runners on first and third in the top of the eighth inning and got out of the jam by forcing designated hitter Bart Roark to line out, and Hicks picked up his seventh save of the season with a solid performance in the ninth.

Roark paced the Bucs' offense with two hits, one of which was a seventh-inning home run that pulled East Tennessee State to within two runs at 5-3.

FSU Holds On For 7-5 Victory Over Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - In a tale of two games, Wednesday night's contest featuring Florida State (25-3) and Jacksonville (16-11) went from a pitcher's duel to a scoring outburst in the final three innings with the Seminoles hanging on for a 7-5 victory over the Dolphins. Jason Stidham drove in pinch runner Luke Smierciak with the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly RBI in the eighth while Tommy Oravetz connected on a ninth inning home run to hand the Seminoles their ninth win in the last 10 games at Alexander Brest Field.

The Garnet and Gold registered a season-high nine stolen bases on Wednesday with Tyler Holt, Stidham, Smierciak and Jack Rye each registering a pair. Holt stole home in the top of the seventh leading to a three-run inning which gave the Seminoles the lead for good. It was the most stolen bases in a game for Florida State since swiping eight against West Virginia back on March 6, 2004.

No. 2 Miami Scores Early as Canes Beat FIU, 13-2

MIAMI, Fla. - Sophomore right-hander David Gutierrez no-hit Florida International for the first three innings and No. 2 Miami erupted for 11 runs during those innings as the Hurricanes cruised past the Golden Panthers, 13-2, at University Park Wednesday night. Miami improved to 23-2 matching the best start ever by a Jim Morris coached team at UM.

Gutierrez (1-0) tossed a career-long six innings and allowed one run on three hits. Michael Rudman, Kyle Bellamy and Carlos Gutierrez each tossed an inning in relief. Jemile Weeks, Blake Tekotte, Yonder Alonso, Dennis Raben, Joey Terdoslavich and Yasmani Grandal each had a pair of hits for the Hurricanes, who posted a season-high 17 hits in the win. Weeks also had three-RBI while Terdoslavich scored three runs.

FIU starter Corey Polizzano (3-4) took the loss as he allowed six earned runs on seven hits in 1 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out three.

No. 3 North Carolina Blanks Appalachian State, 7-0

CARY, N.C. - Freshman right-hander Patrick Johnson and four relievers combined on a five-hit shutout Wednesday in No. 3 North Carolina's 7-0 victory over Appalachian State at Cary's USA Baseball National Training Complex. The Tar Heels (23-5) struck out 14 batters en route to their fourth shutout of the season.

Johnson (3-0) matched a career-high with seven Ks for the third time this season over 5 1/3 scoreless innings. The Conover, N.C., native held the Mountaineers (15-14) to just four hits but walked three. Johnson struck out the side in the fifth and fanned four straight batters at one point.

Sophomore left-hander Brian Moran came on in the sixth and fanned four of the five batters he faced to equal his career-best strikeout effort for the fourth time. Logan Munson, Tyler Trice and Ryan Leach combined to work the final two shutout innings.

Maryland Knocks Off George Mason, 9-5

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Chad Durakis went 3-for-3 and Joe Palumbo came through with a pair of clutch RBI singles to lead the Maryland baseball team to a 9-5 victory against George Mason Wednesday night at Shipley Field. It was Maryland's ninth straight non-conference win.

The Terps (16-13, 3-9 ACC) used six different pitchers in the game, including three perfect innings of relief from senior Mike Sufczynski (Darnestown, Md./St. John's) to close the Patriots (12-15, 7-4 CAA) out and earn his first victory of the season.

Sophomore Tim Kearney (New Castle, Pa./Neshannock) got the start for the Terps and allowed a first-inning run in two innings of work.

Tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the third inning, the Terps took advantage of a key error by Patriots shortstop Brent Weiss. With two outs and two men on base, first baseman Will Greenberg (Gaithersburg, Md./Washington College) hit a high pop-up to short left field. Weiss called off left fielder Scott Krieger, but the ball bounced out of his glove, allowing Nick Jowers (Beltsville, Md./DeMatha Catholic) to scoot home. Durakis (Cockeysville, Md./St. Paul's) made it 3-1 Terps with a double down the left-field line.

NC State Romps Past Elon, 12-0

RALEIGH, N.C. - On Tuesday, NC State broke out the high-top stirrups for a win at East Carolina. Back home at Doak Field at Dail Park for a non-conference game against Elon on Wednesday, the Wolfpack put on its hitting shoes and thoroughly trounced an outstanding Phoenix team 12-0.

Overshadowed somewhat by the offensive onslaught, the Wolfpack pitching staff turned in an exceptional performance as well. Off to a 22-7 start, the Phoenix came into the Doak having won three games in a row and five of its last seven. Elon came into the game hitting .316 as a team and scoring more than eight runs a game. Nine innings later, Elon left the Doak having been shut out for the first time in 2008. Sam Brown (1-1) started an matched his career high with five innings pitched. He allowed four hits, walked one and fanned four. Alex Sogard, Jeff Stallings, Jason Zinser and Jake Buchanan followed Brown to the mound for one inning apiece and allowed just two Elon baserunners on a pair of walks by Zinser.

No. 14 Virginia Falls Short vs. Towson, 7-6

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Despite a two-run ninth-inning rally, the Virginia baseball team dropped a 7-6 decision to Towson Wednesday night at Davenport Field. Greg Miclat (Jr., Concord, N.C.) went 4-for-5 with two stolen bases, while David Adams (Jr., Margate, Fla.) had three hits for the Cavaliers.

Jake Rule (Sr., Waynesboro, Va.) took the loss for the Cavaliers and dropped to 1-2 after starting and going 3.1 innings and allowing five runs, seven hits and a walk with four strikeouts. Wes Shifflett (3-1) earned the win for Towson with 2.1 scoreless innings of relief, while Josh Squatrito pitched two innings to notch his first save.

Virginia (24-6) scored twice in the first inning on run-scoring singles from Adams and Patrick Wingfield (Sr., Winchester, Va.), but for the second straight day the Tigers put up a six-run inning to come back and take the lead.

Georgia Rallies, Holds On To Defeat Clemson 6-4

CLEMSON, S.C. - After scoring four runs on four hits through six innings, Georgia scored two runs in the seventh inning and held on to defeat Clemson 6-4 Wednesday in front of 5,973 fans at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Bulldogs improved to 17-10 and the Tigers dropped to 18-10, as Georgia won both games of the midweek, home-and-home series.

The Tigers, who tallied just five hits, were led offensively by Ben Paulsen, who went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer. Matt Sanders also had two RBIs for Clemson. Rich Poythress and Adam Fuller each hit two-run home runs for Georgia. Bryce Massanari and Lyle Allen each hit RBI singles in the seventh inning to highlight the Bulldog rally.

Steve Esmonde (1-0) earned the win, as he pitched 2.0 scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one hit while striking out two. Joshua Fields pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts to earn his seventh save of the season. Tiger reliever Casey Harman (0-3) suffered the loss, as he allowed two runs on five hits while striking out two and walking two in 2.2 innings pitched.

Wake Forest Falls to No. 21 Coastal Carolina, 9-4

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - No. 21 Coastal Carolina scored five runs over the middle three innings to break a 3-3 stalemate and pull away for a 9-4 defeat of Wake Forest Wednesday afternoon at Hooks Stadium.

The Deacons drop to 12-15 overall with the loss. The Chanticleers improve to 22-6 on the year.

After Coastal plated three runs in the first inning, Wake battled back to tie the game at the end of the third. However, the Chanticleers scored two in the fourth, one in the fifth and two more in the sixth to take control of the game.

The only offense the Deacons could muster the rest of the way was a solo home run from Mike Murray in the seventh.