Baseball ACCtion: Friday, April 9
Home teams hold serve in series openers.
Ryan McCurdy's two-run single in the eighth lifted Duke past No. 11 Clemson, 10-9.

Ryan McCurdy's two-run single in the eighth lifted Duke past No. 11 Clemson, 10-9.

April 10, 2010

No. 4 Cavaliers Rally to Upend No. 2 Georgia Tech, 7-4
The No. 4 Virginia baseball team rallied for four runs in the seventh inning to defeat No. 2 Georgia Tech, 7-4, Friday night in front of 4,155 fans - the largest crowd in the history of Davenport Field. The top-five matchup also was the first in stadium history.

Stephen Bruno (Fr., Audubon, N.J.) hit a go-ahead two-run single in the seventh inning off reigning ACC Pitcher of the Year Deck McGuire to give Virginia a 5-4 lead, and one out later Dan Grovatt (Jr., Tabernacle, N.J.) hit a two-run home run off reliever Jake Davies to cap the comeback.

The starting pitching matchup was highly touted, as reigning All-Americans McGuire and Danny Hultzen (So., Bethesda, Md.) toed the rubber. Hultzen (5-1) earned the win with seven solid innings. He allowed four earned runs, six hits and two walks while striking out 11. McGuire (5-2) took the loss after giving up six earned runs, six hits and four walks with six strikeouts in 6.2 innings.

Gilmartin Paces FSU To Road Win
Seventh-ranked Florida State (23-7, 8-5 ACC) began its second road trip to the Carolinas on the right foot defeating Wake Forest (10-22, 2-11 ACC) 10-1 Friday evening on Gene Hooks Field at Wake Forest Baseball Park. The Seminoles tied a season-high with three home runs while capturing their sixth straight win over the Demon Deacons.

Sean Gilmartin moved to 5-2 on the year as he held the Deacs to just one run on two hits in 7.0 innings of work. After giving up a run in the first, the sophomore southpaw allowed just three base runners over the next six innings with no runners advancing past first base. At one stretch, Gilmartin retired 10 straight Wake Forest batters as he finished the evening with six strikeouts.


 

 

Hunter Scantling pitched a perfect eighth with one strikeout, while Andrew Durden worked around a two-out bases loaded jam in the ninth striking out pinch hitter Trenton Langston for the final out of the game.

Tar Heels Topple Wolfpack 14-7
Matt Harvey threw seven solid innings to lead No. 20 North Carolina over No. 28 NC State Friday night in front of 3673 fans at Boshamer Stadium. The game was marred by sloppy play featuring a combined 21 runs, 23 hits and eight errors in nearly four hours of play. Four different Tar Heels had at least two or more hits as Carolina improves to 21-11 overall and 5-8 in league play. NC State was plagued by 12 walks as the Wolfpack fall to 20-11 and 5-8 in the ACC.

Harvey (4-1) scattered eight hits allowing three runs, only one earned, in seven innings of work with three strikeouts and no walks. Michael Morin threw just one third of an inning, allowing four runs on three hits. Colin Bates threw 1.2 shutout innings of relief to secure the victory for Carolina.

Jake Buchanan (3-3) suffers the loss allowing seven runs, only two earned, on eight hits. Relievers Nick Rice and Nate King combined to allow seven runs on just two hits while walking eight Tar Heel hitters.

Home runs fuel Tech to 9-7 comeback win over No. 9 Miami
First baseman Ronnie Shaban blasted a go-ahead three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning as No. 25 Virginia Tech rallied for a hard-fought 9-7 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball victory over ninth-ranked Miami at English Field on Friday. The win snapped a seven-game Miami winning streak.

Tech, which improved to 22-10 overall and 7-6 in the ACC, battled back from a 6-1 deficit to tie the game with a five-run sixth inning. After falling behind again in the top of the seventh, the Hokies rode Shaban’s long ball to the lead. Tech staved off the Hurricanes’ final bid in the ninth thanks to the quick reflexes of relief pitcher Ben Rowen, who snagged a hard line drive hit back to the mound with Miami runners at second and third and two outs.

Rowen, who worked the final 2.1 innings, earned the victory, his second of the season without a loss. The senior submariner allowed three hits but did not give up a run or walk a batter. Eric Whaley, the third of five Miami pitchers, took the loss, his first against three wins. The Hurricanes are now 22-8 on the season with a 10-3 ACC record.

Duke Comes From Behind to Topple No. 11 Clemson 10-9
Ryan McCurdy drove in a career-high four RBI, including the go-ahead run with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, to lead Duke to a 10-9 win over No. 11 Clemson on Friday evening at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

With Duke trailing 8-7 with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, McCurdy came to the plate with the bases loaded and lifted a bloop single into shallow left field to send in the tying and go-ahead runs. The two-run single was part of a five-run eighth inning that saw Duke score four runs with two outs to erase an 8-5 deficit.

Blue Devil freshman Marcus Stroman scored the go-ahead run from second base on McCurdy's single and then took the mound to record the final two outs and secure the win. With Clemson base runners on second and third and just one out, Stroman struck out two straight Tigers to secure his third save of the year. The 5-9, 180-pound two-way player also doubled and scored two runs in the win.