Baseball ACCtion: Friday, April 18 :: Miami, Clemson and NC State win on the road; Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina win at home.

April 19, 2008

Ten-Run Sixth Leads No. 1 UM to 11-4 Win over No. 2 FSU

Webcast on ACC Select

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Junior second baseman Jemile Weeks collected three hits and started a 10-run sixth inning as No. 1 Miami (32-3, 16-1 ACC) rallied to knock off No. 2 Florida State, 11-4, Friday night in the first game of the Atlantic Coast Conference series in front of a Dick Howser Stadium record crowd of 6,756 fans. It was the first ever 10-run inning by the Hurricanes in the series that dates back to 1951.

Blake Tekotte, Dennis Raben, Mark Sobolewski and Ryan Jackson each had a pair of hits for the Hurricanes, who ended up out-hitting the Seminoles (33-4, 17-2 ACC), 14-10, but it was Miami's pitching staff that silenced the nation's third-best scoring offense. UM starter Chris Hernandez, Kyle Bellamy, Rene Guerra and P.J. Fisher combined to strike out 13 Seminoles - the most strikeouts by the FSU offense this season. Bellamy, Guerra and Fisher held FSU to one hit in the final four innings. Hernandez (6-0) won for the sixth time this season as he allowed four runs on a season-high nine hits and struck out five. Bellamy tossed two scoreless and hitless innings and recorded four strikeouts before giving way to Guerra and Fisher to finish off the win.

FSU starter Matt Fairel (8-1) lost for the first time this season. Fairel gave up eight runs, six earned, all in the sixth inning. He was knocked around for 10 hits and struck out four.

Right fielder Jack Rye led FSU going 3-for-4. First baseman Dennis Guinn had three RBI - two of them coming on his 12th homer in the fifth inning.

NC State Baseball Downs Virginia Tech in Series Opener, 8-2

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The top line of the scoreboard looked like a picket fence. NC State scored single runs in every inning but the first on Friday, and Clayton Shunick and Joey Cutler limited Virginia Tech to a pair of runs as the Wolfpack defeated the Hokies 8-2 in the first game of a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series at English Field.

The Wolfpack extended its winning streak to five games, has won 12 of its last 14 games, and improved to 26-11 overall and 11-7 in the ACC. The Hokies fell to 16-22 and 3-16 in the ACC.

NC State took a 3-0 lead with runs in the second, third and fourth. Marcus Jones belted a one-out triple in the second and scored on Tommy Foschi's two-out single up the middle. Dallas Poulk walked to lead off the third and scored all the way from first on Ryan Pond's double down the left-field line. And Pat Ferguson led off the fourth with his sixth home run of the season, an opposite-field shot to left-center field.

Barr Two-Run Double Ignites Rally, 4-2 Baseball Win Over Wake

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - John Barr's two-out, two-run double in the sixth inning gave the No. 16 Virginia baseball team a lead it would not relinquish as the Cavaliers topped Wake Forest, 4-2, Friday night at Davenport Field.

Virginia (30-10, 12-7 ACC) fell behind early, but used strong pitching from Pat McAnaney (Sr., Syracuse, N.Y.), Neal Davis (So., Baltimore, Md.) and Michael Schwimer (Sr., Alexandria, Va.) to hold the Demon Deacons (14-23, 6-12) at bay and set up the comeback. After McAnaney exited in the sixth inning, Wake Forest did not record a hit.

Davis (3-0) earned the win with three scoreless innings of relief as he lowered his ERA to 0.59. Schwimer pitched a perfect ninth to earn his ACC-best 11th save. McAnaney started and allowed two earned runs, five hits and two walks while striking out three. Wake Forest starter Garrett Bullock (3-4) took the loss after giving up three earned runs, seven hits and four walks in 5.2 innings.

Virginia's Greg Miclat (Jr., Concord, N.C.) had a team-high three hits and drove in a run, while David Adams (Jr., Margate, Fla.) also drove in a run. Willy Fox homered and drove in both of the Demon Deacons' runs.

Casario's Double Completes Maryland Comeback Victory Against No. 21 Georgia Tech, 7-5

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Sophomore AJ Casario laced a two-run double to left-center field to break a 5-5 tie with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning and the bullpen made it stand in the ninth as the University of Maryland baseball team came from behind to defeat No. 21 Georgia Tech, 7-5, Friday night at Shipley Field.

It was Casario's second straight three-hit game. Casario (Pine Hill, N.J./Overbrook) has now raised his average over 100 points the last two weeks.

The Terps (23-17, 6-13 ACC) trailed 5-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning after Georgia Tech's Brad Feltes hit a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the inning to break a 3-3 tie.

Jensen Pupa (Germantown, Md./Northwest) led off the eighth with a single up the middle and chased starting pitcher David Duncan.

Andrew Robinson relieved Duncan. Mike Murphy (Silver Spring, Md./Georgetown Prep) greeted Duncan with a sharp ground ball to the left side that Feltes could not handle at third. The error put runners at first and second with no outs.

Tigers Win Series-Opener at Duke 7-4 Friday

Webcast on ACC Select

Durham, NC -Clemson totaled 14 hits in its 7-4 win at Duke in front of 632 fans at Jack Coombs Field on Friday night. The Tigers, who snapped their 11-game losing streak, improved to 19-19 overall and 7-12 in ACC play. The Blue Devils fell to 26-13 overall, 5-13 in the ACC. It was also Clemson's 11th consecutive victory over Duke, as the Tigers took a 1-0 series lead.

Sophomore Mike Freeman and freshman Jeff Schaus, the #1 and #2 batters in the lineup, each totaled three hits apiece. Freshmen Kyle Parker and Chris Epps added two hits and two RBIs apiece as well. They all helped Clemson end its 19-game streak of scoring six or fewer runs dating back to its 14-2 win over Furman on March 20. The 14 hits were also the most for the Tigers since that Furman game.

D.J. Mitchell (4-3) pitched 7.0 strong innings, allowing eight hits, four runs (three earned), and no walks with four strikeouts to earn the win. Matt Vaughn pitched 2.0 scoreless innings with two strikeouts to record his ninth save of the season. Duke starter Andrew Wolcott (3-3) suffered the loss, as he allowed seven hits, three runs (two earned), and no walks with four strikeouts in 6.0 innings pitched.

Seager Homers Twice In Big Win Over BC

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CARY, N.C. - Sophomore second baseman Kyle Seager belted a pair of two-run homers and drove in a career-high five runs to pace No. 4 North Carolina to a 12-3 series-opening win over Boston College Friday at Cary's USA Baseball National Training Complex. The Tar Heels, who have now won seven straight games, matched a season-best with four home runs and pounded out a season-high nine extra-base hits.

In addition to Seager, who posted third career multi-homer game, right fielder Tim Fedroff and catcher Mark Fleury also went deep for Carolina (32-7, 14-4 ACC). The Tar Heels hit four homers for the first time since doing it twice in the season-opening series at Florida Atlantic.

Seager, who has five homers over the last three ACC games, went 2-for-2 with two runs and the five RBI. He hit two-run home runs in the second and sixth innings and added a sacrifice fly in the third. With the five RBI Friday, the Kannapolis native has now driven in 17 runs over the last six games to increase his league-leading RBI total to 57.

To go along with his team-best ninth homer, Fedroff was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI. Left fielder Kyle Shelton also added two hits for Carolina, which tallied 13 base hits on the night.