April 22, 2008

Wiswall's Walk-Off Defeats Harvard, 5-4

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Mickey Wiswall laced a two-out single to right field to plate Tony Sanchez from second base to help Boston College (20-21, 5-16 ACC) score three runs in the ninth and defeat Harvard (8-27, 7-9 IL), 5-4, Tuesday afternoon at Commander Shea Field.

Harvard led the Eagles, 4-2, entering the bottom of the ninth. After John Spatola led off with a ground out, pinch-hitter Sam Shaughnessy lined a base hit to left field. Robert Anston followed with a single through the right side to put Eagles on the corners with one down. Michael Belfiore hit a line drive right to the shortstop Jeff Stoeckel, who almost doubled up Anston at second. With two outs, Tony Sanchez drove a double into the left-center field gap to score Shaughnessy and Anston to tie the ball game. Harvard intentionally walked Eric Campbell, to set up Wiswall's game-winning single to right field.

Late sac flies lift Hokies to 5-4 win over Radford

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech baseball team pulled out a clutch 5-4 win on Tuesday evening over rival Radford thanks to a pair of eighth-inning sacrifice flies in non-conference action at English Field.

Tech (18-23) trailed 4-3 heading into the penultimate frame, but right fielder Klint Reed (Chesterfield, Va.) and second baseman Austin Wates (Richmond, Va.) each recorded their second RBIs of the day to push the Hokies to their seventh win in the past 10 games.

In the bottom of the eighth, Radford reliever Shane Pysh, who took the loss to fall to 1-2, issued walks to first baseman Sean O'Brien (Chappaqua, N.Y) and center fielder Sean Ryan (Ashburn, Va.) to begin the inning before being replaced by T.J. Woody. Catcher Anthony Sosnoskie (Front Royal, Va.) then dropped down a bunt in an attempt to sacrifice the runners, but O'Brien beat the fielder's choice throw to third and all Hokies were safe. Reed and Wates followed with consecutive sacrifice flies - Reed's to right that scored O'Brien, and Wates' to center that plated Ryan - and the Hokies took a 5-4 lead into the ninth.

No. 16 Virginia Baseball Whips Georgetown, 9-1

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Dan Grovatt (Fr., Tabernacle, N.J.) tied a career high with four hits in the Virginia baseball team's 9-1 win over Georgetown Tuesday night at Davenport Field. Four Virginia pitchers combined on a four-hitter as the Cavaliers rolled to the win.

Virginia starting pitcher Jacob Thompson (Jr., Danville, Va.), who was on a low pitch count in order to get some extra work, earned the win with three strong innings. Thompson (5-2) allowed just two hits, struck out two and needed only 28 pitches to cruise through his three-inning stint.

Jake Cowan (Fr., Roswell, Ga.), Jake Rule (Sr., Waynesboro, Va.) and Robert Poutier (Sr., Yorktown, Va.) combined to allowed just a run, two hits and three walks over the final six innings. Georgetown starter Erick Chandler (0-4) took the loss after allowing six earned runs, seven hits and a walk in two innings.

Tech Hits Eight Home Runs in 16-9 Win Over Mercer

MACON, Ga. - Tony Plagman hit a pair of two-run home runs and Thomas Nichols added two solo shots as Georgia Tech (29-12) smacked eight in the game to defeat Mercer (18-25), 16-9, Tuesday night at Claude Smith Field.

Charlie Blackmon and Luke Murton led the Yellow Jackets with three hits apiece while Plagman and Derek Dietrich paced Tech with four RBI each. Plagman, Nichols, Blackmon, Murton, Dietrich and Chris House all hit home runs in the game.

Deck McGuire (7-0) picked up the victory by holding Mercer to two runs on four hits in six innings of work. He also fanned six and walked none.

No. 2 Tar Heels Thump Charlotte, 17-0

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - No. 2 North Carolina pounded out a season-high 22 hits and had five pitchers combine on a four-hit shutout in a 17-0 win over Charlotte Tuesday at Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium. The Tar Heels (35-7) became the first team in the nation to reach the 35-win mark and extended their season-best winning streak to 10 games with the victory.

Tuesday's shutout, which pushed the Tar Heels' winning streak against the 49ers (29-10) to 13 games, marked the first time that Charlotte was held scoreless in 179 games dating to 2005. Carolina ranks among the national leaders with seven shutouts, including two in the last three games to lower its NCAA-best ERA to 2.10.

Left fielder Kyle Shelton, who matched a career high with four hits for the third time this season, was one of seven Tar Heels to post multi-hit efforts as UNC improved the nation's second-best road record to 13-2. Dustin Ackley, who was 3-for-3 with three runs scored, and Seth Williams, who went 2-for-3 with three runs and three RBI, both hit two-run home runs to highlight the offensive effort.

Blue Devils Improve To 22-0 Out Of Conference With Win Over UNC Greensboro

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Will Currier scattered four hits and two runs over five-plus innings and received a pair of two-RBI efforts from teammates Matt Williams and Jonathan Nicolla as Duke beat UNC Greensboro 10-3 Tuesday evening to complete a two-game sweep over the Spartans at UNCG Baseball Stadium.

Currier (4-5) allowed just three runners to reach base in his first five innings while limiting his pitch count to 49 pitches during that span. He used a total of 65 pitchings over his 5.1 innings on the way to three strikeouts and his no-walk outing of the season. Over his last two appearances, the sophomore right-hander owns a 2-0 record and a 1.86 ERA after holding the opposition to just five hits over 9.2 innings of work.

Williams and Nicolla backed Currier with matching 2-for-5 outings that extended each Blue Devil's career long hitting streak. Nicolla improved his team-leading tear to 12 games, while Williams bumped his streak to 11 consecutive games.

Delk Pitches Tigers to 6-0 Win at Western Carolina Tuesday

Cullowhee, NC - Trey Delk pitched 7.0 scoreless innings of two-hit ball with seven strikeouts to lead Clemson to a 6-0 victory over Western Carolina in front of 1,864 fans at Hennon Stadium on Tuesday night. The Tigers, who split the home-and-home series with the Catamounts, improved to 20-20-1, while Western Carolina fell to 18-21.

Delk (1-0) earned his first win as a Tiger in his first career start, as the first-year junior-college transfer pitched 7.0 innings and struck out seven batters, both career-highs, against just two walks. Delk threw 100 pitches (65 strikes), as he teamed with relievers Justin Sarratt and Matt Vaughn to hold Western Carolina to a season-low three hits.

It was the first time all season the Catamounts were shut out, as they entered the contest with a .314 team batting average. The Tiger trio of Delk, Sarratt, and Vaughn limited Western Carolina hitless in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position and 11 at-bats with runners on base.

Maryland Baseball Defeats Old Dominion, 6-5, in 10 Innings

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Down 5-0 in the early stages of Tuesday's game against Old Dominion, the University of Maryland baseball team's 13-game, non-conference winning streak appeared to be in jeopardy. However, an AJ Casario grand slam and some brilliant work out of the bullpen helped the Terrapins erase the deficit and eventually win the game, 6-5, in the 10th inning.

The Monarchs (18-20) scored four runs off Terps starter Ian Schwalenberg (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown) in the top of the second inning and added one more in the fourth before the Terps chipped into the lead in a big way.

Down five runs entering the bottom of the fourth, the Terps (25-18) proceeded to load the bases with no outs. With one out and the bases still full, Dan Benick (Glen Lyon, Pa./Nanticoke) hit a hard line drive that was snagged by Old Dominion third baseman Jake McAloose. McAloose nearly doubled off Jensen Pupa (Germantown, Md./Northwest) at third on the play, but Pupa hustled back in time to narrowly avoid the inning-ending double play.

Elon Tops Wake Forest, 19-10

ELON, N.C. - Elon's Greg Annarummo hit three home runs and drove in 10 RBIs to lead the Phoenix to a 19-10 rout of Wake Forest on Tuesday evening at Latham Park.

The night looked promising for Wake Forest after Allan Dykstra staked the Deacs to a 2-0 lead with a two-run home run in the first inning. However, the Phoenix needed just one hit, a grand slam from Annarummo, to score five runs in the bottom of the first. Elon took advantage of three walks and three hit batters in the frame and then turned the game into an early rout with four more runs in the second and five in the third.

Annarummo was the story of the night, as the freshman turned in a career performance for the home squad. He hit a grand slam in the first, a two-run home run in the second and a three-run shot in the seventh. Annarummo came into the contest with two home runs and seven RBIs in 23 games this season.