May 7, 2008

No. 2 Tar Heels Topple Ospreys, 9-2

CARY, N.C. - Left fielder Kyle Shelton doubled three times and drove in two runs and third baseman Chad Flack reached the 200-RBI mark for his career to lead No. 2 North Carolina to a 9-2 win over North Florida Tuesday at Cary's USA Baseball National Training Complex. The Tar Heels (39-8) held the Ospreys (26-21) to just four hits en route to their 14th win in the last 15 games.

Shelton went 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI, and Flack was 1-for-3 with an RBI single and a sacrifice fly to account for four of the Tar Heels' nine runs. Already UNC's career leader in hits, games played and at-bats, Flack now has 200 RBI to stand 14 behind the career record shared by Jarrett Shearin and Sean Farrell.

First baseman Dustin Ackley matched Shelton with three base hits, while right fielder Tim Fedroff and shortstop Garrett Gore added two hits apiece.

Duke Squeezes In Winning Run In 2-1 Win Over Davidson

DURHAM, N.C. - Michael Ghizzoni squeezed in Jeremy Gould with a bunt single in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Duke a 2-1 win over Davidson Tuesday evening at Jack Coombs Field.

The game was deadlocked at a 1-1 tie from the second through top of the 10th inning before Gould opened the bottom half of the extra frame with his third single of the ball game. He was given a free pass to third on a failed pickoff attempt and a wild pitch from Davidson pitcher Chris Kennedy (0-7) before taking off for the plate on a 1-0 count to Ghizzoni, who came through by laying down the walk-off squeeze bunt.

The extra-inning win went to Duke reliever Alex Hassan (4-0), who moved to the mound from center field in a ninth-inning switch that also brought Ghizzoni into the game from the bench. Hassan tossed two hitless frames to follow a streak of 18 straight batters retired by senior Ryan Perry and freshman starter Grant Monroe.

No. 17 NC State Rallies Past Campbell 6-3

BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Marcus Jones smoked an eighth-inning, opposite-field double off the right-field wall to drive in two runs and break a 3-3 tie Tuesday night, propelling NC State to a 6-3 victory over Campbell at Taylor Field.

The 17th-ranked Wolfpack, which improved to 33-14 with the victory, struggled offensively, but rode stellar pitching from Eric Surkamp and Jimmy Gillheeney (2-0), who combined on a five-hitter. Campbell lost its eighth consecutive game and dropped to 17-31 with the loss.

For Surkamp, the game was redemption of sorts. Three days earlier, on Saturday at Doak Field at Dail Park, Surkamp turned in the worst outing of his college career, two forgettable innings and six runs against High Point. Given a chance to make amends on Tuesday, Surkamp stopped the Camels dead in their tracks for five innings.

Potter, Terps Blank UMES 6-0

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Freshman Eric Potter struck out 12 batters in six innings of work and the Maryland pitching staff combined to fan 18 batters as the Terrapins shut out the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, 6-0, Tuesday night at Shipley Field.

Potter (Odenton, Md./Arundel) struck out the most batters by a Terrapin pitcher since Chris Clem struck out 15 against Buffalo in 2004. The 18 team strikeouts were the most since fanning 17 April 23, 2003 against James Madison.

With the win, the Terps (27-24) broke their five-game losing streak and completed a season sweep of the Hawks (5-45).

After a scoreless top of the first, the Terps' bats gave Potter some early run support with a three-run inning.