May 13, 2009

Liberty Quells Duke Offense In 4-1 Win

DURHAM, N.C. - Tyler Light struck out eight batters and gave up one run over seven innings to lead Liberty to a 4-1 win over Duke Tuesday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field.

Light scattered six hits and a walk and gave up his only run on an RBI groundout from Blue Devil catcher Matt Williams in the fifth inning. The senior right-hander threw 97 pitches in the affair - 68 for strikes - before relievers Carter Browning (2-1) and Andrew Wilson combined to keep Duke (32-21, 13-14 ACC) hitless over the final two innings.

Just after Browning worked out of a first-and-second jam in the eighth inning, Liberty broke out for a three-run ninth inning that featured RBI singles from Casey Brown and Justin Richardson. The three-run inning broke a seven-inning scoreless streak in which Duke starter Eric Pfisterer and relievers Ryan Knott, Tim Sherlock and Kyle Butler combined to retire 17 consecutive batters to keep the game tied at 1-1. Sophomore Dennis O'Grady (1-2) was the first Blue Devil to falter, however, and gave up four hits and three runs to take the loss.

Center fielder Curran Redal led off the ninth inning with a double for his second hit of the game. He was one of two Flames with multiple hits, joining designated hitter Cody Brown who knocked two singles and sent in Liberty's other RBI in the first inning.

Baseball Drops Season Finale at Delaware, 6-4

NEWARK, Del. - The University of Maryland baseball team lost its season finale, 6-4, Tuesday afternoon at the University of Delaware, but finished the season with a .500-or-better record for the second straight year. It is the first time the Terps have finished .500 or better for consecutive seasons since the 1980 and 1981 campaigns.

The Terps (27-27) got on the board first, plating a pair of runs in the top of the second inning. Second baseman David Poutier ripped a one-out double into the left-center field gap to get the rally started off Delaware starting pitcher Will Blackman. With runners on first and third with two outs, No. 9 hitter Alfredo Rodriguez lined a two-run triple over right fielder Scott Shockley's head, plating Poutier and Gerry Spessard.

Delaware (24-18) scored an unearned run in the bottom of the third on a Ryan Reed RBI single, cutting the Blue Hens' deficit in half at 2-1.

An infield RBI single by Dan Benick put the Terps back up by two, 3-1, in the top of the fourth. Benick barely got a piece of a Matt Harden offering and hit it 15 feet down the third-base line. With two outs, Tyler Bennett charged home from third and scored when Reed couldn't get the throw off to first base in time.

Baseball Loses To UConn, 3-2

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Seven different Connecticut pitchers combined to allow just four hits as the Huskies beat the Boston College baseball team, 3-2, on Tuesday at Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Commander Shea Field.

Dusty Odenbach picked up the win for UConn (31-22) after stranding runners on third base in the seventh and eighth innings. David Erickson pitched a perfect ninth to pick up his 10th save. Freshman Mike Dennhardt had a solid outing for Boston College, throwing 5.0 innings and allowing three runs on six hits in the loss.

Pierre LePage led the Huskies at the plate with a 3-for-5 performance with two doubles. Mike Olt went 2-for-4 with a triple, two RBI and a run while Matt Burnett had two hits and an RBI.

Sophomore Matt Hamlet went 2-for-4 for BC with a double, RBI and a run. Junior Barry Butera and freshman Brad Zapenas had the other two hits, with Butera scoring a run and Zapenas having an RBI.

UConn got things going in the top of the second with a pair of runs to take the early lead. George Springer led off with a walk and after a sac bunt, Olt hit the wall in right field for a triple that put UConn on top, 1-0. Burnett then took a 2-2 pitch up the middle for a single and another run to increase the lead to two runs.

No. 4 Carolina Handles Charlotte, 4-1

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - All-America Dustin Ackley was 2-for-3 with a two-run single in the fifth inning, and No. 4 North Carolina's bullpen went seven strong innings to lead the Tar Heels to a 4-1 win over Charlotte Tuesday at Hayes Stadium.

Carolina left-hander Brian Moran (6-1) retired all nine batters faced over three innings, fanning six of them. He entered with the bases full of 49ers in the third and struck out three straight batters to end the threat. Moran, who also set down the 49ers in order in the fourth and fifth, won for the third time in his last six outings. He now has 73 strikeouts to just four walks this season.

Greg Holt worked the final 2 2/3 innings for a career-long outing and his first save for the Tar Heels (39-13). He allowed just one hit and struck out two. Logan Munson also pitched 1 1/3 innings in relief.

Ackley, who has hit safely in six straight, recorded his fifth multi-hit game in six chances this month. Mike Cavasinni singled and scored two runs after missing the last three games with a concussion. Carolina left a season high 13 runners on base, and the teams combined to strand 26.

Baseball Scores 6 in Eighth, Romps Past Appalachian State 10-6

RALEIGH, N.C. -- NC State scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, all with two out, and rallied past Appalachian State 10-6 on Tuesday night at Doak Field at Dail Park.

Kyle Wilson and Pratt Maynard drove in two runs apiece in the Wolfpack's big inning, which answered a three-run inning for the Mountaineers in the top of the inning to take a 6-4 lead. Sam Brown, who was on the mound in the top of the eighth and served up a three-run homer to Wes Hobson, was the beneficiary of the six-run uprising in the home half of the frame and was the winning pitcher, improving to 3-0. Brown worked two innings and was charged with three runs on five hits. He struck out three and did not issue a walk.

NC State jumped to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on Drew Poulk's solo home run to left field, his second long ball in as many games. The homer was his seventh of the season, which gives him the team lead.

#14 Tigers Stop College of Charleston 5-2 Tuesday

Clemson, SC - John Nester and Jason Stolz, the #8 and #9 batters in the lineup, combined to go 5-for-7 with four runs and two RBIs to lead #14 Clemson to a 5-2 victory over College of Charleston in front of 4,597 fans at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Tuesday night. The Tigers, who ended their regular-season home slate with a 27-8 record, improved to 36-17 overall, while the Cougars fell to 35-17.

Clemson's win stopped the Cougars 10-game winning streak, the nation's longest active streak entering Tuesday. The Tigers also improved to 21-0 all-time against College of Charleston.

Tiger starter Scott Weismann (2-0) earned the win. The freshman righthander pitched a career-long 5.0 innings, allowing only three hits and no runs. Tomas Cruz pitched 2.1 hitless and scoreless innings in relief to set up Matt Vaughn. The Summerville, SC native pitched a scoreless ninth inning to record his fourth save of the season.

Four Tiger hurlers limited College of Charleston to only six hits, two unearned runs, 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position, and 0-for-10 with two outs. The Cougars entered the game with a team batting average of .358, fifth-best in the nation entering this week.

Tech Drops 7-5 Baseball Decision to Georgia

ATLANTA - Lyle Allen had three hits, including a run-scoring single to break a ninth-inning tie, lifting 15th-ranked Georgia past No. 7 Georgia Tech, 7-5, Tuesday night at Turner Field in the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's Spring Baseball Classic.

Georgia (35-17) won its second straight game on the heels of an eight-game losing streak, while Georgia Tech fell to 33-13-1 before a crowd of 24,665 that watched the 347th meeting between the two teams. The win also was the fifth straight for the Bulldogs over Tech in the annual Turner Field contest.

It was the sixth highest attendance for a regular-season game in NCAA history, and the second highest in the eight years of the Spring Baseball Classic at Turner Field.

"It was a good ball game. I was pleased that we came from behind," said Tech coach Danny Hall. "Give them credit. They seemed to get big hits when they had guys in scoring position. We struggled a little with that, but I thought it was a pretty well-played ballgame all the way around."

Georgia, which led for most of the game before a three-run Tech rally in the seventh tied it, scored the winning runs against Yellow Jacket reliever Zach Brewster (1-3), the sixth Tech pitcher of the night.

Deacs Defeat Winthrop 4-2 to Sweep Season Series

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest broke open a 2-2 tie with two runs in the bottom of the seventh and the Demon Deacon bullpen threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings to lift the Deacs to a 4-2 win over Winthrop on Tuesday night at Wake Forest Baseball Park.

Wake Forest improves to 22-27 on the season, while Winthrop drops to 30-22 on the year.

Pitching was the story of the game for the Demon Deacons. Making just his second start of the season, Brandon Johnson threw extremely well, allowing two runs, only one earned, on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out two and did not walk a batter. The Wake Forest bullpen made sure the Eagles would not score again as they held Winthrop scoreless over the final 3 2/3 innings, allowing just two hits.

Ryan McGrath improved his record to 3-1 on the season, throwing a perfect 1 2/3 innings and striking out two batters. Zach White earned his team-leading third save of the season, allowing a hit and striking out a batter in the ninth.

Austin Stuart suffered the loss for Winthrop to drop to 0-1. Stuart allowed three runs on three hits in two innings.

Evan Ocheltree had a team-high three hits in four plate appearances in the game and scored a run. Ryan Semeniuk came off the bench and went 2-for-2, including driving in the game-tying run. Bentley Heyman added two hits and an RBI. Mike Murray reached base four times in the game, recording a hit and drawing three walks. Tyler Smith drove in a game-high two runs.

Eddie Rohan and Eddie Tisdale each had two hits to lead Winthrop at the plate.

Roberts Pitches No. 10 Baseball to 4-1 Win Over VCU

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Will Roberts (Fr., Richmond, Va.) pitched seven innings of two-hit, shutout baseball to propel the No. 10 Virginia baseball team to a 4-1 victory over VCU Tuesday evening at Davenport Field.

The game was a pitchers' duel throughout, as Roberts (4-0) out-dueled VCU starter Phillip Deane, who threw a complete game and allowed just three hits. In his career-high seven innings, Roberts faced only three batters over the minimum and struck out six. In eight innings, Deane (2-5) gave up four runs (three earned), three hits and two walks with one strikeout.

Kevin Arico (So., Flemington, N.J.) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to notch his seventh save. With just nine hits between the two teams, the game lasted only two hours, 14 minutes.

Despite recording a season-low three hits, Virginia (38-10-1) took advantage of a walk and two hits by pitch to score three of their four runs. The Cavaliers used timely hitting to score in the first inning. Phil Gosselin (So., West Chester, Pa.) walked with one out. On a hit-and-run, he scored from first base on a long single to left-center by Danny Hultzen (Fr., Bethesda, Md.).