Baseball ACCtion: Thursday, May 15 - ACC OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

May 16, 2008

Look Ahead: 2008 ACC Baseball Championship

No. 1 Miami Tops No. 2 UNC, 12-2, for ACC Coastal Crown

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Freshman left-handed pitcher Chris Hernandez won for the 10th time with a seven-strikeout performance in 7 2/3 innings and junior first baseman Yonder Alonso hit his second career grand slam - which also was the second one against a team ranked No. 2 - as No. 1 Miami (43-6, 23-3 ACC) cruised to a 12-2 win over the second-ranked Tar Heels (43-10, 20-7 ACC) Thursday night to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division. Jemile Weeks and Dave DiNatale each added two hits for Miami, which snapped a four-game losing streak to the Tar Heels.

Hernandez (10-0) gave up just two runs on six hits and did not walk a batter for the third time in his last three starts. His seventh strikeout came on his 100th pitch. Sophomore reliever Anthony Nalepa tossed the final 1 1/3 innings retiring four of the five batters he faced.

Alonso finished 1-for-3 with two runs and the four RBI. He now has 17 home runs - 11 coming in the last 19 games. DiNatale also homered for the Canes as he and Weeks both finished 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.

No. 18 NC State Baseball Throttles No. 3 FSU, 12-2

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- In what was probably the biggest game of the year to date, NC State didn't come up big; the 18th-ranked Wolfpack came up huge. Matt Payne led a 14-hit attack with three hits and three RBIs, and Eric Surkamp and two relievers combined on a three-hitter to lead the Pack past third-ranked Florida State 12-2 at Dick Howser Stadium.

NC State, which scored in double figures for the fourth game in a row, limited Florida State to a season-low three hits and handed the Seminoles their most lopsided defeat of the season. The victory lifted the Wolfpack to 37-16 overall, and at 18-9 and in fourth place overall in the ACC, NC State sets a school record for conference victories. Combined with Miami's 12-2 victory over North Carolina, the Wolfpack now is within two games of the third-place Tar Heels with two to play.

Furthermore, the game was a big boost to NC State's bid to host an NCAA regional. The Wolfpack came into the game ranked 11th in the latest unofficial RPI ratings by WarrenNolan.com, while the Seminoles, who came into the game having won nine of their last 10 games, were third. NC State is now 3-3 against the top three teams in the RPI ratings: 1-2 vs. No. 1 Miami, 1-1 vs. No. 2 North Carolina and 1-0 vs. No. 3 Florida State.

Wake Forest Clinches Berth in ACC Tournament With 10-3 Defeat of BC

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Coming into this week's three-game series at Boston College, Wake Forest needed to win just once to clinch a berth in the ACC Tournament. The Demon Deacons took care of business early, cruising to a 10-3 defeat of the Eagles in game one of the series Thursday afternoon at Commander Shea Field.

The win assures Wake Forest of a spot in next week's eight-team ACC Tournament in Jacksonville, Fla. The Deacons can do no worse than the seventh seed now that they have at least 12 wins. Clemson (who finished 11-18-1 in the ACC) and Duke (8-17-1 entering its series at Virginia Tech) are battling for the eighth and final spot.

Starter Ben Hunter (4-5) turned in another fine outing for the Deacs, picking up the win on the mound. The senior righthander, who has now posted victories in three straight starts, went seven innings, surrendering two runs on three hits. He struck out eight and walked four. Hunter allowed just one runner to reach scoring position over the first six innings. In the second through sixth innings, he let just two batters reach base, one of which was eventually erased on a double play.

Duke Tops Virginia Tech 4-2 In Series Opener

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Andrew Wolcott held Virginia Tech to one run over six innings before allowing relievers Michael Ness and Alex Hassan to close out the final three innings of a 4-2 Duke win over the Hokies Thursday evening at English Field.

Wolcott scattered six hits and struck out six over his six complete frames while turning in his team-leading sixth quality start of the season. After Virginia Tech tied the game at 2-2 with a two-out rally in the eighth, Hassan (5-0) picked up the final out in the eighth and shut down the Hokies (22-31, 5-23 ACC) in the ninth to lock up the win. Duke broke the 2-2 tie with a two-run ninth that featured a wild pitch that gave Duke the lead and a two-out RBI single by catcher Matt Williams.

Duke broke the 2-2 tie with a two-run ninth that featured a wild pitch that gave Duke the lead and a two-out RBI single by catcher Matt Williams.

No. 28 Virginia Scores 4-2 Win Over No. 25 Georgia Tech in Opener

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Matt Packer (So., Germantown, Tenn.) scattered five hits and gave up one run over a career-best seven innings in propelling the No. 28 Virginia baseball team to a 4-2 win over Georgia Tech Thursday night in the series opener at Davenport Field.

John Barr (Fr., Ivyland, Pa.) posted a career-high three hits, while Franco Valdes (So., Miami, Fla.) added two for Virginia. UVa had nine hits on the evening, compared to six for the Yellow Jackets, who received two hits each from Luke Murton and Derek Dietrich.

Packer (6-2), who was making his fourth start of 2008, topped his previous career best of six innings which he had set three times previously. He did not walk a batter and struck out seven. Andrew Carraway (Jr., Marietta, Ga.) pitched a perfect eighth inning, and Michael Schwimer (Sr., Alexandria, Va.) allowed a run in the ninth but rebounded to notch his ACC-best 12th save.

Mitchell Fans Nine in Clemson's 9-1 Win at Central Florida Thursday

Orlando, FL - D.J. Mitchell struck out nine batters, while Ben Paulsen and Stan Widmann each drove in three runs to lead Clemson to a 9-1 win against Central Florida in front of 1,017 fans at Jay Bergman Field on Thursday night. The Tigers, who took a 1-0 series lead, improved to 28-25-1, while the Knights dropped to 31-23. It was Clemson's first-ever game at Central Florida, as the Tigers evened the all-time series 3-3.

Mitchell (6-4) allowed five hits, one run, and two walks with nine strikeouts in 7.0 innings pitched to earn the win. Justin Sarratt pitched 2.0 scoreless innings of one-hit ball to close out the game. Central Florida starter Kyle Sweat (5-4) suffered the loss, as he allowed six hits, four runs (three earned), and two walks with four strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched.

Two days after Widmann hit two homers with five RBIs, he went 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored, three RBIs, and a stolen base against the Knights. Paulsen added two hits, including a triple, and three RBIs. Florida natives Mike Freeman (Orlando) and Kyle Parker (Jacksonville) also tallied two hits apiece for the Tigers, who totaled 13 hits in the game.