Wolfpack Shuts Out Clemson, 10-0, to Wrap Up Second Day of ACC Championship
NC State runs out to a six-inning lead in the first, holds Clemson to two hits.
NC State's Clayton Shunick shut down the Tigers with a two-hit shutout.

NC State's Clayton Shunick shut down the Tigers with a two-hit shutout.

May 23, 2008

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - North Carolina State shortstop Tommy Foschi highlighted a six-run first inning with his first home run of the season and Clayton Shunick pitched a two-hit shutout as the No. 4 seed Wolfpack defeated Clemson, 10-0, in seven innings late Thursday night in the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

N.C. State (38-19) evened its record at 1-1 in Division A round-robin play. Clemson (30-27-1) was eliminated from advancing to the championship game with its second tournament loss.

The Wolfpack sent 11 batters to the plate in the first, with Foshi's two-run homer to left following a two-run single by Chris Schaeffer.

Jeremy Synan went 3-for-3 and scored three runs and Schaeffer and Ryan Pond each went 3-for-4. Pat Ferguson drove in three runs.

Shunick (6-5) retired the first 13 batters he faced before Doug Hogan singled with one out in the fifth for Clemson's first hit of the game. Wilson Boyd followed with a double, but Hogan was held up at third and Shunick got out of the inning.

Graham Stoneburner (6-5) pitched only two-thirds of an inning before being lifted.

Division A round-robin play continues Saturday when Clemson plays Georgia Tech at 10 a.m. and the Wolfpack play top-seeded Miami at 1 p.m. If Clemson wins, the N.C. State-Miami winner will advance to the championship game at 1 p.m. Sunday against the Division B champion.

Miami beat Georgia Tech 15-12 in the other Division A game Thursday. The Hurricanes are 2-0 in the ACC Championship for the first time.

Division B round-robin games on Friday will match second-seeded Florida State against No. 6 Virginia and third-seeded North Carolina against No. 7 Wake Forest.

Game 6 Notes: NC State 10, Clemson 0 (7 inn.)

• This evening's game marked just the fifth time in ACC Championship history that a game has been shortened since the 10-run rule was implemented. It was the first time in which Clemson has been on the losing end of a mercy-shortened tournament game.

• NC State starting pitcher Clayton Shunick pitched a perfect game through 4.1 innings against the Tigers. For Shunick, it was the longest run without allowing a hit to start a game in any of his appearances this season.

• Shunick, now 6-5 in 2008, pitched the first complete game of his NC State career, allowing just two hits and zero runs in seven innings while striking out eight batters. Clemson's shutout was its first in ACC Championship competition since the title game of the 1997 tournament, in which the Tigers fell to Florida State, 10-0.

• The shutout was the first for NC State in the ACC Championship since 2003. The last time NC State won a tournament game by 10 or more runs was May 12, 1992, when the Wolfpack defeated Clemson, 11-1.

• NC State's Pat Ferguson and Chris Schaeffer combined to go 4-for-7 at the plate, while driving in five of the Wolfpack's 10 runs for the evening. The pair is now 8-for-16 in NC State's first two games at the 2008 tournament with six runs scored and seven RBI.

• All nine Wolfpack starters recorded a hit in tonight's game against the Tigers. Five of the nine recorded multiple hits, as NC State put up its third-largest hit total of the 2008 season.

• Clemson reliever Justin Sarratt entered in the second inning after the Tigers' first two pitchers were tagged for seven hits and six runs in the game's opening inning. The five inning appearance for Sarratt, in which he held the Wolfpack to just a pair of runs, was the longest of his career.

• With tonight's victory, NC State improved to 10-17 against Clemson in 27 all-time ACC Championship contests.

-ACC-