May 24, 2003

SALEM, Va. - Ultimately, the game didn't matter all that much. Not to cry sour grapes after a lopsided defeat, but 12th-ranked NC State's 17-6 loss to top-ranked Florida State on Saturday night in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament became a secondary concern in light of the events of the day. The Wolfpack (42-15), which assured itself of a berth in the tournament's championship game with an emotional and dramatic extra-inning victory over North Carolina earlier in the day, now moves on to the last game of the tournament and will play for the ACC championship at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The Wolfpack will sleep in Sunday morning and then relax in the comfort of its hotel while Georgia Tech and North Carolina play the first game of the day, beginning at 9:30 a.m. The winner of that game will then take on Florida State (50-9-1) at 1 p.m. NC State will take on the winner of the second game 45 minutes after the conclusion of that game. The game will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM, 88.1 on the FM dial, and the broadcast, along with live in-game stats, will be available on the internet at gopack.com. Fox Sports South will televise the final two games of the tournament, beginning at 1 p.m.

Knowing that a berth in the tournament finals awaited it regardless of the outcome of the Florida State game, the Wolfpack played well early, but ran out of pitching as the Seminoles stayed alive thanks in large part to a 10-run fifth inning. Sophomore lefthander Brandon Shhipwash (1-1) took the loss. He allowd three runs on six hits in three innings. He walked one and struck out four. Rhett James (1-3), the second of three FSU hurlers, got the win after working 2-1/3 shutout innings. He walked one, struck out two and did not allow a hit.

NC State pushed across an unearned run in the bottom of the second inning to take the early lead. Joe Gaetti led off and reached on an error by shortstop Stephen Drew. David Hicks doubled down the left-field line to put runners at second and third with none out, and Marc Maynor hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Gaetti and give the Pack a 1-0 lead.

Matt Camp led off the bottom of the third and reached on another error by Drew. Chad Orvella singled to right, and Colt Morton and Gaetti walked to force in Camp with the Wolfpack's second run -- and second unearned run -- of the game.

After shutting out the Seminoles on one hit through three innings, Shipwash hit the wall in the top of the fourth. Tony Richie singled to right, and Blake Balkcom doubled to right. Jerrod Brown doubled to right to drive in two runs, and Chris Hart singled to left to drive in the go-ahead run and give the Noles a 3-2 lead.

Florida State blew the game wide open in the top of the fifth inning, sending 14 men to the plate. Tony McQuade led off with a single and went to second on a wild pitch. Tony Richie walked, and after Balkcom flied out, Brown singled to center to drive in McQuade and put runners on the corners. Brown and Richie pulled off a double steal with Richie scoring and Brown going to second. Brown went on to third when catcher Justin Riley's throw to second went into center field for an error. Chris Hart doubled to left to drive in Brown and make it 6-2.

Daniel Wardell followed with a single to left to put runners on the corners, and Bryan Zech singled to center to drive in Hart and make it 7-2. After the runners moved to second and third on a wild pitch, Aaron Cheesman grounded to third. Murphy threw home on the play, but not in time to get Wardell, who scored to make it 8-2. Drew doubled off the wall in right to knock in a run, and McQuade walked to load the bases. Richie hit a sacrifice fly to right to drive in pinch-runner Kevin Richmond, and Balkcom capped the 10-run inning with a towering three-run homer to dead center field, giving the Seminoles a 13-2 lead.

Richie led off the top of the seventh with a walk and went to second on a wild pitch. Brown drove Richie in with a single to center, and after Brandon Manasa walked, Zech doubled to left to drive in Brown and increase the lead to 15-2.

Orvella led off the bottom of the seventh against reliever Matt DiBlasi and was hit by a pitch. Conor Clougherty hit an infield single, and Joe Gaetti hit a one-out double to right to drive in Orvella. With two down, Maynor singled to left to drive in Clougherty and Gaetti, cutting the FSU lead to 15-5.

The Wolfpack sent outfielder Tim Coffield out to pitch the top of the ninth, and Florida State reached him for a pair of runs, one of them unearned. Brown walked and went to second on a wild pitch. Manasa advanced Brown to third with a groundout, and with two down, Zech singled to center for the RBI. Kevin Richmond singled to center to move Zech to second, and DiBlasi, in the lineup as a hitter, reached on an error that allowed Zech to score and give the Noles a 17-5 lead.

Colt Morton hit a one-out solo home run in the bottom of the ninth, his 16th of the season.