North Carolina State University Athletics
Rutgers Downs NC State Baseball 7-3
2/19/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The win for the Scarlet Knights evened the three-game series with the Wolfpack at a game apiece, with the series finale set for 12:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Doak.
Rutgers improved to 1-1 with the victory while NC State dropped to 3-3. Starter Buddy Gallagher, who pitched just 11 innings in eight appearances as a freshman a year ago, allowed only two runs on six hits in six strong innings for the Knights, walking one and striking out five. The victory was his first decision of the season. For the Wolfpack, Ryan Combs was a hard-luck loser for the second time in as many outings. Combs, who lost a 2-1 decision at The Citadel a week ago, allowed four runs, three of them earned, on seven hits in seven innings. He walked one, struck out three, and deserved a better fate.
Both starting pitchers hurled shutout baseball through three innings, but Rutgers scored single runs in the top of the fourth and fifth innings. Darren Fenster reached on a one-out single in the fourth and scored from first on Todd Speedy's two-out double to right field. Popowski blooped a one-out double to right in the fifth and scored on a single up the middle by Brian Ciemniecki, giving Rutgers a 2-0 lead.
The Wolfpack tied the score in the bottom of the fifth on a leadoff double by Dan Mooney, a two-out walk to Jason Smith and a two-run single by Jeremy Dutton. Rutgers promptly broke the tie with two runs in the top of the sixth. Fenster led off with a walk, and Mike O'Brien hit a two-out double to score Fenster. Joe Cirone hit a grounder to shortstop that should have ended the inning, but Chris Goodman's throwing error allowed O'Brien to score from second and gave Rutgers a 4-2 lead.
Rutgers broke the game open in the top of the seventh. Speedy led off with a double and scored on a one-out double by Cirone. Popowski then hit reliever Ryan Steadham's first pitch over the screen atop the wall in left field for a two-run homer, giving the Scarlet Knights a 7-2 advantage.
The Wolfpack tried to rally in the bottom of the ninth, but fell just short. Andy Baxter reached on a one-out walk, and Craig Lee singled to right. Pinch-hitter Daniel Caldwell singled to center to load the bases. Dutton walked in a run, and with two out and the potential tying run at the plate, Brian Wright hit a long drive that left fielder Leon Shade caught just at the edge of the warning track for the game-ending out.
