North Carolina State University Athletics
Baseball Downs Rutgers with Ninth-Inning Rally
2/20/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Wolfpack, now 4-3 on the season, won the three-game series over the Scarlet Knights, two games to one. Rutgers fell to 1-2 with the loss. NC State's four-run ninth-inning rally made a winner of reliever Corey Mattison (1-0), who recorded the final out in the top of the ninth. Rutgers reliever Eric Brown (0-2) came on to pitch the start of the ninth and was tagged with the loss.
The late-inning fireworks by the Pack spoiled the collegiate debut of Rutgers righthander Bob Brownlie, who allowed just one unearned run on five hits in eight innings of work. He walked two and struck out eight. Wolfpack starter Mike Sollie pitched nearly as well, allowing three runs on 11 hits in seven innings. Sollie, who recorded 14 groundball outs, walked none and struck out three.
Sollie and Brownlie took a scoreless tie into the top of the fifth inning before the Scarlet Knights took the lead. Matt Wolski, David DeJesus and Darren Fenster hit one-out singles to load the bases. Sollie uncorked a wild pitch to score Wolski and leave runners on second and third, and Jake Daubert singled home DeJesus to give Rutgers a 2-0 lead.
A leadoff single by Joe Cirone and a two-out RBI double by Wolski expanded the Rutgers lead to 3-0 in the top of the sixth. The Wolfpack scored an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth. Josh Schmitt led off with a walk and scored from first when DeJesus bobbled Strain's single to center field for a run-scoring error. Rutgers got that run back in the top of the ninth on a leadoff double by DeJesus, a sacrifice by Fenster and an RBI infield grounder.
The Wolfpack's winning rally started with singles by Craig Lee, Andy Baxter and Mike Prochaska to load the bases with none out. Brown almost pitched out of the jam by striking out Dan Mooney and retiring Schmitt on a fly ball to shallow right field. But pinch-hitter Jamie Shearin singled in one run to cut the lead to 4-2, and Dutton fouled off four two-strike pitches before hitting a sharp ground ball just under the outstretched glove of Daubert at third base to score Baxter and Prochaska and tie the score at 4-4. Strain followed with a single to left field, and pinch-runner John Whitley just beat left fielder Leon Shade's strong throw to the plate for the game-winning run.
