North Carolina State University Athletics
Farrell's Home Runs Down Wolfpack Baseball, 4-1
3/26/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
North Carolina improved to 2-4 in the ACC with the win, 24-5 overall. NC State dropped to 5-4 in the conference and 16-10 overall.
Earey picked up the win with 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, allowing one hit and a walk, while striking out two. Elmore pitched well enough to win, yielding just one unearned run in 5 2/3 innings, but got no offensive support, thanks in large part to the strong pitching of Wolfpack starter Mike Prochaska, who dropped to 2-1 with the loss. Prochaska, a freshman lefthander from Raleigh, wound up being charged with four runs on nine hits in 6 1/3 innings, but allowed just two hits through four innings, and six hits and one run through six. He walked two and struck out three.
Prochaska and Elmore matched zeroes through the first four innings. NC State threatened against Elmore in the first, second and fourth innings, loading the bases in the first, but the UNC lefthander pitched out of trouble each time, stranding five runners through four innings. Prochaska, meanwhile, cruised into the fifth, allowing just two hits and a walk. Only one North Carolina baserunner reached scoring position through four innings.
The Wolfpack broke the scoreless pitchers duel with an unearned run in the top of the fifth inning. Brian Wright and Josh Schmitt stroked one-out singles to right field, and after Prochaska grounded into a force play, Dan Mooney's grounder went through third baseman Chris Maples' legs for a run-scoring error, giving NC State a 1-0 lead.
Farrell tied the score with his first home run, a solo shot to left with one down in the bottom of the fifth. Chris Maples had led off the inning by beating out an infield single, but was picked off first base by Prochaska for the first out of the inning. Farrell's home run was only the second run Prochaska had allowed all season and the first he had allowed in 13 innings.
Maples led off the bottom of the seventh with a single to left, and this time he was aboard when Farrell went deep again, this one just clearing the 355 mark in right-center field for his seventh homer of the season and his third of the series. That gave North Carolina a 3-1 lead, and the Tar Heels promptly tacked on an insurance run when Chad Prosser walked, went to third on Aam Greenberg's second hit of the game, and scored on a groundout.
