North Carolina State University Athletics
Prochaska, Mosley Lead Wolfpack Past George Mason, 14-9
3/5/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. (Mar. 5) - Freshman first baseman Mike Prochaska had four hits, including a double, stole two bases and drove in four runs to lead NC State past George Mason 14-9 March 5 at Doak Field.
The Wolfpack collected a season-high 20 hits, including seven from three bench players who each were making a rare start. Junior second baseman Eric Mosley, appearing in his first collegiate game, had two singles and a double, and drove in three runs. Freshman third baseman Adam Ennis, starting for just the second time, had a double and a single, and drove in a pair of runs. Freshman Daniel Caldwell started in right field and went 2-for-5 with an RBI.
The beneficiary of all that offense was sophomore righthander Mike Sollie (2-0), who allowed five runs, only one of which was earned, on six hits in five innings. Sollie walked three and struck out two. Sophomore righthander Marcus Davis (0-2) took the loss for George Mason. Davis allowed seven runs, four of them earned, on 10 hits in four innings. He walked none and struck out four.
With the win, NC State improved to 9-5 on the season. George Mason dropped to 3-9.
The Patriots, who defeated the Wolfpack on March 4, picked up where they left off with a four-run second inning off Sollie, all the damage coming with two outs. Brad Santmyer walked and Teddy Puitz singled to put runners on first and second. Brian Anderson hit a sharp grounder that went for an error and scored Santmmyer, and Evan Howard and Eddie Jordan followed with back-to-back triples. All four runs in the inning were unearned.
NC State got three unearned runs of its own in the bottom of the inning. Josh Schmitt got a one-out single and went to third when Ennis's lazy fly ball to right field was dropped for an error. Jason Smith laid a perfect bunt down the third-base line for an RBI single, and Mosley singled to load the bases. Caldwell drove in one run with a groundout, and Davis unloaded a wild pitch to bring home the third run of the inning.
The Wolfpack took the lead in the bottom of the third. Craig Lee and Prochaska singled to put runners on the corners, and Prochaska stole second. Tyler Tiesing was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Ennis's two-run double gave the Pack the lead at 5-4. Smith's groundout to shortstop scored Tiesing to give NC State a 6-4 lead.
Prochaska drove in Brian Wright with an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to make it 7-4, but George Mason's Brian Forthofer's sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth cut the lead back to two runs at 7-5. NC State began to put the game away with four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Schmitt singled, went to second on an outfield error, and scored when center fielder Eddie Jordan bobbled Ennis's single for an error that allowed Ennis to take second. Smith then picked up his second bunt single of the game, this one to the first-base side, and promptly stole second base. Mosley drove both runners home with a double to left that gave the Wolfpack a 10-5 lead, and Prochaska capped the big inning with an RBI single that made it 11-5.
The Patriots scored a pair of unearned runs in the top of the sixth on a double steal and a Wolfpack error, but Prochaska got those runs back with a heads-up play in the bottom of the seventh. With runners at second and third and two out, the Patriots decided to intentionally walk Prochaska and pitch to catcher Dan Mooney instead, but the 1-0 pitch was too close to the plate and Prochaska slapped the ball past the third baseman for a two-run double that pushed the Wolfpack's lead to 13-7.
Anderson homered to lead off the top of the eighth, cutting the lead to 13-8, but Mosley got that run back with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning. Howard's RBI double in the top of the ninth made the final score 14-9, Wolfpack.
