North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Baseball Whips UNC-Wilmington, 10-2
4/26/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
NC State improved to 26-22 with the victory, while UNCW dropped to 29-18. Wolfpack starter Ryan Combs worked six strong innings to pick up the win and raise his record to 5-4. Combs allowed two runs, both unearned, on five hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out two. Josh Miller and Mike Prochaska worked the final three innings, allowing no runs on two hits between them.
Seahawks starter Anthony Kozol took the loss despite pitching well. Kozol, who fell to 8-3, allowed three runs on six hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out seven, but the UNCW bullpen allowed four runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth to let the game slip away.
UNCW took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Blayne Joyner singled with one out, went all the way to third base on an errant pickoff throw from Combs, and scored on a sacrifice fly. NC State came back in the bottom of the first when Lee led off with a triple and later scored on a force play. The Pack added a second run in the inning on a balk from Kozol, scoring Brian Wright, who was hit by a pitch.
The Seahawks tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the second. Mike Foucht doubled with one out and went to third on a sacrifice by Quinn McLaney, who was safe when the Wolfpack misplayed the bunt for an error. David Ange grounded to shortstop and beat the potential double-play relay to drive in Foucht with the tying run.
NC State broke the tie in the bottom of the fourth. Schmitt led off with a single and was forced at second on a grounder from Prochaska. Sam Esposito ripped a two-out double to center field to score Prochaska all the way from first base and give the Wolfpack a 3-2 lead.
The Pack broke the game open in the bottom of the seventh. Lee led off with a single and Jason Smith reached on an error to put runners on first and second with none out. Brian Wright reached on an infield single to load the bases, and Baxter cleared them with a three-run double to right-center field. Baxter went to third on a groundout and scored on a double by Prochaska, lifting NC State's lead to 7-2.
Lee hit a one-out single in the bottom of the eighth, and after the Seahawks recorded the second out of the inning, Lee stole second and scored on Brian Wright's RBI single to make it 8-2. Wright took second on the play, and after Baxter walked, the runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. Wright scored on Schmitt's RBI single, and Baxter came around to score on an RBI single by Prochaska to give the Wolfpack a 10-2 lead.
