North Carolina State University Athletics
Mosley Lifts Wolfpack Over Camels, 5-4
3/28/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. -- With a 4-all tie in the bottom of the eighth, Eric Mosley drove in Justin Riley with a sacrifice fly to right field to lead the NC State Wolfpack to a 5-4 victory over Campbell University Wednesday evening at Doak Field.
The win moves NC State to 13-13 overall, while the Camels fall to 17-9. It marks the 13th consecutive defeat for Campbell against the Wolfpack.
Campbell jumped out quickly in the third inning against NC State starter Jason Blanton when designated hitter Mitch Williams singled up the middle to start the inning. Williams moved on a Chris Wiley sacrifice and then advanced to third on a single by shortstop Bradley Coates. He would later score on a fielder's choice by left fielder Johnny Keelan.
All was quiet until the Campbell sixth when leadoff batter Keelan singled up the middle to start the inning. That was followed by Tony Della Costa's single to right field, which moved Keelan to third base. Keelan would later score when Blanton attempted to pick Della Costa off first. The throw was wild, allowing Keelan to trot home. Third baseman Jeff Huff would move Della Costa to third on a groudout just before Della Costa would score on another Wolfpack miscue, a wild pitch by senior Corey Mattison making the score 3-0.
NC State struck back immediately in their half of the inning when designated hitter Daniel Pruitt singled to lead off the inning. With one out, Jeremy Dutton then tripled to right center, scoring Pruitt from first for the Wolfpack's first run. Later, Brian Wright laced a single to right field to plate Dutton to pull NC State to within one.
NC State would pull even at three in the bottom of the seventh when David Hicks rapped a leadoff single up the middle. Freshman Joe Gaetti was then hit in the chest by Camel pitcher Andy Wade. With runners on second and third, second baseman Eric Mosley drew a walk to load the bases. Third baseman Sean Walsh then drew another free pass from Campbell reliever Shaun Poole, giving the Wolfpack the 4-3 lead. With the bases still loaded, Wright then grounded to shortstop Ben Coates who then looked to pitch it to Della Costa to end the inning. However, Della Costa was late getting to the bag, allowing Walsh to beat the throw. During the play, Gaetti scored to give NC State an insurance run it would desperately need.
For Campbell to begin the eighth, Keelan hit a dribbler to Mattison who then threw wildly to first allowing Keelan to advance to second. Keelan would later score on an RBI double by Huff, cutting the Wolfpack advantage in half.
However, sophomore Derek McKee would shut down the Camels over the final one and two-thirds to secure his second win of the season. Kleweno was the hard-luck loser for Campbell, dropping his record to 2-2 for the season.
NC State now shifts its focus to arch-rival North Carolina for a three game series, starting Friday night at Doak Field at 7:00 p.m.
