North Carolina State University Athletics
Gaetti, Shearin Lead Wolfpack Over UNC
3/30/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Sollie strikes out eight in 4 2/3
RALEIGH, NC (March 30, 2001) -- Freshman center fielder Joe Gaetti knocked in three runs to go with junior right fielder Jamey Shearin's three hits and four runs to spur NC State to a 16-9 victory over North Carolina in ACC baseball action Friday evening at Doak Field. Mike Sollie picked up the win for NC State to run his record to 3-1, while North Carolina reliever Kevin Brower took the loss to drop to 1-1. During the course of the game, ever starter for both squads recorded a hit. Also, every starter had reached base by the end of the fourth inning.
NC State drew first blood in the second inning when designated hitter Justin Riley singled home Shearin. Shearin reached earlier on a long triple to right center that was just out of the reach of North Carolina right fielder Ralph Roberts.
UNC returned the favor in the top half of the third inning when left fielder Sean Farrell ripped a two-out single to center field. Catcher Ryan Blake followed with a double to put runners on second and third. First baseman Jeremy Cleveland then put North Carolina up 2-1with a seeing-eye single to left, scoring Farrell and Blake.
NC State exploded in the bottom half of the third, plating six runs to take the lead 7-2. Freshman catcher Colt Morton started the onslaught with a double down the left field line to score left fielder Brian Wright, who had reached on a single to left field. After third baseman Sean Walsh was hit by a pitch, first baseman David Hicks rolled a dribbler back to the mound toward Tar Heel starter Scott Autrey. Autrey wheeled towards second, but threw wildly into center field, scoring Morton from second base. Shearin added to the Wolfpack lead with a hot shot towards North Carolina third baseman Chris Maples.
Maples, however, was unable to come up with the ball, allowing Walsh and Hicks to score, making the score 5-2. Gaetti continued the Wolfpack charge with a triple to the wall in left center, scoring Shearin from first. That would spell the end for Autrey. However, the Tar Heel fortunes took another hit when Blake mishandled a Brower offering for a passed ball, allowing Gaetti to come plateward, putting NC State up 7-2.
North Carolina would get two more runs in their half of the fourth off NC State starter Ryan Combs when Maples led off the inning with a double to right center. Roberts would follow with a double of his own to right center to score Maples, cutting the lead to 7-3. Aftter second baseman Russ Adams singled to the left side to score Roberts, the Wolfpack found its lead cut to three.
Following a scoreless NC State fourth, North Carolina posted four runs off Wolfpack reliever Corey Mattison in the top of the fifth to take the lead 8-7. They took the lead on a 2-RBI single by Maples, an RBI single by shortstop Chad Prosser down the first baseline, which scored Maples. Adams then surged the Tar Heels in front by tapping an RBI groundout to Corey Mattison, scoring Roberts who had reached earlier in the inning on a base on balls by Mattison.
The Wolfpack fired back once again with four runs in their half of the inning. Joe Gaetti initaited the scoring with an RBI single to center that scored Shearin, who singled to lead off the inning. Riley would follow suit with a single to left and would later score from second on shortstop Adam Miller's sacrifice bunt that was thrown into right field by Brower. Gaetti also scored on the play. Freshman Daniel Moore then came on in relief of Brower for UNC, but later yielded a run scoring single by second baseman Jeremy Dutton to make the score 11-8 Wolfpack.
The Tar Heels fired back in the top half of the sixth inning when NC State's Mike Sollie rifled a fastball over the head of Morton to plate Jason Howell, which cut the lead to two. Howell doubled down the right field line off Sollie to reach earlier in the frame.
After that outburst by North Carolina, the Wolfpack plated five more runs during the remainder of the game. Hicks continued the slugfest in the bottom half of the sixth, scoring Walsh from second with yet another double into the right field corner to make the score Wolfpack 12, Tar Heels 9. NC State would push the lead to 13-9 when Dutton scored on a passed ball after he reached on a walk and stole second for his second swipe of the game. Gaetti, Miller and Wright each tallied run-scoring run scoring singles in the bottom of the eighth to close out the NC State scoring for the night.
Mike Sollie shut down the Tar Heels over the last four and two-thirds innings, allowing only run on one hit while striking out eight.
