North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Gets Past VCU in Baseball, 7-4
4/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Blanton (3-1) held the Rams to just two hits over the first eight innings and retired 11 straight VCU hitters after sophomore first baseman Robbie Gragnani (Richmond, Va./Mills Godwin) singled with one out in the fifth. Shearin finished with two hits in four at-bats, including a three-run ninth-inning homer, while sophomore Jeremy Dutton collected three hits as North Carolina State (19-16) snapped the Rams' 19-game home winning streak against non-conference foes.
The Wolfpack scored the game's first run in the top of the second when junior Matt Butler singled home senior Sean Walsh and extended their lead to 2-0 with a run in the third. Dutton led off the fifth inning with an opposite-field double off VCU freshman Matt Prendergast (Herndon, Va./Oakton) and gave N.C. State a 3-0 cushion when he came home on a Shearin groundout.
The Rams got on the board in their half of the fifth when sophomore catcher Jose Pabon (Woodbridge, Va./Potomac) reached on an error and advanced to third on Gragnani's single. Freshman third baseman Nick Jones (Vinton, Va./William Byrd) then drove in Pabon with a ground ball to cut the Wolfpack advantage to 3-1. N.C. State went back up by three runs on a run-scoring single by freshman Joe Gaetti in the sixth, and took a 7-1 lead in the top of the ninth when Shearin lined his fourth home run of the year off freshman Justin Tatro (Chester, Va./Clover Hill).
VCU, which fell to 26-9 overall, made a late charge with three-ninth inning runs off Blanton. Junior center fielder Matt Davis (Colonial Heights, Va./Thomas Dale) started the rally with a leadoff walk, and Walsh mishandled junior shortstop Joshua Arteaga's (Homestead, Fla./Motlow State CC) bunt attempt to put runners on first and second. Senior Cory Bauswell (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) plated Davis with a groundout for the Rams' second run and Pabon followed with a two-run homer to close out the scoring. N.C. State reliver Mike Sollie recorded the final out with two VCU runners on base to notch his second save of the season.
The Rams will be in action tomorrow afternoon when VCU travels to Radford (9-20) in a 3 p.m. start.
