North Carolina State University Athletics
Wake Forest Surges Past NC State Baseball, 11-7
4/21/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - All nine Wake Forest position players had base hits, and David Bush recorded his second save in as many nights as the Demon Deacons handed NC State an 11-7 defeat in Atlantic Coast Conference baseball action at Ernie Shore Field.
In winning the first two games of the three-game series, Wake Forest improved to 30-12 overall and 13-7 in the ACC. NC State fell to 23-20 and 7-10.Deacons reliever Ryan Lewis (4-1) picked up the win with 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. He walked one and struck out two. Wolfpack reliever Ryan Combs (3-2) was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs, two of which were unearned, on five hits in 2 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out one.
Justin Riley led off the top of the second inning for the Wolfpack with a walk and stole second. With one out, David Hicks stroked a single to center field to rive in Riley and give NC State a 1-0 lead. The Wolfpack added two more in the top of the third. Brian Wright reached on a force play, and Sean Walsh hit his second home run in as many games, a long drive to left that upped the NC State lead to 3-0.
The three-run lead did not last long. Jamie Athas reached on a one-out infield single and Cory Sullivan followed with a single to right to put runners on first and second. Nick Blue singled in one run, and Blanton moved both runners into scoring position with a wild pitch. Corey Slavik drilled a two-run double to right-center to tie the game at 3-3.
Wake took the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Steve LaFaivre and Matt Price ripped consecutive two-out triples to break the tie, and Athas walked to put runners on the corners. Athas stole second, and Sullivan laid down a squeeze bunt to drive in Price. On the play, Wolfpack third baseman Sean Walsh tried to make a play at the plate, but the ball hit the runner for a tough error, allowing Athas to come around to score on the play and give the Demon Deacons a 6-3 lead.
Wake Forest reliever Josh Bartlett handed the Wolfpack a run in the top of the fifth, hitting Jamey Shearin with a pitch, allowing an infield single by Riley, and walking Colt Morton to load the bases with one out. With David Hicks at the plate, Bartlett uncorked a wild pitch to score Shearin, cutting the lead to 6-4.
A two-out rally in the top of the sixth produced the game's second lead change. Jeremy Dutton drew a one-out walk and stole second, but was out at the plate attempting to score on Brian Wright's single to right-center field. Wright took second on the throw to the plate, and Walsh walked to put runners on first and second. Shearin followed with his fifth homer of the season, a towering three-run drive to left that vaulted NC State to a 7-6 lead.
The game's third lead change came right away in the bottom of the sixth. LaFaivre reached on a force play and Price walked to put runners on first and second with one out. Athas hit a grounder into the hole at shortstop, and Miller threw wildly trying to retire Price at second, allowing LaFaivre to score the tying run. Sullivan's RBI grounder gave the Deacons the lead at 8-7.
Jamie D'Antona led off the bottom of the seventh with a line-drive single off the glove of Miller at shortstop, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Ryan Johnson's RBI double down the right-field line. Johnson wound up taking third on a groundout and scored on a passed ball, giving the Deacs a three-run lead at 10-7.
The Deacons added an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth when Sullivan was safe on a strikeout and a throwing error by the catcher. He took second on a bunt and scored on an errant pickoff throw to make it 11-7.
