North Carolina State University Athletics
East Carolina Tops Wolfpack 6-4 In Extra Innings
4/25/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 25, 2001
Raleigh, N.C. - First baseman Joseph Hastings raced home on a Josh Miller wild pitch in the top of the 11th inning to give East Carolina a 6-4 victory over the NC State Wolfpack Wednesday night at Doak Field.
Will Brinson picked up the victory in relief for the Pirates to move to 3-1 for the season, while Wolfpack righthander Josh Miller took the loss to fall to 1-3 for 2001.
Junior centerfielder Brian Wright blasted his seventh home run of the season over the right field wall to put the Wolfpack (24-22) on the board early, 1-0.
Wright would later push the advantage to two runs with a run-scoring single in the bottom of the third off Pirate starter Ashley Capps (3-2). Third baseman Sean Walsh tacked on a third run later in the inning when he dropped a double just out of the reach of the East Carolina (38-10) centerfielder Warren Gaspar to plate Wright, who raced around from second on the play.
The Pirates would fire back in the top of the fourth with back-to-back hits by second baseman Bryant Ward and third baseman Chad Tracy. Tracy's single scored Ward to start the scoring in the inning. Hastings then sent a long sacrifice fly to center to score Tracy. After a single by John Williamson, shortstop Lee Delfino ripped an RBI single through the right side to knot the score at 3. Delfino would score from third to put East Carolina on top when NC State starter Corey Mattison (1-2) threw wildly to first on a Cliff Godwin dribbler in front of the mound.
The game remained relatively quiet until Wright broke through once again when he bounced an infield single to Tracy, which scoreed pinch-runner Joe Gaetti to even the score 4-4.
Mattison, who had a career-high eight strikeouts, lasted seven innings, giving up seven hits and two earned runs while walking just one Pirate batter. Miller came on in relief of Mattison in the eighth inning and snared a Hastings bouncer up the middle to keep East Carolina at bay.
The game would remain scoreless until the 11th inning when Hastings and Williamson laced leadoff singles in the Pirate half of the inning. Delfino would reach on error by first baseman Justin Riley to load the bases and set the stage for Hastings' clinching run. Left fielder Ryan Jones tacked on an insurance run for East Carolina on an RBI-groundout.
The Wolfpack could not muster a serious threat in the bottom of the 11th as Brinson retired NC State in order, coaxing pinch-hitter Daniel Pruitt into a long flyout to end the game.
NC State will face Clemson on Saturday at Doak Field in a doubleheader with the first game set to begin at 1:00 p.m.
