North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Plays Georgia Tech In ACC Baseball Tourney Semifinal
5/19/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 19, 2001
ACC Tournament/NC State vs. Georgia Tech
Eighth-seeded NC State remained alive in the 2001 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Tournament on Friday by defeating Virginia 6-2 in a third-round elimination game. The Wolfpack (30-28) will play Georgia Tech in a semifinal game Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The game can be heard on WKNC-FM (88.1), and the audio feed is available on the Wolfpack's official website at gopack.com.
Georgia Tech lost 4-3 Friday night to Wake Forest, which now is the last unbeaten team in the double-elimination tournament and is guaranteed a berth in the championship game. The Deacons will face Florida State at noon on Saturday. If Wake Forest defeats the Seminoles, it will play the NC State-Georgia Tech winner at 8 p.m. The NC State-Georgia Tech winner would have to defeat Wake Forest twice, on Saturday night and again on Sunday afternoon, in order to win the championship. If Florida State defeats Wake Forest in Saturday's first game, then Florida State will meet the NC State-Georgia Tech winner at 8 p.m., and the winner of that game will play Wake Forest for the championship at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
NC State vs. Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech leads the overallseries with NC State 48-38. Earlier this season, the Wolfpack took two of three games from the Yellow Jackets at Russ Chandler Stadium in Atlanta, the Pack's first-ever series win at Georgia Tech. NC State took the series opener 9-7, lost the middle game 5-1, and then romped in the finale, 16-8.
Georgia Tech and NC State have been frequent opponents in the ACC Tournament, playing one another 17 times, with Tech holding a slim 9-8 advantage. The two teams last met in the tournament in 1999, when the Pack eliminated fhe Yellow Jackets, 9-6, probably putting an end to Georgia Tech's hopes for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid that year. NC State has won four of the last five ACC Tournament meetings with Georgia Tech, beating the Jackets 7-4 in 1992, 11-3 in 1994, and 9-5 in 1995. Tech eliminated NC State from the 1996 tournament, 6-1.
An Eight Seed To The Semifinals
By defeating Virginia on Friday, NC State became the first eight seed to advance to the tournament semifinals in the current format since Duke in 1983. Prior to 1980, the first round of the tournament was single elimination, and all a team had to do was win once in order to move into the semifinals. The tournament was double elimination after the first round. Under a double-elimination format for an eight-team tournament, a team must win twice to reach the semifinals. In a nine-team tournament with a play-in game, the eight or nine seed must win three times to reach the semifinals.
Walsh Hitting Streak At 19 Games
Senior third baseman Sean Walsh extended his hitting streak to 20 games with his third-inning single on Friday vs. Virginia. Walsh's streak is the longest by a Wolfpack player this season, the longest since Brian Wright's 21-game streak in 1999, and the fourth-longest in school history. During his streak, Walsh is hitting .385 (30-for-78) with six doubles, five home runs and 18 RBIs. Walsh is 7-for-15 with a double and a home run in the ACC Tournament.
Shearin Also On A Hitting Streak
Junior outfielder Jamey Shearin, who earlier this season had hitting streaks of 10 and 14 games, is at it again. Shearin had one hit in four at-bats on Friday vs. Virginia and now has hit safely in his last eight games. He is hitting .452 (14-for-31) during his current streak, with a double, a home run and six RBIs. Shearin has hit safely in 33 of his last 37 games, batting .373 (57-for-153) with 15 doubles, six home runs and 36 RBIs during that run. Shearin is 7-for-17 with a double, a home run and five RBIs in the ACC Tournament.
Dutton, Miller Spark The Lineup
Sophomore second baseman and leadoff hitter Jeremy Dutton has been a catalyst for the Wolfpack lineup of late, and Dutton has been on fire in the ACC Tournament. He had three hits and three RBIs in NC State's 11-5 victory over Maryland on Tuesday, and then had four hits in five at-bats on Friday vs. Virginia. Dutton has hit safely in 10 of his last 12 games, batting .420 (21-for-50) with five doubles, two triples, one home run, 14 runs scored and eight RBIs in that time. Dutton is 8-for-17 (.471) in the ACC Tournament.
While Dutton has been hot at the top of the NC State lineup, junior shortstop Adam Miller has been equally hot from the No. 9 spot. Miller, batting .462 (6-for-13) in the ACC Tournament, is hitting .474 (9-for-19) in his last six games, and .362 (17-for-47) in his last 14 games.
Wolfpack Pitching In The Groove
One reason the Wolfpack is 3-1 in the ACC Tournament has been airtight pitching, especially the starting pitching. Starters Jason Blanton, Derek McKee, Daniel Caldwell and Corey Mattison have worked a combined 28 innings in the tournament and have allowed just 20 hits and nine walks. Their combined ERA is 2.57.
Reliever Josh Miller has been exceptional as well. Miller has made three appearances, worked 6 2/3 innings and allowed five hits, walked two and struck out five. He has two saves and a 2.08 ERA.
