NC State Baseball Completes Sweep Of Doubleheader, 9-0

Friday, March 1

Raleigh, N.C.

1:30 PM ET

NC State

9-3

George Mason

3-6

George Mason

NC State

NC State Baseball Completes Sweep Of Doubleheader, 9-0

3/1/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

March 1, 2002

Box Score

RALEIGH, N.C. - Joe Gaetti drove in four runs and Mike Rogers pitched his second consecutive shutout as NC State rolled to a 9-0 win over George Mason and a sweep of the Wolfpack's doubleheader with the Patriots. NC State won the opener 8-3.

The Wolfpack, which won its eighth game in a row, improved to 10-3 with the win. George Mason fell to 3-7 with the loss. Rogers (2-1), who ran his scoreless-innings streak to 17 with the shutout, allowed four hits, walked one and struck out a career-high 11. He gave up just one hit after the fourth inning. Patriots starter John Sterling (0-2) took the loss. He was roughed up for nine runs on 13 hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out three.

Chad Orvella led off the bottom of the first for the Wolfpack and singled to right field. Joe Gaetti laid down a sacrifice bunt, and Brian Wright drove in the run with a single to center field, giving NC State a 1-0 lead.

The Pack added three in the bottom of the second by playing the little game. David Hicks led off with his 13th double of the season and Colt Morton walked to put runners on first and second with none out. Adam Hargrave beat out a bunt for a single, and Hicks and Morton both scored on the play when third baseman Adam Shorts' throw sailed down the right-field line. Hargrave wound up on second, and took third on Jeremy Dutton's sacrifice bunt. Marc Maynor then laid down a squeeze bunt to score Hargrave and make it 4-0 in favor of the Wolfpack.

Brian Wright led off the bottom of the third with a walk, went to second on a wild pitch, took third on Tim Coffield's single to left, and scored on Hicks' RBI single to right.

Maynor got NC State going in the bottom of the fourth with a one-out single to left and stole second base. Orvella singled to center to put runners on the corners with one down, and Joe Gaetti rifled a grounder just inside the bag at first and down the right-field line for a two-run double that made it 7-0.

The Wolfpack finally knocked Sterling out of the game in the bottom of the sixth. Maynor walked with one out and went to third on Orvella's perfect hit-and-run single through the left side of the infield. The Pack then played hit and run again with Gaetti at the plate, and Gaetti delivered a two-run double to right-center, driving in Maynor and Orvella to make it 9-0.

Rogers didn't need that much run support. He pitched around a pair of hit batters in the second inning, and gave up singles to the first two batters in the top of the fourth before retiring nine in a row heading into the top of the seventh. Nick Shimer led off the seventh with a walk and went all the way to third when Rogers' attempted a pickoff to an uncovered bag. But Rogers then struck out Robbie Robertson looking, got Shorts swinging, and ended the threat by inducing Bruce Baldwin to ground out to shortstop.