NC State Baseball Stops Davidson, 8-2

Tuesday, March 19

Raleigh, N.C.

7:00 PM ET

NC State

17-5

Davidson

7-14

Davidson

NC State

3/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

March 19, 2002

Box Score

RALEIGH, N.C. - David Hicks and Matt Butler had three his and two RBIs apiece, and Nate Cretarolo scattered eight hits over seven innings Tuesday night to lift NC State to an 8-2 victory over Davidson at Doak Field.

The win raised the Wolfpack's record ot 17-5 on the season, while the Wildcats, who lost their eighth game in a row, dropped to 7-14. Cretarolo (1-0) allowed two runs, walked none and struck out a career-high six in his seven innings of work. Davidson starter Brian Akin (0-3) allowed five runs, four of them earned, on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out two.

Butler got it all started for NC State when he led off the bottom of the second with an infield single, took second on a groundout, and scored on Jeremy Dutton's line-drive double to right for the first run of the game.

Chad Orvella beat out a bunt for an infield single to lead off the bottom of the third, and Brian Wright singled to right field. Justin Riley and Hicks followed with RBI singles up the middle to give the Wolfpack a 3-0 lead.

Tim Frend, who went 4-for-4 for Davidson, led off the top of the fourth for Davidson and hit a bomb to left, well over the screen atop the fence, for his fifth home run of the season, trimming the NC State lead to 3-1.

The Wolfpack added two more in the bottom of the fifth. Wright led off and reached on an error and Joe Gaetti walked. Hicks, atempting to sacrifice, bunted into a force play, with Wright out at third, but a wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third anyway, and Butler lined a double down the right-field line to drive in both and increase the NC State lead to 5-1.

Frend picked up his third hit of the game, a one-out double in the top of the sixth, went to third on James Marino's single to left, and scored when Billy Ryan hit a tough-hop single through the hole past shortstop, pulling the Wildcats to within three runs at 5-2.

The Pack put the game away in the bottom of the sixth. Dutton led off and singled to left, and Marc Maynor walked. Orvella laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third, and Wright hit a sacrifice fly to center field. Gaetti and Hicks followed with RBI singles to make it 8-2