NC State Baseball Wins Slugfest, 12-7

Saturday, May 18

Raleigh, N.C.

3:00 PM

NC State

31-24, 0

Virginia

25-29, 0

Virginia

NC State

5/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

May 18, 2002

Box Score

RALEIGH, N.C. - Brian Wright and Justin Riley each went 4-for-5 to lead NC State to a 12-7 victory over Virginia in the first game of a doubleheader at Doak Field on Saturday. The Wolfpack improved to 31-24 overall with the win and 6-17 in the Atlkantic Coast Conference, while Virginia fell to 25-29 overall and 8-15 in the ACC.

Sophomore lefthander Mike Prochaska (5-2) picked up the win for the Wolfpack, going eight innings while allowing six runs on six hits. He struck out five and walked three. Reliever Chris Marinak (2-3) was the hard-luck loser for the Cavaliers, allowing four unearned runs on two hits in two-thirds of an inning.

Virginia broke through first against Prochaska in the top of the second inning when shortstop Mark Reynolds blasted a pitch over the wall in left-center for his 14th home run of the season.

The Wolfpack overtook the Cavaliers with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the third when Colt Morton hammered his team-leading 13th home run of the year over the scoreboard in left center to give the Wolfpack a 3-1 lead against Cavaliers starter Joe Koshansky. Wright and Riley had each singled to left to set the table for Morton's shot.

After Adam Hargrave tripled off the center-field wall to lead off the fourth, Joe Gaetti lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to allow Hargrave to come in and give the Wolfpack a 4-1 lead.

Virginia battled back in the top of the sixth when center fielder Chris Sweet took another Prochaska pitch to left for his fourth home run of the season, a three-run shot. Reynolds walked and right fielder Matt Street advanced him with a single to left before the big hit to tie the score at 4-4.

Wright answered back for NC State in the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer, his 13th of the season to put the Wolfpack back on top, 5-4. David Stone evened the score at 5-5 for the Cavaliers with his third home run of the year, a solo shot to right in the top of the seventh.

After all the home runs, NC State exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a 12-5 lead. Marinak came on in relief of Koshansky to begin the inning and promptly gave up four runs. Pinch-hitter David Hicks began the inning with a shot to right center for a leadoff double. Chad Orvella followed with a sacrifice bunt and was hit with the throw to first by Marinak, allowing Hicks to score from second. After Matt Butler reached on another Virginia error, Jeremy Dutton squeezed home Orvella, with pinch-runner Marc Maynor taking second on the play. One out later, Gaetti laced a single to left, plating Maynor to make the score 7-5.

Lefthander Alan Zimmerer succeeded Marinak on the mound for the Cavaliers and gave up a bloop double to Wright to put runners on second and third. Riley followed with a double to right, scoring Gaetti and Wright. After Morton was intentionally passed, Hicks drilled his second double of the inning to right center, with Riley and Morton coming home on the play.

The Cavaliers scored two more runs in the game, one on Robert Word's 11th home run of the season to center to begin the eighth and the other on an RBI single to center by Dan Street in the ninth.

Other offensive stars for the Wolfpack included Morton, who was 1-for-3 with three RBIs, while Gaetti and Hicks had two RBIs each.

Stone went 3-for-5 for the Cavaliers to go with Sweet's three-run blast to lead the Cavaliers.