North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Baseball Continues Road Warrior Act
2/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 20, 2003
RALEIGH, N.C. - The long road continues for the NC State baseball team, which will play this weekend in the Charleston Crab House Challenge at Riley Park in Charleston, S.C.
The Wolfpack will play Boston College in the first game of the weekend, Friday, February 21, at 10 a.m. The Pack will face 15th-ranked Richmond on Saturday, February 22, at 1:30 p.m., and then will close out the weekend at 5 p.m. on Sunday, February 23 against The Citadel, the tournament's host team.
Saturday's matchup with Richmond will be the Wolfpack's first game this season against a ranked team, but the rest of the field won't be a pushover. Boston College is picked for second place in the Big East by Baseball America, and The Citadel has won five of the last six Southern Conference championships.
"We play in this tournament every year for a reason," Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent said. "First of all, Charleston is a great trip to make, a great place to take your team, but more important, you always face great competition here. Boston College has some outstanding pitching, and Richmond is just an outstanding team. And The Citadel is always tough, especially in their home ballpark. So this weekend will be a tremendous challenge for our team."
Redshirt-freshman righthander Mike Rogers (1-1, 2.25) will start for the Wolfpack on Friday vs. Boston College. Rogers has made two starts and worked a staff-high 12 innings. He has allowed 10 hits, walked four and struck out eight. In his last start, February 14 at UCLA, Rogers allowed eight runs, only three of which were earned, on seven hits in seven innings against the Bruins. He walked one and struck out four. He also gave up a pair of home runs, which is one more than he gave up in 39-2/3 innings during an injury-shortened true-freshman season a year ago. Rogers was not sharp in the bottom of the first innning - nor was the defense behind him - and he wound up allowing five unearned runs. He settled down and retired 15 of the last 18 men he faced, including the last seven in order, but lost 8-6.
Junior righthander Vern Sterry (1-0, 3.38) will get the start for NC State on Saturday vs. Richmond. A transfer from Cypress (Calif.) Junior College, Sterry has made two starts covering 10-2/3 innings, and has allowed nine hits and four walks while striking out a staff-high 18. In his last start, Sunday, February 16 at UCLA, Sterry was masterful. While he ended up being charged with three runs on seven hits in 6-2/3 innings, Sterry had a three-hit shutout through five innings and a five-hit shutout through six before tiring in the seventh. He walked three and struck out eight in a 9-6 win that salvaged the finale of a three-game series.
Junior lefthander Nate Cretarolo (1-1, 14.85) will start on Sunday against The Citadel. Cretarolo has made two appearances and one start. His one relief appearance was a gem - three scoreless innings February 9 at Elon - while his one start was not. In 3-2/3 innings on Saturday, February 15 at UCLA, Cretarolo gave up 11 runs on eight hits in 3-2/3 innings. The Bruins scored 11 times in the fourth inning, all off of Cretarolo, and cruised to a 12-5 victory.
The Wolfpack is coming off a big win in a rivalry game, a 5-4 victory in front of 2,786 fans at East Carolina on Wednesday evening. Junior first baseman David Hicks went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBIs, and three Wolfpack pitchers combined to scatter seven hits.
Freshman righthander Joey Devine (1-0) picked up the win after working the final 3-1/3 innings. He allowed one run on two hits, walked none and struck out three. Devine pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the sixth inning and was in command throughout, retiring 10 of the 13 men he faced.
Hicks got the Wolfpack going with a two-run double to left-center field in the top of the third inning, and then added a long solo home run to right in the top of the seventh.
After a shaky first inning, starter Phillip Davidson settled down and retired 10 batters in a row and 12 of 13 before running into trouble in the fifth. Freshman lefthander Jason Duncan came in with runners on the corners and one out. A run scored on a groundout to cut the lead to 4-3, but Duncan struck out Ryan Norwood to end the inning.
"That was a great college baseball game, and a really big win for us," Avent said. "East Carolina has been one of the top programs in this region for the last few years, they have a very strong team, and they're especially difficult to beat in their home ballpark. They had several thousand fans there,and it was a terrific atmosphere. We got some outstanding pitching, especially from Joey Devine, and David Hicks stepped up and got a couple of huge hits for us."
NC State's 4-2 start on the road this season has been significant for several reasons. First of all, with four road wins this season, the Wolfpack already has matched last year's total (when the Pack was 4-14 in road games). Second, with a sweep of the season-opening two-game series at Elon on February 8-9, NC State head coach Elliott Avent won the first two road games in a season for the first time in his six-plus seasons on the job.
Perhaps most important, winning on the road may be the Wolfpack's theme for 2003. Due to the ongoing renovations at Doak Field, NC State's first scheduled home game is not until March 4, and the park may not be available for several weeks after that. Consequently, the Wolfpack is scheduled to play its first 14 games away from campus, and may play as many as its first 25 games at other venues. So the Pack had better get used to winning away from home.
