NC State Baseball Concludes Sweep Of Elon, 12-5

Sunday, February 9

Elon, N.C.

1:00 PM

NC State

2-0

Elon

0-2

NC State

Elon

2/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Feb. 9, 2003

ELON, N.C. - Colt Morton led a 13-hit attack with two home runs and four runs batted in, and Joe Gaetti homered and drove in two runs Sunday afternoon to lead NC State to an 12-5 victory over Elon at Latham Park.The victory concluded a two-game sweep of the Phoenix by the Wolfpack in the season-opening series for both teams.

Junior lefthander Nate Cretarolo (1-0), the second of four NC State pitchers, worked three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out four to pick up the win. Cretarolo got the win when Wolfpack starter Vern Sterry did not work the necessary five innings. Sterry, who allowed just one run on two hits in four innings, walked one and struck out 10. He came out of the game after throwing 86 pitches in his four innings on the mound. Elon starter Tyson Blocker (0-1) took the loss after being touched up for eight runs, six of them earned, on eight hits in four-plus innings.

Unlike the first game of a series, an 8-2 win for the Pack on Saturday, NC State hit the ball with authority on Sunday, belting out eight extra-base hits, five of them doubles. The first of those doubles came in the top of the first inning and resulted in a pair of runs. Matt Camp led off, reached on an error and took second on a wild pitch. With one out, Gaetti drove a double down the left-field line to drive in Camp, and David Hicks followed with a single to center to drive in Gaetti.

Holt Montgomery led off the bottom of the second with a solo homer to right field for Elon, but the Wolfpack answered with three runs in the top of the third. Gaetti led off with a fly ball to left, but Drew Davis dropped the ball for a two-base error. Hicks followed with his second RBI single in as many at-bats, and Morton made it 5-1 four pitches later with a towering home run to left-center field.

Gaetti got NC State rolling in the top of the fifth when he led off with a solo homer to center field. Hicks doubled, and Morton followed with his second two-run bomb of the game, and the Wolfpack led 8-1.

Elon's defense got sloppy in the top of the seventh, leading to another big inning for the Pack. Morton led off and was hit by a pitch. He took second on a wild pitch, and Tim Coffield was safe on a throwing error by shortstop Brian Ingram. With runners on first and second, Marc Maynor singled up the middle to drive in a run, and Adam Hargrave singled to left-center to score Coffield and give the Wolfpack a 10-1 advantage. Maynor, who stopped at second on Hargrave's single, took third on a fly to right by pinch-hitter Lee Mezistrano, and scored when Gary Morris couldn't field Dustin Knight's sharp ground ball to third base for another error.

Elon tried to get back in the game with a big inning in the bottom of the eighth. Ingram led off with a double to left-center, and Barry Tejeda singled to put runners on first and third. Pinch-hitter Mike Hromadka singled home one run, and after Davis walked to load the bases, Paul Bennett doubled over Maynor's head in center field to clear the bases and cut the lead to 11-5. Brandon Shipwash came out of the bullpen to get the final out of the inning.

Chad Orvella drew a one-out walk in the top of the ninth, and scored on Knight's two-out double to right-center for the final run of the game.

The Wolfpack will return to action next weekend in Los Angeles, Calif., with a three-game series at UCLA. Game times are 8 p.m. on Friday, and 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.