NC State Baseball Downs UNC Wilmington, 8-4

Wednesday, March 5

Wilmington, N.C.

6:00 PM

NC State

9-4

UNC-Wilmington

12-6

NC State

UNC-Wilmington

3/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

March 5, 2003

Final Stats

WILMINGTON, N.C. - Vern Sterry and two relievers combined on a four-hitter, and David Hicks went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs Wednesday night at Brooks Field to lift NC State to an 8-4 win over UNC Wilmington.

The win was NC State's fourth in a row, the Wolfpack's longest winning streak of the season, and lifted the Pack to 9-4 on the season. The Seahawks fell to 12-6 with the loss. Sterry (3-0) allowed four runs, only one of which was earned, on three hits in six-plus innings. He walked one and struck out three. Joey Devine worked the final 1-1/3 innings without allowing a hit to earn his third save of the year. He walked one and struck out one. UNCW starter Ronald Hunt (4-1) took the loss after allowing six runs on seven hits in 3-2/3 innings.

NC State jumped to a 4-0 lead in the top of the third inning. With one out, Matt Camp beat out an infield single on a bang-bang play at first base. With two down, Justin Riley rolled a single through the right side of the infield, and Colt Morton singled to left to drive in Camp and make it 1-0. Tim Coffield walked to load the bases, and Hicks cleared them with a three-run double to left-center.

The Wolfpack knocked Hill out of the game in the fourth. Marc Maynor led off with an opposite-field double down the left-field line, and Gaetti walked and stole second after Hill retired the next two batters. Justin Riley got both runners home with a two-run double down the line in left to make it 6-0. Hill walked Morton intentionally, and Seahawks coach Mark Scalf pulled Hill in favor of lefthander Will Hunt, who got Coffield to ground into a force play to end the inning.

The Wolfpack gift-wrapped a pair of runs for the Seahawks in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Jamie Hemingway reached on a throwing error by third baseman Jeremy Dutton and went all the way to third when Sterry's pickoff attempt got past Hicks at first base and rolled to the warning track down the right-field line. Matt Wright got the run home with a sacrifice fly to right and was safe on the play when Gaetti dropped the ball for an error. Wright stole second, and Morton's throw went into center field. Wright had temporarily stopped at second base, but Maynor let the ball get through him for an error that allowed Wright to score all the way from second, cutting NC State's lead to 6-2.

The Seahawks chipped away for two more runs in the bottom of the seventh. Wright led off and ripped a home run to right field. Chip Grawey walked, spelling the end of the evening for Sterry. Nate Cretarolo came on in relief, and Grawey stole second base. After Michael Marbry struck out, Grawey scored when Hargrave threw away Lee McLean's grounder to second base.

The Wolfpack came right back in the top of the eighth. With one away, Camp beat out an infield single and scored all the way from first on Gaetti's double down the left-field line. Riley was hit by a pitch, and the runners moved to second and third on McLean's second passed ball of the game. Morton's sacrifice fly got Gaetti home with the second run of the inning, giving NC State an 8-4 lead.