Virginia Downs NC State Baseball 8-3

Sunday, April 20

Charlottesville, Va.

1:00 PM

NC State

33-9, 0

Virginia

23-15, 0

NC State

Virginia

4/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

April 20, 2003

Final Stats

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Joe Koshansky pitched six strong innings, homered, doubled, walked twice, and scored twice on Sunday to lead Virginia to an 8-3 victory over eighth-ranked NC State in the final game of a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series at the UVa Baseball Stadium. With the victory, Virginia salvaged one game in the series, improving to 23-15 overall and 7-7 in the ACC. The Wolfpack, which lost for just the second time in its last 12 games and only the fifth time in its last 33 games, dropped to 33-9 overall and 11-4 in the conference.

Koshansky (6-0) was excellent, allowing three runs, two of them earned, on five hits. He walked two and struck out seven. Canon Hickman worked the final three innings without incident to earn his fourth save of the season. NC State starter Jason Duncan (1-1) allowed three runs on four hits in three innings. He walked three and struck out one.

Koshansky struck out the side in the first inning, but not before Jeremy Dutton drew a one-out walk and Justin Riley followed with a long two-run homer to left, giving the Pack a 2-0 lead.

The Cavaliers figured out Duncan the second time through the order. Kyle Werman, the nine hitter in the lineup, led off with a single to right. After Duncan retired Matt Street and Chris Sweet for the first two outs of the inning, Mark Reynolds doubled to right field, and Werman scored when right fielder Matt Long fumbled the ball for an error. Koshansky walked, and Ryan Zimmerman drove in Reynolds with a single to left. Paul Gillespie drove a double to left-center to drive in Koshansky, but Chad Orvella's relay to the plate cut down Zimmerman for the final out of a three-run inning for the Cavaliers. Zimmerman was the third Virginia runner thrown out at the plate in the series.

Eric Christensen bunted for a single leading off the bottom of the fourth, and Scott Headd rolled a hit-and-run single through the vacated hole on the right side of the infield to put runners on first and third with no outs. Werman hit a fly ball to center field to drive in Christensen, and Street was hit by a pitch. Sweet then singled to center to drive in Headd and give Virginia a 5-2 lead.

The Wolfpack got a run back in the top of the fifth. Matt Camp led off with an infield single and went to second on a passed ball. With two down, Marc Maynor doubled into the left-field corner to cut the lead to 5-3.

Virginia got that run back, plus one, in the bottom of the inning. Christensen drew a one-out walk and went to second on a wild pitch. Headd flied out to left field to move Christensen to third, and Werman's infield single got the run home to make it 6-3. Werman stole second and came home on Street's single to center, pushing the lead to four runs at 7-3.

Koshansky added to an all-around sterling performance by belting a solo home run to left-center field in the bottom of the sixth to increase the lead to 8-3.

NC State returns to action on Tuesday against UNC Wilmington at Doak Field. The game will be broadcast on WKNC, 88.1 FM, and carried on the internet on gopack.com.