NC State Baseball Downs North Carolina, 8-6

Saturday, April 26

Raleigh, N.C.

1:30 PM

NC State

36-9, 0

North Carolina

32-14, 0

North Carolina

NC State

4/26/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

April 26, 2003

Final Stats

RALEIGH, N.C. - Sixth-ranked NC State scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on three hits, two of which never left the infield, a walk, and a pair of North Carolina errors to pull away from the 22nd-ranked Tar Heels and take an 8-6 victory in the middle game of an ACC series Saturday at Doak Field.

NC State -- which won for the third time in a row, the eighth time in its last nine games, and the 31st time in its last 36 games - improved to 35-9 overall and 13-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, good for second place in the league standings. By winning the first two games of the series, the Wolfpack has won its sixth consecutive ACC series this season and its seventh in a row dating back to last season. The Tar Heels fell to 32-14 overall and 10-7 in the ACC.

Reliever Nate Cretarolo (4-2) picked up the win by allowing two runs, both of them unearned, on three hits in two innings of work. He struck out one and did not issue a walk. Freshman sensation Joey Devine worked the final inning, allowing a run on a long home run by Jeremy Cleveland, to record his NCAA-leading 13th save of the season and his second of the series. North Carolina reliever Kevin Brower (4-3) was tagged with the loss after yielding three runs, all of them unearned, on four hits in 2-1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out two.

The Wolfpack jumped to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first, all with two out. Justin Riley worked UNC starter Adam Kalkhof to a 3-2 count before homering to left field, and Colt Morton followed with a walk. Joe Gaetti singled to center field to put runners on the corners, and Conor Clougherty sliced an opposite-field double to right field, driving in Morton and Gaetti to make it 3-0, Wolfpack.

Wes Moyer led off the top of the third for the Tar Heels with a walk and went to second on Greg Magnum's bunt. Chad Prosser singled to left to put runners on the corners, and when Prosser went to second on a ball in the dirt, Moyer went home on the throw to second base to cut the lead to 3-1.

North Carolina made it a brand new ballgame in the top of the fifth. Sterry retired the first two batters of the inning without trouble, but Cleveland reached on an error, extending the inning for Sean Farrell, who homered to left. The two unearned runs tied the game at 3-3.

NC State wasted little time breaking the tie. Morton led off the bottom of the fifth with a walk, and Gaetti singled up the middle to put runners on first and second. Pinch-hitter Lee Mezistrano walked to load the bases with none out. Brower then gave up an opposite-field double to Matt Camp, a shot that whistled past third baseman Sammy Hewitt, driving in two runs to make it 5-3.

The two-run lead lasted two innings, and again unearned runs were the culprit for the Wolfpack. Prosser led off the seventh with a dribbler to the left of the mound and was safe when Cretarolo's throw to first was high for an error. Cleveland reached on an infield single, and Farrell singled up the middle to drive in Prosser, cutting the lead to a run at 5-4. Hewitt's sacrifice fly to right drove in Cleveland with the tying run, knotting the score at 5-5.

Again, NC State answered the UNC rally with a rally of its own. Mezistrano reached on a walk, and Camp bounced into a force play, erasing Mezistrano at second. Chad Orvella reached on an infield single, and Adam Hargrave laid down a safety squeeze bunt to drive in Camp with the go-ahead run. Scott Senatore came on in relief for UNC and struck out Marc Maynor for the second out of the inning. Jeremy Dutton then laced a single to center field to drive in Orvella, and Hargrave came all the way around to score from first when Mangum overran the ball in center field for an error.

That gave the Wolfpack an 8-5 cushion, and Cleveland's solo blast in the top of the ninth cut the margin to a final score of 8-6.

The series will conclude on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Doak Field. The game will be broadcast live on WKNC, 88.1 FM, and the broadcast will be carried live on the internet at gopack.com.