NC State Baseball Pounds Duke, 16-3

Saturday, April 5

Durham, N.C.

5:00 PM

NC State

26-7, 0

Duke

13-18, 0

NC State

Duke

4/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

April 5, 2003

Final Stats

DURHAM, N.C. - David Hicks had a career-high five hits, Justin Riley had two doubles and a home run, and Nate Cretarolo pitched eight strong innings Saturday night to lead NC State to a 16-3 laugher over Duke at Jack Coombs Field. The win was the Wolfpack's fifth in its last six games and lifted the Pack's overall record to 26-7 overall and 6-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Duke dropped to 13-18 overall and 0-7 in the conference.

Cretarolo (3-2) allowed three runs, one earned, on nine hits to pick up the win. He walked one and struck out five. Duke freshman Russell Durfee (0-2), the first of five Duke pitchers was gone early, working just two innings and allowing four runs on five hits. He walked one and struck out two.

The Wolfpack wasted no time in jumping on Durfee. Marc Maynor led off the top of the first and beat out a check-swing dribbler to shortstop for a single, and Durfee hit Jeremy Dutton with a pitch to put runners on first and second with none out. Justin Riley, who homered twice in the first game of the series, drilled an RBI double to left to drive in Maynor with the first run of the game. A visit from pitching coach Bill Hillier Jr. seemed to settle Durfee down. He retired Colt Morton and Joe Gaetti with little trouble, but Hicks blooped a Texas Leaguer into right field between the second baseman and right fielder, driving in Dutton and Riley to give the Wolfpack a 3-0 lead.

Duke got a run back in the bottom of the first. Adam Murray led off and walked on four pitches. Brian Patrick hit into a force play, erasing Murray, but Tim Layden singled to left, and Grant Stanley hit a one-out RBI single to left to drive in Patrick and cut the Wolfpack lead to 3-1.

Chad Orvella doubled with one out in the top of the second, and Maynor bounced an RBI single up the middle to make it 4-1.

With Durfee struggling, Duke head coach Bill Hillier brought in Justin DiLucchio to pitch in the top of the third, and he was promptly roughed up for five runs in the inning. Joe Gaetti led off and singled, and Hicks drove a hit-and-run double to left. Gaetti scored all the way from first base on the play. Lee Mezistrano singled to right to put runners on the corners. Dustin Murphy bounced out, with the runners holding, but Chad Orvella was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Maynor drove in a pair with a single to right. Dutton's single to right got a run home to make it 9-1. That was it for DiLucchio. Paul DeMarco came in and got out of the inning on a pair of foul pop-ups.

Gaetti led off the top of the fourth and was hit by a pitch, and then scored on Hicks's double into the left-field corner. Hicks took third on the throw home, Mezistrano walked, and Murphy bounced an RBI single through the right side to score Hicks. Orvella followed with an RBI double to left to drive in Mezistrano and make it 12-1. Jim Perry came in for Duke and got two quick outs, one of them a sacrifice fly by Dutton, before Riley unloaded a two-run homer that gave the Wolfpack a 15-1 lead.

Duke struck for a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth. Troy Caradonna led off with a single and with one down Drew Jerdan reached on an error. The runners moved up on a passed ball, and Brian Hernandez got the first run in on a grounder to second base, and John Berger drove in the second with a double to right.

The Wolfpack's final run came in the top of the ninth and also was unearned. With one away, Hicks singled, his fifth hit of the game, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored when Adam Murray dropped Murphy's two-out pop-up.

NC State and Duke will conclude their series on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Jack Coombs Field in Durham.