North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
3-0
Elon
2-4
NC State Baseball Throttle Elon, 16-2
2/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 21, 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. - David Hicks homered twice and Jason St. Julien drove in five runs with a three-run double and a two-run triple Saturday to propel NC State past Elon 16-2 in college baseball at Doak Field. The game was the second of a two-game series between the two clubs. The Wolfpack has won the first two games of the series, with the finale slated for Sunday at 2 p.m.
Senior righthander Vern Sterry (1-0) was the beneficiary of all that offense and picked up his first win of the season after hurling six solid innings. Sterry allowed two runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out five. Three Wolfpack relievers pitched one scoreless inning apiece. Elon starter Matt Chastain (0-2) picked up the loss after allowing three runs on four hits in four innings. He walked four and struck out two. Five Fighting Phoenix relievers combined to allow 13 runs on 14 hits and four walks over the final four innings.
Evan Erickson led off the top of the second inning with a home run off the scoreboard in left-center field to stake Elon to a 1-0 lead. The Wolfpack answered right back with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Lee Mezistrano led off and was hit by a pitch, and Hicks walked. With one away, Marc Maynor and Jonathan Diaz both drew walks to force in a run, tying the score at 1-1. Hicks scored on a wild pitch to give NC State the lead, and Matt Camp singled to center field to drive in Maynor, making it 3-1, Wolfpack.
Elon sliced a run off the lead when Greg Rembert led off the top of the fourth with a home run to left, but Wolfpack pitching was unscored upon over the final six innings.
And then the NC State offense went to work. Dustin Knight led off the bottom of the fifth against reliever Justin Weeks with a home run off the scoreboard in left-center. Mezistrano doubled with one out, and Hicks homered to right to give the Wolfpack a 6-2 lead. With two down, Maynor and Diaz walked, and Camp was hit by a pitch to load the bases. St. Julien unloaded them with a three-run double off the wall in left field, increasing the NC State lead to 9-2. Hicks homered to right again in the sixth, this one a solo shot, to push the Wolfpack lead to 10-2 after six innings.
The Wolfpack erupted for six more runs in the bottom of the eighth. Ryan Johnson, who entered the game as a defensive replacement in right field in the top half of the inning, led off with a walk, and after Hicks grounded to first, Caleb Mangum, who also entered as a defensive replacement, walked to put runners on first and second. Maynor singled to load the bases, and Diaz singled off the pitcher to drive in Johnson. Tim Holt pinch-hit for Camp and drove a two-run single to left, chasing home Mangum and Maynor and making it 13-2. St. Julien then doubled off the wall in left to drive in Diaz and Holt, and Eric Taylor tripled to deepest center field to score St. Julien with the final run of the game.
Notes: The victory was Sterry's 12th in a row, and may prove to be his 13th in a row, depending on the outcome of the suspended game vs. Campbell on February 14. The Wolfpack was leading 5-1 in the middle of the seventh inning when that game was halted. It will be resumed at that point and played to its conclusion on April 14 when Campbell returns to Doak Field. Sterry was the pitcher of record in that game for NC State.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sterry, Vern (1-0)
L: Matt Chastain (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Gary Morris 1 ; Paul Bennett 1
HR: Grant Rembert 1 ; Evan Erickson 1
RBI: Grant Rembert 1 ; Evan Erickson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Grant Rembert 1 ; Evan Erickson 1
SB: Gary Morris 1 ; Paul Bennett 1
Batting:
2B: St. Julien , Jason 2 ; Mezistrano, Lee 1
3B: Taylor, Eric 1
HR: Knight, Dustin 1 ; Hicks, David 2
RBI: Camp, Matt 1 ; Holt, Tim 2 ; St. Julien , Jason 5 ; Knight, Dustin 1 ; Taylor, Eric 1 ; Hicks, David 3 ; Diaz, Jonathan 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Camp, Matt 1 ; Holt, Tim 1 ; St. Julien , Jason 1 ; Knight, Dustin 1 ; Mezistrano, Lee 2 ; Johnson, Ryan 1 ; Hicks, David 3 ; Mangum, Caleb 1 ; Maynor, Marc 3 ; Diaz, Jonathan 2
CS: Camp, Matt 1
HBP: Camp, Matt 2 ; Mezistrano, Lee 1
