NC State Baseball Shuts Out Florida State, 11-0

Friday, April 2

Tallahassee, Fla.

7:00 PM

NC State

20-8, 0

Florida State

21-9, 0

NC State

Florida State

4/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

April 2, 2004

Final Stats

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Michael Rogers, who flirted with a no-hitter three times previously this season, allowed just three hits and a walk in eight innings Friday night as NC State completely throttled Florida State 11-0 in the first game of a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series at Dick Howser Stadium. The margin of victory was the largest ever by the Wolfpack in the series with the Seminoles, and the shutout was the first against Florida State in 263 games.

The win put NC State above the .500 mark in conference play for the first time since March 19 at 4-3. The Pack is 20-8 overall. Florida State fell to 21-9 overall and 4-3 in the conference. Rogers (5-1) struck out nine and hit a batter, and allowed just two baserunners past first base. Seminoles starter Eddie Cannon (7-2) took the loss, his first at home for the Seminoles, after allowing four runs, three earned, on nine hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out six. He got little help from his defense, which is suffering from a serious case of the yips. The Noles committed three errors in the game, and now have committed 21 errors in their last four games.

After failing to cash in on scoring opportunities in the first two innings, NC State broke through with a run in the top of the third, with the aid of a pair of FSU errors. Lee Mezistrano led off and singled. David Hicks grounded to shortstop, but was safe when Stephen Drew's throw to first was in the dirt for an error. Mezistrano, however, was out at third when he tried to advance on the throw in the dirt. Hicks went to second on a passed ball and scored on Jason St. Julien's single to left.

The Pack added two more in the top of the fourth. Jonathan Diaz, who had a career-high three hits, led off with a single to right. Ryan Johnson's sacrifice attempt was so well-placed that he beat it out for a single, and the runners advanced to second and third on a groundout by Matt Camp. With the infield charging in, Mezistrano hit a sharp grounder off the glove of second baseman Bryan Zech for a two-run single.

Jake Muyco led off the top of the sixth for the Wolfpack and singled to right, went to second on Diaz's grounder to shortstop, took third on Johnson's fly to deep right, and scored on Camp's single through the left side to give Rogers a 4-0 lead.

St. Julien singled to center field with one out in the top of the seventh and Dustin Knight, pinch-hitting, reached on an infield single. Eric Taylor singled to right to drive in St. Julien and make it 5-0, and with two down, Diaz doubled off the wall in right-center to drive in Knight and pinch-runner Tim Holt and give NC State a 7-0 lead.

The Wolfpack put the game away with three more in the top of the eighth. Camp led off with a walk and went to third on St. Julien's two-out single to center. Dustin Knight followed with a three-run home run to center field, extending the lead to 10-0.

The Pack's final run came in the top of the eighth. Muyco led off and was hit by a pitch, and Diaz walked. Muyco went to third on Johnson's fly ball to right, and scored on Camp's dribbler to the right of the mound.

While the offense was building the big lead, Rogers was shutting the Seminoles down with ease. He hit leadoff hitter Bryan Zech with his first pitch of the game, and then struck out Stephen Drew, Eddy Martinez-Esteve and Aaron Cheesman, FSU's 2-3-4 hitters, to end the inning. He got all three swinging at strike three.

Zech, who went to second on a passed ball and took third on a botched pickoff attempt, was Florida State's last baserunner until the bottom of the fifth, when Shane Robinson broke up the no-hitter with a sharp single up the middle to snap a streak of 13 consecutive men in a row set down by Rogers. Robinson went to second when Rogers walked Derrick Smith, and was the last Seminole to reach scoring position. Rogers retired 11 of the last 13 men he faced before handing the ball over to Daniel Caldwell to start the ninth inning. Caldwell retired Florida State in order in the ninth.

NC State's largest margin of victory in the series prior to tonight was when Terry Harvey threw a no-hitter on March 26, 1993 in an 8-0 victory.

The series will continue on Saturday at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WKNC-FM (88.1) and will be carried on the internet on gopack.com on Yahoo's subcriber service. Live in-game statistics will be available on the web on gopack.com via the Gametracker.

Wolfpack Diamond Notes: Counting last night's 11-0 victory, Michael Rogers has carried a shutout into the sixth inning or later five times in eight starts this season, and has taken a no-hitter into the fifth inning or later four times.

* NC State pitchers have not allowed a run in the last 10 innings, and have not allowed an earned run in the last 15 innings.

* NC State pitchers have allowed just one earned run in the last 28 innings, and have retired the side in order 13 times in the last 28 innings.

* NC State pitchers have allowed just five baserunners to reach scoring position in the last two games, and 10 baserunners to reach scoring position in the last three games.

* NC State pitchers have recorded nine or more strikeouts in a game 17 times in 28 games this season, and have punched out 10 or more in a game 11 times.

* On offense, NC State has scored 52 runs and is batting .341 (61-for-179) with 10 doubles, two triples and four home runs in the last five games.