NC State Baseball Overtakes UNCG, 9-4

Wednesday, April 28

Greensboro, N.C.

6:00 PM

NC State

28-16

UNC Greensboro

27-11

NC State

UNC Greensboro

4/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

April 28, 2004

Final Stats

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Derek McKee pitched four strong innings of relief, and Jason St. Julien, Jake Muyco and Lee Mezistrano drove in two runs apiece as NC State came from behind to defeat UNC Greensboro 9-4 Wednesday night at UNCG Baseball Stadium. NC State staged its first comeback win after the fifth inning this season. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for the Wolfpack, which improved to 28-16. The Spartans, who had won four straight, dropped to 27-11 with the loss.

McKee (2-2) allowed one run on two hits in relief of starter Gib Hobson, who struggled through two innings. McKee struck out six and did not walk a batter. UNCG's Scooter Michael (8-1) took the loss after allowing two runs, one earned, on one hit in two innings in relief. UNCG starter Jay Metzger allowed just one run through five innings before tiring in the sixth.

The Spartans jumped on Hobson for three runs in the bottom of the second. Danny Valencia hit the first pitch of the inning for a double off the wall in straightaway center field, a home run in almost any other ballpark, and Ryan Galligan followed with a double to left on a 1-0 pitch, driving in Valencia with the first run of the game. Nate Alden grounded to third for the first out of the inning, but Robbie Redic hit a sinking liner to right-center field that Ryan Johnson laid out for but could not catch. The ball went all the way to the wall for a triple that scored Galligan with the second run of the inning. Jesse Lavender, the nine hitter in the UNCG lineup, hit the next pitch into left field for an RBI-single to drive in Redic and give the Spartans a 3-0 lead. Hobson got out of the inning when St. Julien cut down Lavender at home plate trying to score from second on a single to left by Justin Crist.

The Wolfpack bounced back with a run in the top of the third. Ryan Johnson led off by slicing an opposite-field single to right, and with one down, Muyco capped a 10-pitch at-bat with a booming triple to right-center field. On the play, Galligan, the UNCG right fielder, injured his right leg and had to be helped off the field. David Hicks followed with a line drive right at the second baseman, and Metzger struck out Mike Jensen to end the inning with the Spartans leading 3-1.

UNC Greensboro got that run right back in the bottom of the third when Steve Morgan, who replaced Galligan in right field, hit a home run to right off McKee, the first homer of Galligan's collegiate career.

Hicks led off the top of the sixth inning by banging Metzger's first pitch into right field for a single. Jensen sent a line drive to left that got under the glove of left fielder Ryan Brincat and rolled to the wall for an RBI-triple that scored Hicks with the Wolfpack's second run. St. Julien's bloop single to right-center drove in Jensen, trimming the UNCG lead to 4-3 and driving Metzger from the game. Michael relieved Metzger, and pinch-hitter Bobby Hubbard flared a single to right. Morgan's throw from right field trying to nail St. Julien at third base sailed into the NC State dugout, allowing St. Julien to score the tying run. Hubbard advanced all the way to third on the play. Tim Holt pinch-ran for Hubbard, and Holt scored on Mezistrano's grounder to second, giving NC State a 5-4 lead.

The Pack made it 6-4 in the seventh when Camp led off with a walk, stole second, stole third and scored on Muyco's sacrifice fly to center field.

St. Julien led off the top of the eighth and was hit by a pitch. Holt bunted the runner to second, and Mezistrano rolled a single down the third-base line to drive in St. Julien. Jonathan Diaz then drove a double to the wall in left-center on a hit-and-run play, with Mezistrano scoring all the way from first base on the play, pushing the lead to 8-4.

Muyco led off the top of the ninth and chopped a single up the middle. Hicks grounded to shortstop, and Redic booted the ball for an error. Jensen grounded out to move the runners to second and third, and St. Julien grounded to first to drive in Muyco and make it 9-4, Wolfpack.

NC State returns to action this weekend with a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series vs. Georgia Tech at Doak Field. The series has been changed to a Saturday-Sunday series, with a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday, and a single game on Sunday, also beginning at 2 p.m. All three games will be aired on WKNC-FM (88.1), and the broadcasts will be available on gopack.com through the Yahoo subscription service. Live in-game stats will be available on gopack.com through the Gametracker.