NC State Baseball Defeats Elon, 12-5

Wednesday, March 30

Doak Field

6:00 PM

NC State

19-8

Elon

16-12

Elon

NC State

3/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

March 30, 2005

Final Stats

RALEIGH, N.C. - Four NC State hitters had two RBIs apiece, and Jason Duncan came out of the bullpen and pitched four shutout innings Wednesday night as NC State thumped Elon 12-5 in college baseball action at Doak Field. NC State won for the fourth time in a row and improved to 19-8 on the season. Elon fell to 16-12 with the loss.

Duncan (2-0) came in for starter Alan Letchworth and threw zeroes at the Phoenix, allowing only a pair of singled leading off the fourth inning, his first inning of work. He walked one, struck out three, and retired the last seven men he faced and 10 of the last 11. Elon starter Chris Vasami (0-1) took the loss after allowing seven runs, six of them earned, on eight hits in four-plus innings. He walked three, struck out one, threw a wild pitch and was called for two balks.

Ryan Pond went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs for the Wolfpack, and Aaron Bates went 2-for-4 with a triple and drove in two runs.Jason St. Julien and Mike Jensen both came off the bench and drove in a pair of runs, St. Julien with a single and Jensen with a double. Vasami, who also served as designated hitter for the Phoenix, had two singles and drove in a pair of runs.

NC State drew first blood with a run in the bottom of the second, when Jake Muyco and Bryan Kineberg hit back-to-back doubles with one out. Elon averted further damage when Kinneberg was cut down at the plate trying to score from second on an infield single by Jonathan Diaz.

Elon took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third, thanks in large part to Letchworth's inability to control his breaking ball. With one out, he hit Gary Morris with a curveball and walked Matt Hill. Chris Price fouled out to third baseman Matt Devine for the second out, but Letchworth hit both Evan Erickson and Vasami with breaking pitches to force in a run. Drew Davis singled to center to drive in Hill with the second run, but Camp made a perfect throw to the plate to nail Erickson for the third out of the inning.

The Wolfpack came right back in the bottom of the inning. Devine drew a one-out walk and went to second on a balk. Aaron Bates then drilled a missile to center field that Ryan Radford could have caught but got turned around on, letting the ball soar over his head for an RBI-triple that tied the score at 2-2. Ryan Pond dribbled a single up the middle to score Bates with the go-ahead run, and Brian Aragon blooped an opposite-field single to left to put runners on first and second. Vasami moved both runners into to scoring position by uncorking a wild pitch, and Pond scored on Jake Muyco's grounder to third to make it 4-2.

Devine led off the bottom of the fifth and grounded to third, but was safe at first when Erickson bobbled the throw from third baseman Paul Bennett. Devine stole second and went to third when the throw sailed wide of the bag and into center field. Bates then lofted a single over shortstop and into shallow left field to drive in Devine and give the Wolfpack a 5-2 lead. Ryan Pond drew a walk, and Elon coach Mike Kennedy went to his bullpen for lefthander Jesse Lewter, who struck out pinch-hitter Ryan Johnson, and intentionally walked Muyco after falling behind 2-and-0, loading the bases with one away. Bates scored on a passed ball, and Jason St. Julien, hitting for Kinneberg, bounced a two-run single through the left side to make it 8-2.

Camp led off the bottom of the sixth and was hit by a pitch, went to second on a groundout and scored on Pond's single to center to give the Wolfpack a 9-2 lead. In the bottom of the eighth, Camp and pinch-hitter Matt Mangini led off with singles and scored on Mike Jensen's booming pinch-hit double to right-center, increasing the lead to 11-2. Jensen came in to score the Wolfpack's 12th run when second baseman Gary Morris kicked Caleb Mangum's grounder for an error.

Adam Weaver hit a one-out single to center field, pinch-hitter Danny Miller followed with a single to right, and Matt Link hit a pinch-single to left to load the bases. Matt Stocco singled to left to drive in Weaver, John Walker was hit by a pitch to drive in Miller, and Vasami singled to right to score Link and trim the final margin to 12-5.