NC State Squeezes Past Penn State 3-2

Saturday, February 25

Greenville, N.C.

10:00 AM

NC State

11-1

Penn State

0-5

NC State

Penn State

2/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Feb. 25, 2006

Final Stats

GREENVILLE, N.C. - Close game are often won with good situational hitting, and 18th-ranked NC State went 8-for-15 with two outs Saturday, starting all three scoring rallies after two were out, to defeat Penn State 3-2 in the second round of the Keith LeClair Classic at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

NC State won for the fifth time in a row to improve to 11-1 on the season. Penn State lost for the fifth time in as many games. Gib Hobson (4-0) started and pitched seven strong innings for the Pack, allowing just one unearned run on five hits. He struck out five without issuing a walk. Sam Walls allowed a run in two innings of work to earn his first save of the season and the first save by any NC State reliever in 2006. Penn State starter Mark Wyner (0-2) took the loss after allowing two runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. He walked one and fanned five.

The Wolfpack's first scoring rally came in the top of the third inning. Aaron Bates lined a two-out single to center and Wyner hit Brian Aragon with a pitch. Jon Still singled to right to drive in Bates with the game's first run.

Penn State tied the game with an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth. Hobson hit James Spinelli with a pitch, then sent him to second with an errant pickoff throw and to third with a wild pitch. Scott Gaffney's sacrifice fly to center field got the run home to tie the score at 1-1.

The Wolfpack went back in front 2-1 on back-to-back two-out doubles by Jonathan Diaz and Jeremy Synan in the top of the seventh. The Pack added an insurance run, again with two outs, in the top of the eighth on consecutive two-out singles by Matt Mangini, Ramon Corona and pinch-hitter Ryan Pond.

The Nittany Lions got that run back to cut the Wolfpack lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the inning when Travis Laird pinch-hit and was hit by a pitch, went to second and third on groundouts, and scored on Brian Ernst's infield single.

NC State will wrap up the weekend at the Keith LeClair Classic on Sunday at 4 p.m. against UNC Wilmington. Andrew Brackman will take the mound for the Wolfpack. Zach Booker will make the start for the Seahawks.