North Carolina State University Athletics
Team Pack Sweeps Series Twin-Bill
10/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Those numbers overshadowed what little offense there was. Matt Payne and Bil Edwards hit home runs, and Pat Ferguson hit a pair of RBI singles. But that was about it. Eric Surkamp, Eryk McConnell, Jake Buchanan and Drew Taylor tossed three shutout innings apiece and between them allowed just four runners to reach scoring position, with none advancing as far as third base.
The first game of the doubleheader was all pitching, save for two at-bats by Payne, who doubled and belted a long home run the opposite way. The long ball came at the expense of Jimmy Gillheeney and accounted for the game’s only run. Surkamp and McConnell each worked three uneventful innings. Surkamp allowed a hit and two walks while striking out four, McConnell allowing two hits and no walks while striking out a pair. Buchanan, who got credit for the win for Team Pack, went three innings and essentially retired all 10, with one runner reaching on an error. He struck out four. Gillheeney, who took the loss, allowed just two hits, one of them Payne’s home run, walked two and struck out five in three innings. Travis High allowed a pair of hits in the seventh inning, but finished the inning without allowing a run and got credit for the save.
Compared to the first game of the doubleheader, the nightcap was a slugfest, but two of the six runs that scored in this one were unearned. Team Pack got it started by scratching for an unearned run off starter and losing pitcher Clayton Shunick in the top of the second inning. Payne and Ryan Pond reached on walks, and Tommy Foschi hit a painfully slow chopper over the mound that shortstop Kyle Prewitt had to pick up with his barehand and rush his throw to first. The throw was wide of the bag, and the resulting infield hit and throwing error allowed Payne to score the game’s first run.
Shunick hit Nick Stanley with a pitch to start the top of the third, and Marcus Jones hit a double the opposite way to right field. Ferguson’s two-out infield single got Jones home to make it 2-0. Team Pack added a run in the top of the fifth off Sam Brown, who contributed to his own demise in the inning by walking Jeremy Synan with one down and balking him to second base. Synan took third on a long fly ball to right field, then scored when Ferguson rolled a single through the right side of the infield.
Team Wolf snapped the shutout streak at 11 innings with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth on Edwards’ two-run homer to left field off Joey Cutler. Devon Cartwright led the inning off with a walk and was aboard when Edwards left the yard.
Team Pack promptly responded to the two-run outburst with a run in the top of the sixth. Foschi led off and was safe at second when Ramon Rubio dropped his fly ball to left-center for a two-base error. Foschi went to third on a wild pitch and Dallas Poulk walked. Stanley drove in Foschi with a double to left.
Taylor got credit for the win with three strong innings of work. Vance Williams wobbled through the bottom of the seventh, walking a pair, but got out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam with a strikeout and a groundout to end the game.
NC State’s intrasquad Fall World Series will conclude with a single game on Tuesday, October 30. Check gopack.com for the game time.
