North Carolina State University Athletics
Baseball Back Home Again, Takes On UNCW On Wednesday
4/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. After playing 12 of its last 18 games on the road, the NC State baseball team returns to the friendly confines of Doak Fiel at Dail Park for a six-game homestand that will carry the Wolfpack through final exams.
The Pack (27-14), which was swept this past weekend at Georgia Tech and has lost six of its last 10 games, begins the homestand on Wednesday when UNC Wilmington (19-23) comes to visit for a 7 p.m. game. The game will broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1) and on gopack.com through Pack Pass.
NC STATE VS. UNC WILMINGTON: NC State leads the series 55-13, including a 15-3 mark in the last 18 meetings. The two teams met here at Doak Field at Dail Park on February 27, with the Wolfpack prevailing 5-2. Kyle Rutter got the win in relief of Jimmy Gillheeney. Rutter allowed one run in 1 2/3 innings. Caleb Mangum drove in two runs with a sixth-inning single, and Mike Roskopf hit a solo home run. Daniel Hargrave and Mark Carver drove in the two runs for the Seahawks.
THE STARTING STARTERS: Freshman righthander Nate Karns (2-2, 2.75) will make his seventh appearance and his sixth start tonight for the Wolfpack. He has worked 19 2/3 innings, allowing eight runs, six earned, on 11 hits. He has walked 11 and struck out 19. In his last start, April 18 vs. Davidson, Karns struggled with his control, walking four in 2 1/3 innings before being lifted. He allowed one unearned run on one hit and struck out three. In his three starts prior to the Davidson game, Karns went 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA, allowing two runs on seven hits in 13 1/3 innings with two walks and 13 strikeouts. Senior lefthander Andrew Morgan (0-0, 4.64) will start tonight for UNCW.
CORONA PICKING UP THE PACE: Despite the overall recent struggles of the Wolfpack offense, junior shortstop Ramon Corona is finally hitting his stride at the plate. After starting the year .156 through 17 games, Corona has gotten hot, batting .326 (29-for-89) since then, .361 (13-for-36) in the last 10 games. Corona batted .500 (4-for-8) with a double and a home run in the Georgia Tech series.
PITCHING IN BAD LUCK: If sophomore lefthander Eric Surkamp didn’t have bad luck, he’d have no luck at all. In addition to leading the pitching staff with six no-decisions, Surkamp pitched the best game of his college career this past Saturday at Georgia Tech, only to lose 2-1 on a two-run double by Wally Crancer in the bottom of the ninth. Through eight innings, Surkamp was pitching a five-hit shutout. He had allowed just two men to reach scoring posiiton and none to reach third base. Danny Payne led off the ninth by beating out a slow roller up the third-base line. A sacrifice bunt, an intentional walk to All-American Matt Wieters and a double to the wall in left-center field by Crancer, hitless in three previous at-bats, gave the Yellow Jackets the 2-1 victory. Toss that loss in with Surkamp’s six no-decisions he left three of them with the lead, two with the game tied, and one trailing by a run and you have a pitcher whose statistics (3-2, 2.88) don’t begin to tell how well he’s pitched. In Surkamp’s six no-decisions, he has pitched 39 innings, allowed 15 runs, 13 earned runs, on 36 hits. He has walked nine and struck out 38. His ERA in his no-decisions is an even 3.00. In his last four games, he is 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA.
OFFENSIVE WOES: To say that NC State’s offense is struggling would be quite an understatement. In the team’s last six Atlantic Coast Conference games, the Wolfpack is hitting .232 and has scored 32 runs (5.3 runs per game). But those numbers include a 19-9 blowout of Miami on April 15. Take that game out of the equation and NC State, in the other five games in that six-game stretch, is hitting .163 and has scored 13 runs (2.6 per game). NC State batted .204 with runners on base in those five games, .188 with runners in scoring position.
In the Georgia Tech series this past weekend, NC State batted .167 and scored seven runs (2.3 per game). The Pack batted .167 (5-for-30) with runners on base, but only .118 (2-for-17) with runners in scoring position. NC State batters struck out 33 times in the three games, including 17 times in the second game of the series. That’s the most strikeouts in a game by NC State in at least 10 years, and the most in a thre-game span since the 2004 team fanned 39 times from April 3-April 7 (15 vs. Florida State on April 3; 10 vs. Florida State on April 4; and 14 vs. Old Dominion on April 7).
STARTERS AND RELIEVERS: NC State’s starting pitchers are 16-8 with a 3.63 ERA. They have worked 211 innings, allowed 204 hits, walked 76 and struck out 189 while holding opposing hitters to a .257 average. The bullpen is 11-6 with a 3.18 ERA and 12 saves. Relievers have made 104 appearances and worked 158 1/3 innings, allowing 139 hits, walking 47 and striking out 120. The bullpen has held opposing hitters to a .235 average.
WHO’S HOT: NC State’s offense was shut down for most of the last two ACC series, but several hitters have been productive even during the cold stretch. Junior DH/first baseman Mike Roskopf had just one hit in eight at-bats at Georgia Tech, but the one hit was a home run. Over the last 15 games, Roskopf is hitting .389 (21-for-54) with six homers and 16 RBIs.
Senior catcher Caleb Mangum went 2-for-13 in each of the last two weekend series. He has 11 hits in his last 44 at-bats (10 games). Prior to that, Mangum had a 10-game hitting streak in which he batted .452.
Sophomore left fielder Jeremy Synan went 1-for-10 with a home run at Georgia Tech, but had six hits in his previous 12 at-bats and is hitting .292 (7-for-24) in his last six games.
Freshman second baseman Daller Poulk hit a double and a single in eight at-bats at Georgia Tech, and has been a consistent performer all season, hitting .353 for the year and .342 (13-for-38) in his last 10 games.
Junior shortstop Ramon Corona went 4-for-8 with a double and a homer in the Georgia Tech series, and has been hitting well the second half of the season. Corona is hitting .444 (8-for-18) in his last five games, and .361 (13-for-36) in his last 10 games.
The Pack (27-14), which was swept this past weekend at Georgia Tech and has lost six of its last 10 games, begins the homestand on Wednesday when UNC Wilmington (19-23) comes to visit for a 7 p.m. game. The game will broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1) and on gopack.com through Pack Pass.
NC STATE VS. UNC WILMINGTON: NC State leads the series 55-13, including a 15-3 mark in the last 18 meetings. The two teams met here at Doak Field at Dail Park on February 27, with the Wolfpack prevailing 5-2. Kyle Rutter got the win in relief of Jimmy Gillheeney. Rutter allowed one run in 1 2/3 innings. Caleb Mangum drove in two runs with a sixth-inning single, and Mike Roskopf hit a solo home run. Daniel Hargrave and Mark Carver drove in the two runs for the Seahawks.
THE STARTING STARTERS: Freshman righthander Nate Karns (2-2, 2.75) will make his seventh appearance and his sixth start tonight for the Wolfpack. He has worked 19 2/3 innings, allowing eight runs, six earned, on 11 hits. He has walked 11 and struck out 19. In his last start, April 18 vs. Davidson, Karns struggled with his control, walking four in 2 1/3 innings before being lifted. He allowed one unearned run on one hit and struck out three. In his three starts prior to the Davidson game, Karns went 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA, allowing two runs on seven hits in 13 1/3 innings with two walks and 13 strikeouts. Senior lefthander Andrew Morgan (0-0, 4.64) will start tonight for UNCW.
CORONA PICKING UP THE PACE: Despite the overall recent struggles of the Wolfpack offense, junior shortstop Ramon Corona is finally hitting his stride at the plate. After starting the year .156 through 17 games, Corona has gotten hot, batting .326 (29-for-89) since then, .361 (13-for-36) in the last 10 games. Corona batted .500 (4-for-8) with a double and a home run in the Georgia Tech series.
PITCHING IN BAD LUCK: If sophomore lefthander Eric Surkamp didn’t have bad luck, he’d have no luck at all. In addition to leading the pitching staff with six no-decisions, Surkamp pitched the best game of his college career this past Saturday at Georgia Tech, only to lose 2-1 on a two-run double by Wally Crancer in the bottom of the ninth. Through eight innings, Surkamp was pitching a five-hit shutout. He had allowed just two men to reach scoring posiiton and none to reach third base. Danny Payne led off the ninth by beating out a slow roller up the third-base line. A sacrifice bunt, an intentional walk to All-American Matt Wieters and a double to the wall in left-center field by Crancer, hitless in three previous at-bats, gave the Yellow Jackets the 2-1 victory. Toss that loss in with Surkamp’s six no-decisions he left three of them with the lead, two with the game tied, and one trailing by a run and you have a pitcher whose statistics (3-2, 2.88) don’t begin to tell how well he’s pitched. In Surkamp’s six no-decisions, he has pitched 39 innings, allowed 15 runs, 13 earned runs, on 36 hits. He has walked nine and struck out 38. His ERA in his no-decisions is an even 3.00. In his last four games, he is 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA.
OFFENSIVE WOES: To say that NC State’s offense is struggling would be quite an understatement. In the team’s last six Atlantic Coast Conference games, the Wolfpack is hitting .232 and has scored 32 runs (5.3 runs per game). But those numbers include a 19-9 blowout of Miami on April 15. Take that game out of the equation and NC State, in the other five games in that six-game stretch, is hitting .163 and has scored 13 runs (2.6 per game). NC State batted .204 with runners on base in those five games, .188 with runners in scoring position.
In the Georgia Tech series this past weekend, NC State batted .167 and scored seven runs (2.3 per game). The Pack batted .167 (5-for-30) with runners on base, but only .118 (2-for-17) with runners in scoring position. NC State batters struck out 33 times in the three games, including 17 times in the second game of the series. That’s the most strikeouts in a game by NC State in at least 10 years, and the most in a thre-game span since the 2004 team fanned 39 times from April 3-April 7 (15 vs. Florida State on April 3; 10 vs. Florida State on April 4; and 14 vs. Old Dominion on April 7).
STARTERS AND RELIEVERS: NC State’s starting pitchers are 16-8 with a 3.63 ERA. They have worked 211 innings, allowed 204 hits, walked 76 and struck out 189 while holding opposing hitters to a .257 average. The bullpen is 11-6 with a 3.18 ERA and 12 saves. Relievers have made 104 appearances and worked 158 1/3 innings, allowing 139 hits, walking 47 and striking out 120. The bullpen has held opposing hitters to a .235 average.
WHO’S HOT: NC State’s offense was shut down for most of the last two ACC series, but several hitters have been productive even during the cold stretch. Junior DH/first baseman Mike Roskopf had just one hit in eight at-bats at Georgia Tech, but the one hit was a home run. Over the last 15 games, Roskopf is hitting .389 (21-for-54) with six homers and 16 RBIs.
Senior catcher Caleb Mangum went 2-for-13 in each of the last two weekend series. He has 11 hits in his last 44 at-bats (10 games). Prior to that, Mangum had a 10-game hitting streak in which he batted .452.
Sophomore left fielder Jeremy Synan went 1-for-10 with a home run at Georgia Tech, but had six hits in his previous 12 at-bats and is hitting .292 (7-for-24) in his last six games.
Freshman second baseman Daller Poulk hit a double and a single in eight at-bats at Georgia Tech, and has been a consistent performer all season, hitting .353 for the year and .342 (13-for-38) in his last 10 games.
Junior shortstop Ramon Corona went 4-for-8 with a double and a homer in the Georgia Tech series, and has been hitting well the second half of the season. Corona is hitting .444 (8-for-18) in his last five games, and .361 (13-for-36) in his last 10 games.
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