North Carolina State University Athletics
Hurricanes Outpitch Baseball, 2-1
3/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. If you like pitching, Doak Field at Dail Park was the place to be Saturday afternoon. Miami and NC State waged a beauty of a pitchers duel, with the Hurricanes defeating the Wolfpack 2-1.
After Friday night’s error-marred loss, NC State rebounded behind starter Clayton Shunick and reliever Jake Buchanan, who combined on a five-hitter, allowing two runs while walking two and striking out six. But Miami got even tidier pitching from starter Chris Hernandez and reliever Carlos Gutierrez, who allowed just one run, walked two, struck out five and pitched out of several jams.
Mark Sobelewski got Miami off to a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly to right field, but NC State answered in the bottom of the inning on a leadoff single by Marcus Jones, a walk to Ryan Pond and an RBI single to right off the bat of Matt Payne. Hernandez (3-0), who worked 7 1/3 innings, stranded runners on the corners to avoid further damage.
The Canes scored the game-winner in the top of the fifth. Yasmani Grandal led off with a double to right and went to third on Blake Tekotte’s sacrifice bunt. Shunick struck out Jemile Weeks for the second out of the inning, but Yonder Alonso fought off a tough pitch and blooped it the other way to shallow left field to drive in Grandal.
Shunick (2-1) wound up allowing just the two runs on five hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out five. He also worked out of a couple of jams. He loaded the bases with none out in the top of the second before striking out Ryan Jackson and getting Grandal to ground into a double play. In the sixth he got Jackson to fly to right field with Sobolewski on third and two away.
Buchanan, a freshman righthander, worked the final three innings and retired all nine men he faced. Unfortunately for the Wolfpack, though, Hernandez continued to wiggle off the hook. NC State got the potential tying run to second base with one down in the fifth, but with the infield playing in, Hernandez got Marcus Jones to bounce into a double play.
Devon Cartwright led off the bottom of the eighth with a double down the left-field line. Gutierrez came in with one down and promptly unloaded a wild pitch to advance Cartwright to third base. Jones lined a shot off of Gutierrez’s foot that bounced high in the air to shortstop. Jones was safe on the infield single, but Cartwright was unable to score on the play. Jeremy Synan followed with a sharp bouncer up the middle that slick-fielding shortstop Ryan Jackson turned into a 6-3 double play.
NC State and Miami will conclude their three-game ACC series on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1) and the broadcast can be heard on the internet at gopack.com through Pack Pass.
