North Carolina State University Athletics
Baseball Continues ACC Play At Clemson
3/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. With a 3-3 start at home in Atlantic Coast Conference play against two of the top teams in the country, Virginia and Miami, the NC State baseball team hits the road for the first time in ACC play this weekend with a three-game series at Clemson.
Game times are 6 p.m. on Friday, 7 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Friday game was moved from 7:15 to 6 o’clock to accommodate Clemson’s 10:15 p.m. start in the NCAA Basketball Tournament on Friday.
All three games will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1) and will be available on-line on gopack.com through Pack Pass.
NC State, 12-5 overall and 3-3 in the conference, is coming off a two-game midweek sweep of Towson. The Wolfpack has been relying on stout pitching and timely hitting from Matt Payne (.382, 1 home run, 12 RBIs), Marcus Jones (.364-2-14), Nick Stanley (.333-0-7), Drew Martin (.333-1-10) and Ryan Pond (.260-3-10).
NC State will send Eric Surkamp (1-2, 4.00) to the mound on Friday. He will be opposed by Ryan Hinson (1-3, 5.40). Saturday’s matchup features the Wolfpack’s Clayton Shunick (2-1, 0.78) vs. Clemson’s D.J. Mitchell (1-2, 4.01). On Sunday, Eryk McConnell (2-0, 5.40) will face the Tigers’ Graham Stoneburne (3-0, 3.86).
Clemson is 11-6 overall and will play Furman on Thursday night to make up a rainout from Wednesday. Off to an uncharacteristically slow start, Clemson ahs dropped ACC series at Wake Forest and at home to Boston College. After a 5-0 start, the Tigers have split their last 12 games.
Wilson Boyd (.400-5-22) leads the Tigers offensively, and gets help from Kyle Parker (.358-5-13), Ben Paulsen (.339-5-12) and Doug Hogan (.303-5-19). Clemson has a 4.98 staff ERA, but has gotten solid bullpen work from Casey Harman (0-1, 1.98 in 13 2/3 innings), Craig Gullickson (1-0, 2.38 in 11 1/3 innings) and Justin Surratt (1-0, 2.84 in 12 2/3 innings. Closer Matt Vaughn has saved five games, but has a 5.23 ERA.
NC State vs. Clemson: Clemson leads the all-time series with NC State by a 99-66-1 margin. In the 11 years as head coach of the Wolfpack, Elliott Avent has a 14-24 mark vs. Clemson, including a 10-5 mark at Doak Field at Dail Park and a 2-1 record at Kinston’s Grainger Stadium (2003). Avent has not fared well at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, dropping 12 of 14 meetings with the Tigers there, including the last seven, and nine of the last 10. NC State last won a series at Clemson in 1996.
Inflicting Payne: Heading into the Clemson series, senior outfielder Matt Payne has hit safely in five of his last six games, batting .450 (9-for-20) with two doubles, a home run, six RBIs, two strikeouts and five walks in those six games.
Clayton Shunick Emerges As An Ace: Junior righthander Clayton Shunick was a valuable and versatile pitcher for NC State a year ago, compiling a 6-3 record and a 6.15 ERA in 21 appearances. Shunick was good in 2007, but he has emerged as the early-season staff ace in 2008. In four appearances, two of them starts, Shunick is 2-1 with a 0.78 ERA. In his one loss, a 2-1 decision to a Miami team that has to rank among the best offensive teams in the country, Shunick allowed two runs on five hits in six innings of work. A week earlier, on March 8, Shunick made his first start of 2008 and was masterful, earning ACC Player of the Week honors after shutting out Virginia on three hits through eight innings.
Prior to the Virginia game, Shunick was pitching out of the bullpen, and was pitching like an ace in relief. In two extended outings out of the pen, Shunick pitched nine innings and allowed just one run, unearned, on seven hits, no walks and nine strikeouts. He held opposing hitters to a .212 batting average and allowed just three baserunners to reach scoring position. For the season, he has pitched 23 innings and allowed just three runs, two of them arned, on 15 hits with three walks and 23 strikeouts.
How Do You Spell Relief?: NC State’s bullpen is 8-2 with a 1.76 ERA and six saves. Wolfpack relievers have inherited 38 baserunners and stranded all but 13. In the last eight games, NC State relievers have allowed just five earned runs in 39 1/3 innings, a 1.14 ERA.
Jimmy Gillheeney Gets Back-To-Back Saves: NC State pitching coach Tom Holliday has expressed doubts that the Wolfpack will have one set closer for the 2008 season. Sophomore lefthander Jimmy Gillheeney is making a case that he can handle the job, however. In six appearances, all in relief, Gillheeney has pitched 11 innings, allowed one run on four hits, won one game and recorded three saves. He has walked three and struck out 15. Gillheeney has won or saved the last four games in which he has appeared, working 5 2/3 innings with one run on one hit, one walk and eight strikeouts. Against Virginia on March 8 in the second game of a doubleheader, Gillheeney set down the side in order on 10 pitches in the ninth inning to preserve Clayton Shunick’s three-hit shutout. Gillheeney came back the next afternoon and struck out the only two men he faced on seven pitches to save a 4-2 win in the series finale for Eryk McConnell. Gillheeney allowed a home run to Miami’s Jemile Weeks leading off the top of the eighth inning March 16, but otherwise was perfect over 2 2/3 innings. He got credit for the win when Matt Payne ended the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with a three-run home run.
Inherited Baserunners: Through 17 games, NC State relievers have inherited 38 baserunners and allowed just 13 to score. Kyle Rutter has stranded nine of 11 inherited runners, and Jimmy Gillheeney has stranded six of seven. Joey Cutler has inherited three runners and stranded all three, and Jake Buchanan has inherited two runners and stranded both.
No Decisions For Surkamp: NC State lefthander Eric Surkamp set an unoffical school record as a freshman with seven no-decisions, then matched that a year ago. On March 8 vs. Virginia, Surkamp worked six strong innings, but left with the score tied at 2-2. Surkamp now has 15 no-decisions in 32 career starts, but with the season compacted from 16 weeks to 13 this season, Surkamp probably won’t match his school record this season.
Lineup Juggling: With his team scuffling to score runs, NC State coach Elliott Avent has juggled his lineup and milked his roster in an attempt to find the right offensive combination. Through 17 games, Avent has used the same lineup in consecutive games just once. He has used 10 different hitters in the six spot in the lineup, and eight in the five and seven holes. The Wolfpack has used six hitters in the two spot and five in the eight spot.
The most commonly used hitter at any spot in the starting lineup is Dallas Poulk, who been used 10 times in the leadoff spot. Marcus Jones has batted third nine times and Tommy Foschi has hit ninth eight times.
Game times are 6 p.m. on Friday, 7 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Friday game was moved from 7:15 to 6 o’clock to accommodate Clemson’s 10:15 p.m. start in the NCAA Basketball Tournament on Friday.
All three games will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1) and will be available on-line on gopack.com through Pack Pass.
NC State, 12-5 overall and 3-3 in the conference, is coming off a two-game midweek sweep of Towson. The Wolfpack has been relying on stout pitching and timely hitting from Matt Payne (.382, 1 home run, 12 RBIs), Marcus Jones (.364-2-14), Nick Stanley (.333-0-7), Drew Martin (.333-1-10) and Ryan Pond (.260-3-10).
NC State will send Eric Surkamp (1-2, 4.00) to the mound on Friday. He will be opposed by Ryan Hinson (1-3, 5.40). Saturday’s matchup features the Wolfpack’s Clayton Shunick (2-1, 0.78) vs. Clemson’s D.J. Mitchell (1-2, 4.01). On Sunday, Eryk McConnell (2-0, 5.40) will face the Tigers’ Graham Stoneburne (3-0, 3.86).
Clemson is 11-6 overall and will play Furman on Thursday night to make up a rainout from Wednesday. Off to an uncharacteristically slow start, Clemson ahs dropped ACC series at Wake Forest and at home to Boston College. After a 5-0 start, the Tigers have split their last 12 games.
Wilson Boyd (.400-5-22) leads the Tigers offensively, and gets help from Kyle Parker (.358-5-13), Ben Paulsen (.339-5-12) and Doug Hogan (.303-5-19). Clemson has a 4.98 staff ERA, but has gotten solid bullpen work from Casey Harman (0-1, 1.98 in 13 2/3 innings), Craig Gullickson (1-0, 2.38 in 11 1/3 innings) and Justin Surratt (1-0, 2.84 in 12 2/3 innings. Closer Matt Vaughn has saved five games, but has a 5.23 ERA.
NC State vs. Clemson: Clemson leads the all-time series with NC State by a 99-66-1 margin. In the 11 years as head coach of the Wolfpack, Elliott Avent has a 14-24 mark vs. Clemson, including a 10-5 mark at Doak Field at Dail Park and a 2-1 record at Kinston’s Grainger Stadium (2003). Avent has not fared well at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, dropping 12 of 14 meetings with the Tigers there, including the last seven, and nine of the last 10. NC State last won a series at Clemson in 1996.
Inflicting Payne: Heading into the Clemson series, senior outfielder Matt Payne has hit safely in five of his last six games, batting .450 (9-for-20) with two doubles, a home run, six RBIs, two strikeouts and five walks in those six games.
Clayton Shunick Emerges As An Ace: Junior righthander Clayton Shunick was a valuable and versatile pitcher for NC State a year ago, compiling a 6-3 record and a 6.15 ERA in 21 appearances. Shunick was good in 2007, but he has emerged as the early-season staff ace in 2008. In four appearances, two of them starts, Shunick is 2-1 with a 0.78 ERA. In his one loss, a 2-1 decision to a Miami team that has to rank among the best offensive teams in the country, Shunick allowed two runs on five hits in six innings of work. A week earlier, on March 8, Shunick made his first start of 2008 and was masterful, earning ACC Player of the Week honors after shutting out Virginia on three hits through eight innings.
Prior to the Virginia game, Shunick was pitching out of the bullpen, and was pitching like an ace in relief. In two extended outings out of the pen, Shunick pitched nine innings and allowed just one run, unearned, on seven hits, no walks and nine strikeouts. He held opposing hitters to a .212 batting average and allowed just three baserunners to reach scoring position. For the season, he has pitched 23 innings and allowed just three runs, two of them arned, on 15 hits with three walks and 23 strikeouts.
How Do You Spell Relief?: NC State’s bullpen is 8-2 with a 1.76 ERA and six saves. Wolfpack relievers have inherited 38 baserunners and stranded all but 13. In the last eight games, NC State relievers have allowed just five earned runs in 39 1/3 innings, a 1.14 ERA.
Jimmy Gillheeney Gets Back-To-Back Saves: NC State pitching coach Tom Holliday has expressed doubts that the Wolfpack will have one set closer for the 2008 season. Sophomore lefthander Jimmy Gillheeney is making a case that he can handle the job, however. In six appearances, all in relief, Gillheeney has pitched 11 innings, allowed one run on four hits, won one game and recorded three saves. He has walked three and struck out 15. Gillheeney has won or saved the last four games in which he has appeared, working 5 2/3 innings with one run on one hit, one walk and eight strikeouts. Against Virginia on March 8 in the second game of a doubleheader, Gillheeney set down the side in order on 10 pitches in the ninth inning to preserve Clayton Shunick’s three-hit shutout. Gillheeney came back the next afternoon and struck out the only two men he faced on seven pitches to save a 4-2 win in the series finale for Eryk McConnell. Gillheeney allowed a home run to Miami’s Jemile Weeks leading off the top of the eighth inning March 16, but otherwise was perfect over 2 2/3 innings. He got credit for the win when Matt Payne ended the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with a three-run home run.
Inherited Baserunners: Through 17 games, NC State relievers have inherited 38 baserunners and allowed just 13 to score. Kyle Rutter has stranded nine of 11 inherited runners, and Jimmy Gillheeney has stranded six of seven. Joey Cutler has inherited three runners and stranded all three, and Jake Buchanan has inherited two runners and stranded both.
No Decisions For Surkamp: NC State lefthander Eric Surkamp set an unoffical school record as a freshman with seven no-decisions, then matched that a year ago. On March 8 vs. Virginia, Surkamp worked six strong innings, but left with the score tied at 2-2. Surkamp now has 15 no-decisions in 32 career starts, but with the season compacted from 16 weeks to 13 this season, Surkamp probably won’t match his school record this season.
Lineup Juggling: With his team scuffling to score runs, NC State coach Elliott Avent has juggled his lineup and milked his roster in an attempt to find the right offensive combination. Through 17 games, Avent has used the same lineup in consecutive games just once. He has used 10 different hitters in the six spot in the lineup, and eight in the five and seven holes. The Wolfpack has used six hitters in the two spot and five in the eight spot.
The most commonly used hitter at any spot in the starting lineup is Dallas Poulk, who been used 10 times in the leadoff spot. Marcus Jones has batted third nine times and Tommy Foschi has hit ninth eight times.
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