North Carolina State University Athletics
Baseball's Killer P's Down Duke 12-7
4/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. Dallas Poulk, Ryan Pond and Matt Payne, the Killer P’s who bat 1-2-3 for NC State, combined for nine hits and 10 RBIs on Sunday, and relievers Joey Cutler and Jimmy Gillheeney combined for 4 2/3 innings of shutout relief as the Wolfpack defeated Duke 12-7 at Doak Field at Dail Park.
With the victory, NC State took the three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series from the Blue Devils, two games to one, and improved to 23-11 overall and 10-7 in the ACC. Duke dropped to 23-12 overall and 5-12 in the conference.
For two innings, the Wolfpack appeared on the verge of running Duke right out of the ballpark. A solo homer by Poulk leading off the game and a two-run shot by Payne two batters later staked Wolfpack starter Eryk McConnell to a 3-0 lead. Duke got two of those runs back in the top of the second on an error, a walk, an RBI single by Ryan McCoury and a run-scoring groundout by Jake Lemmerman.
The inning could have been even bigger for the Blue Devils, but the Wolfpack caught the biggest break of the game when Michael Ghizzoni appeared to execute a perfect hit-and-run single through the vacated hole on the left side of the infield. With runners on first and third at the time, the tying run should have scored easily. Except that the ball hit Lemmerman on the foot. Ghizzoni got credit for a base hit, but Lemmerman was out for the second out of the inning, and the ball was dead, meaning the potential tying run had to stay at third base. McConnell stranded the runner at third when he picked Ghizzoni off first base on a stolen-base attempt for the final out of the inning.
The Wolfpack offense immediately took advantage of the baserunning blunder, erupting for six runs in the bottom of the second inning. Nick Stanley led it off with a triple, and Duke starter Grant Monroe (4-3) walked the next three batters to force in a run. Kyle Butler relieved for Duke, but Ryan Pond drove a booming triple into the gap in right-center field, clearing the bases. Payne, who went 4-for-5 for the day, singled up the middle to drive in Pond. Payne went to third on Marcus Jones’s double down the left-field line, then scored on Pat Ferguson’s sacrifice fly to right field.
A 9-2 lead with a former All-American like McConnell on the mound should be money in the bank, but the bank forclosed on McConnell on Sunday. Duke, which never stopped playing hard in an 8-1 loss on Saturday, stayed on the attack on offense. Gabriel Saade singled in a pair of runs in the third to cut the lead to 9-4. Payne singled in a run for the Wolfpack in the bottom of the third to make it 10-4, but Matt Williams and Nate Frieman stroked back-to-back RBI singles in the fourth to make it 10-6. Lemmerman’s RBI single in the top of the fifth made it 10-7.
That was it for McConnell, who was charged with seven runs, six of them earned, on 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings. Joey Cutler (4-0) came in to pitch for the Wolfpack and Duke’s offense was not heard from again. Cutler worked 2 2/3 shutout innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out four.
The Wolfpack tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fifth on RBI singles by Pond and Payne, giving Cutler a 12-7 margin. Jimmy Gillheeney worked the eighth and ninth and also kept the Blue Devils off the scoreboard. Gillheeney allowed a pair of hits and a walk, while striking out one.
NC State will return to action on Tuesday night at Doak Field at Dail Park with a big in-state rivalry game against East Carolina. Game time is 6:30. Tickets are available at the NC State ticket office for Wolfpack Club members and for NC State season-ticket holders who wish to purchase additional tickets.
The game will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1) and on the internet at gopack.com through the Pack Pass package.
With the victory, NC State took the three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series from the Blue Devils, two games to one, and improved to 23-11 overall and 10-7 in the ACC. Duke dropped to 23-12 overall and 5-12 in the conference.
For two innings, the Wolfpack appeared on the verge of running Duke right out of the ballpark. A solo homer by Poulk leading off the game and a two-run shot by Payne two batters later staked Wolfpack starter Eryk McConnell to a 3-0 lead. Duke got two of those runs back in the top of the second on an error, a walk, an RBI single by Ryan McCoury and a run-scoring groundout by Jake Lemmerman.
The inning could have been even bigger for the Blue Devils, but the Wolfpack caught the biggest break of the game when Michael Ghizzoni appeared to execute a perfect hit-and-run single through the vacated hole on the left side of the infield. With runners on first and third at the time, the tying run should have scored easily. Except that the ball hit Lemmerman on the foot. Ghizzoni got credit for a base hit, but Lemmerman was out for the second out of the inning, and the ball was dead, meaning the potential tying run had to stay at third base. McConnell stranded the runner at third when he picked Ghizzoni off first base on a stolen-base attempt for the final out of the inning.
The Wolfpack offense immediately took advantage of the baserunning blunder, erupting for six runs in the bottom of the second inning. Nick Stanley led it off with a triple, and Duke starter Grant Monroe (4-3) walked the next three batters to force in a run. Kyle Butler relieved for Duke, but Ryan Pond drove a booming triple into the gap in right-center field, clearing the bases. Payne, who went 4-for-5 for the day, singled up the middle to drive in Pond. Payne went to third on Marcus Jones’s double down the left-field line, then scored on Pat Ferguson’s sacrifice fly to right field.
A 9-2 lead with a former All-American like McConnell on the mound should be money in the bank, but the bank forclosed on McConnell on Sunday. Duke, which never stopped playing hard in an 8-1 loss on Saturday, stayed on the attack on offense. Gabriel Saade singled in a pair of runs in the third to cut the lead to 9-4. Payne singled in a run for the Wolfpack in the bottom of the third to make it 10-4, but Matt Williams and Nate Frieman stroked back-to-back RBI singles in the fourth to make it 10-6. Lemmerman’s RBI single in the top of the fifth made it 10-7.
That was it for McConnell, who was charged with seven runs, six of them earned, on 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings. Joey Cutler (4-0) came in to pitch for the Wolfpack and Duke’s offense was not heard from again. Cutler worked 2 2/3 shutout innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out four.
The Wolfpack tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fifth on RBI singles by Pond and Payne, giving Cutler a 12-7 margin. Jimmy Gillheeney worked the eighth and ninth and also kept the Blue Devils off the scoreboard. Gillheeney allowed a pair of hits and a walk, while striking out one.
NC State will return to action on Tuesday night at Doak Field at Dail Park with a big in-state rivalry game against East Carolina. Game time is 6:30. Tickets are available at the NC State ticket office for Wolfpack Club members and for NC State season-ticket holders who wish to purchase additional tickets.
The game will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1) and on the internet at gopack.com through the Pack Pass package.
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