North Carolina State University Athletics
Shunick Dominates; Baseball Throttles Clemson, 10-0
5/23/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. With even average run support this season, Clayton Shunick would have been an easy pick for Atlantic Coast Conference pitcher of the year. On Thursday against Clemson, Shunick got plenty of support and pitched like an All-American as NC State defeated the Tigers 10-0 in the second round of the ACC Tournament, a game shortened to seven innings by the tournament’s 10-run mercy rule.
The victory keeps alive NC State’s championship hopes, although the Wolfpack will need help to advance to Sunday’s championship game. NC State must defeat top-seeded Miami Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m., but also must have Clemson defeat Georgia Tech in the 10 a.m. game. Without Clemson’s help, Miami would win a three-way tiebreaker with NC State and Georgia Tech.
The win stopped a three-game losing streak for NC State, which improved to 38-19 with the win and helped improve its case for possibly hosting an NCAA regional next week, especially after Wednesday’s disappointing loss to Georgia Tech.
“Being back on the baseball field feels good after last night because last night was obviously hard for our whole ballclub,” NC State coach Elliott Avent said. “We had to live with that all night and all day today. So it was a long, long afternoon and a long day today. It was nice to get back out on the field, and when you have Clayton Shunick going, that makes you feel pretty good. We had great at-bats tonight, and hopefully they can continue that through the rest of the season.”
Shunick’s teammates gave him plenty of support in this game. Every batter in the NC State lineup had at least one hit. Five had RBIs, led by Pat Ferguson with three, and Chris Schaeffer and Tommy Foschi with two apiece. The Pack jumped on Clemson starter Graham Stoneburner for six runs on six hits in two-thirds of an inning. The same Stoneburner who tossed a two-hit shutout against the Wolfpack on March 23 was gone after allowing one-out singles to Matt Payne and Ryan Pond, a run-scoring force play from Ferguson, a run scoring single to Marcus Jones, a two-run single to Schaeffer and a two-run home run to Foschi.
The bullpen for the Tigers also struggled early. Craig Gullickson allowed a pair of runs n the second inning on an RBI single by Ferguson and a sacrifice fly by Jones. Justin Sarratt got out of the second inning and quieted the Wolfpack bats after allowing an RBI single to Dallas Poulk in the top of the third. The Pack’s final run came on a sac fly from Ferguson in the top of the sixth, also off Surratt, who allowed just two runs in five innings of work.
Given the big early cushion, Shunick completely dominated the Tigers, throwing a two-hit shutout, striking out eight without allowing a walk. Shunick set down the first 13 Clemson batters before Doug Hogan grounded a 2-2 pitch through the right side for a one-out single. Wilson Boyd followed with a double into the right-field corner to put runners on second and third, but Shunick recovered, retiring Matt Sanders on a soft liner to shortstop and striking out John Hinson to get out of the inning. He went through the Tigers 1-2-3 in the sixth, then hit Kyle Parker leading off the seventh before putting away Ben Paulsen on a fly ball to center field on a circus catch by Marcus Jones and striking out Hogan and Boyd to end the game.
With the shutout, Shunick improved to 7-5 with a 2.12 ERA. He has allowed 69 hits, walked 21 and struck out 100 in 89 1/3 innings, limiting opposing batters to a .207 average. Aside from the won-lost record, those numbers are easily the best in the ACC, and lack of run support is all that stands between Shunick and an 11-1 record. His first four losses were by scores of 2-1, 3-2, 4-1 and 5-2. He has not allowed more than four runs in a game all season, and has pitched into the sixth inning of every start but one.
NC State will return to action in the ACC Tournament on Saturday with a 2 p.m. game against top-seeded Miami. The game will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1) and can be heard on the internet at gopack.com through Pack Pass.
