North Carolina State University Athletics
Baseball Falls To No. 2 Miami, 5-2
5/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. For all but two innings, NC State’s pitching shut down second-ranked Miami, holding the Hurricanes to a season-low five hits. The Canes are the best offensive team in the country for a reason, however, and All-America second baseman Jemile Weeks showed why in the third inning, ripping a tape-measure three-run homer to propel Miami to a 5-2 victory over the Wolfpack in game 10 of the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
The Wolfpack fell to 38-20 with the loss. Miami improved to 46-8 and advanced the the tournament’s championship game Sunday against Virginia.
Wolfpack starter Jake Buchanan retired five of the first six men he faced and was one out away from escaping the third inning unscathed, but took the loss to fall to 2-2 on the season. Buchanan allowed a season-high five runs on five hits in 3 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out two, getting All-America first baseman Yonder Alonso looking both times he faced him.
Whiffing Alonso was not enough, however. With Enrique Garcia pitching a gem for the Hurricanes, the Wolfpack pitching staff had no margin for error, and the UM offense is usually a time bomb ticking away. With two down in the third and a runner on first, leadoff hitter Blake Tekotte worked Buchanan for a walk on a full count, and Weeks hit the next pitch down the right-field line and completely out of the ballpark to give the Canes a 3-0 lead.
Miami added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on an RBI double by Dave DiNatale and an RBI single by Jason Hagerty in the fourth, sending Buchanan to the showers. Lefthander Alex Sogard came in to pitch for the Wolfpack, and after walking Tekotte on another full-count pitch, he settled down and restored order, but it was too little, too late. Sogard walked Tekotte, the first batter he faced, then retired the next 11, covering 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Joey Cutler retired the last men of the eighth for the final two outs in the eighth.
Five runs was overkill for Garcia, who worked seven shutout innings and allowed just three hits, walked three and struck out a season-high seven to improve to 6-2. He set down 12 of the first 14 men he faced and 15 of the first 18. The closest NC State came to scoring against Garcia was when Tommy Foschi singled to left field with Pat Ferguson on second base, but left fielder Adan Severino scooped up the ball cleanly and threw a strike to the plate to nail Ferguson for the third out of the inning.
The Wolfpack finally got on the scoreboard in the eighth, nicking up reliever Kyle Bellamy with an RBI single off the bat of Jeremy Synan and a bases-loaded walk by Marcus Jones to force in a run. Miami coach yanked Bellamy after the walk to Jones, and Carlos Gutierrez fanned Nick Stanley to squelch the threat. Gutierrez worked the final 1 1/3 innings to pick up his 11th save of the season.
NC State will learn its fate in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday and Monday. The Wolfpack will learn whether it will host a regional at 7 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2. The Pack will learn its bracket on Monday at 12:30, this time on ESPN. All of NC State’s NCAA Tournament games will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1) and can be heard on the internet at gopack.com through Pack Pass. Check gopack.com for the schedule of games.
The Wolfpack fell to 38-20 with the loss. Miami improved to 46-8 and advanced the the tournament’s championship game Sunday against Virginia.
Wolfpack starter Jake Buchanan retired five of the first six men he faced and was one out away from escaping the third inning unscathed, but took the loss to fall to 2-2 on the season. Buchanan allowed a season-high five runs on five hits in 3 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out two, getting All-America first baseman Yonder Alonso looking both times he faced him.
Whiffing Alonso was not enough, however. With Enrique Garcia pitching a gem for the Hurricanes, the Wolfpack pitching staff had no margin for error, and the UM offense is usually a time bomb ticking away. With two down in the third and a runner on first, leadoff hitter Blake Tekotte worked Buchanan for a walk on a full count, and Weeks hit the next pitch down the right-field line and completely out of the ballpark to give the Canes a 3-0 lead.
Miami added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on an RBI double by Dave DiNatale and an RBI single by Jason Hagerty in the fourth, sending Buchanan to the showers. Lefthander Alex Sogard came in to pitch for the Wolfpack, and after walking Tekotte on another full-count pitch, he settled down and restored order, but it was too little, too late. Sogard walked Tekotte, the first batter he faced, then retired the next 11, covering 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Joey Cutler retired the last men of the eighth for the final two outs in the eighth.
Five runs was overkill for Garcia, who worked seven shutout innings and allowed just three hits, walked three and struck out a season-high seven to improve to 6-2. He set down 12 of the first 14 men he faced and 15 of the first 18. The closest NC State came to scoring against Garcia was when Tommy Foschi singled to left field with Pat Ferguson on second base, but left fielder Adan Severino scooped up the ball cleanly and threw a strike to the plate to nail Ferguson for the third out of the inning.
The Wolfpack finally got on the scoreboard in the eighth, nicking up reliever Kyle Bellamy with an RBI single off the bat of Jeremy Synan and a bases-loaded walk by Marcus Jones to force in a run. Miami coach yanked Bellamy after the walk to Jones, and Carlos Gutierrez fanned Nick Stanley to squelch the threat. Gutierrez worked the final 1 1/3 innings to pick up his 11th save of the season.
NC State will learn its fate in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday and Monday. The Wolfpack will learn whether it will host a regional at 7 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2. The Pack will learn its bracket on Monday at 12:30, this time on ESPN. All of NC State’s NCAA Tournament games will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1) and can be heard on the internet at gopack.com through Pack Pass. Check gopack.com for the schedule of games.
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