North Carolina State University Athletics
Baseball Slips Past Elon, 3-1
2/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
ELON, N.C. Sometimes it’s not how many hits you get but when you get them. Six Elon pitchers held NC State to just three hits Wednesday, but the Wolfpack made the most of them, getting two with runners in scoring position thanks to walks to defeat the Phoenix 3-1 at Latham Park.
Dallas Poulk sent a one-out flare to center field in the fourth to drive in Pratt Maynard, and Drew Poulk rolled a two-out chopper up the middle in the fifth with runners on second and third and the infield playing him to pull. Drew Martin and Brian Bello scored on the play.
All three Wolfpack runs reached base on walks, and Drew Poulk’s two-run single was the Pack’s last of the day. Elon pitchers retired 12 of the last 14 NC State hitters, including the last 11 in a row, but Jake Buchanan, Grant Sasser and Sam Brown combined to limit Elon to six hits and just one run, on a one-out solo home run by Bennett Davis in the eighth. Davis’s homer snapped a 16-inning scoreless streak by NC State pitchers against Elon, dating back to last season’s 12-0 victory by the Pack at Doak Field at Dail Park.
“We struck out way too many times [13], and we scored the winning run on a grounder up the middle when they were playing Drew Poulk to pull,” Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent said. “We weren’t very good offensively, but we didn’t have to be because the story of the game was Jake Buchanan. He was just outstanding.”
Duplicating his performance from last Friday against Rhode Island, Buchanan retired the first 10 Elon batters before Pat Irvine singled up the middle with one down in the bottom of the fourth. Davis followed with a single through the left side to put runners on first and second with one out, but Buchanan retired five of the next six hitters and cruised into the sixth inning. Cory Harrilchak led off the sixth with a single to center and Irvine followed with a walk, but Buchanan got Davis to fly out to right, struck out Mike Mellilo, and got out of the inning by retiring Chase Austin on a fly ball to deep left.
Sasser came out to begin the seventh and walked Mike Lobacz leading off and gave up a bloop single to Justin Hunt, but struck out Dallas Tarleton before handing the ball to Brown, who fanned pinch-hitter Ryan Adams and got Harrilchak to end the inning. Brown homered in the eighth and Austin reached on an error, but Brown was otherwise flawless.
“Our pitching was just outstanding today,” Avent said. “Jake was excellent, and Sam Brown pitched really well. Grant Sasser gave up a couple of runners, but the one hit was a little flare that wasn’t hit well. We won because of our pitching.”
NC State will return to action this weekend against Hofstra. Game times are set for 3 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday, and 1 p.m. on Sunday, weather permitting.
Dallas Poulk sent a one-out flare to center field in the fourth to drive in Pratt Maynard, and Drew Poulk rolled a two-out chopper up the middle in the fifth with runners on second and third and the infield playing him to pull. Drew Martin and Brian Bello scored on the play.
All three Wolfpack runs reached base on walks, and Drew Poulk’s two-run single was the Pack’s last of the day. Elon pitchers retired 12 of the last 14 NC State hitters, including the last 11 in a row, but Jake Buchanan, Grant Sasser and Sam Brown combined to limit Elon to six hits and just one run, on a one-out solo home run by Bennett Davis in the eighth. Davis’s homer snapped a 16-inning scoreless streak by NC State pitchers against Elon, dating back to last season’s 12-0 victory by the Pack at Doak Field at Dail Park.
“We struck out way too many times [13], and we scored the winning run on a grounder up the middle when they were playing Drew Poulk to pull,” Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent said. “We weren’t very good offensively, but we didn’t have to be because the story of the game was Jake Buchanan. He was just outstanding.”
Duplicating his performance from last Friday against Rhode Island, Buchanan retired the first 10 Elon batters before Pat Irvine singled up the middle with one down in the bottom of the fourth. Davis followed with a single through the left side to put runners on first and second with one out, but Buchanan retired five of the next six hitters and cruised into the sixth inning. Cory Harrilchak led off the sixth with a single to center and Irvine followed with a walk, but Buchanan got Davis to fly out to right, struck out Mike Mellilo, and got out of the inning by retiring Chase Austin on a fly ball to deep left.
Sasser came out to begin the seventh and walked Mike Lobacz leading off and gave up a bloop single to Justin Hunt, but struck out Dallas Tarleton before handing the ball to Brown, who fanned pinch-hitter Ryan Adams and got Harrilchak to end the inning. Brown homered in the eighth and Austin reached on an error, but Brown was otherwise flawless.
“Our pitching was just outstanding today,” Avent said. “Jake was excellent, and Sam Brown pitched really well. Grant Sasser gave up a couple of runners, but the one hit was a little flare that wasn’t hit well. We won because of our pitching.”
NC State will return to action this weekend against Hofstra. Game times are set for 3 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday, and 1 p.m. on Sunday, weather permitting.
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