North Carolina State University Athletics
Tuesday Game vs. Central Changed To A Home Game
3/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. - Due to the rains of the last four days, both of NC State's midweek games this week will be played at home. The Wolfpack's scheduled game vs. North Carolina Central in Durham on Tuesday has been moved to Doak Field at Dail Park due to wet field conditions at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, where the Eagles play the 2009 home games. With the DBAP unavailable, the only option was to move the game to Raleigh. First pitch will be at 6:30.
NC State's game Wednesday vs. Elon will be at the Doak.
No matter where this week's games are played, NC State will be looking to rebound after dropping two of three games to Maryland over the weekend. The Wolfpack and Terrapins spent most of the weekend watching it rain, but after cancelling Friday’s game, the two teams somehow managed to play the entire three-game series Saturday and Sunday. NC State won the opener 8-3 behind Jimmy Gillheeney, Devon Cartwright and Pratt Maynard. Gillheeney improved to 3-0 with 8 1/3 innings of seven-hit baseball. He allowed three hits, walked one and struck out six. Cartwright doubled, tripled and drove in two runs, while Maynard singled and homered to drive in three.
Maryland came back on Sunday to take both ends of a doubleheader, 3-1 and 9-3. Matt Fullerton and Dan Gentzler won a tight pitching duel in the opener against NC State’s Jake Buchanan, who took a shutout into the seventh inning before running into trouble. In the nightcap, Eric Potter and three relievers held the Pack to three runs on seven hits while the Terps took advantage of five walks and a pair of errors in scoring nine runs on just five hits.
The doubleheader loss dropped the Wolfpack to 9-8 overall and 1-5 in the ACC. The 1-5 start to the conference season is uncommmon for the Wolfpack but not without precedent. NC State has opened ACC play 1-5 three times since 1976, including twice in the last 10 years. The 1999 Wolfpack began 1-5 but recovered to finish 11-13 in ACC play and advance to the NCAA Auburn Regional. The 1976 and 2002 teams failed to make the postseason, although there were no at-large NCAA bids in 1976. That team rallied to finish a break-even 6-6 in league play, 20-12 overall.
North Carolina Central brings a 3-6 record into Tuesday’s game. The Eagles have won three of thelr last five games. Outfielder Akeem Hood leads Central offensively. He is batting .424 with a double, three triples and five RBIs. Outfielder Edward Pegues is hitting .471 with a double, a home run and two RBIs in six games.
Righthander Jeff Citero (1-1, 6.00) will start for North Carolina Central. In his last outing, March 7 vs. Savannah State, Citero went six innings and struck out three in the Eagles first ever Division I win. NC State’s pitching plans for Tuesday are still TBA.
The Wolfpack has struggled offensively while falling to 9-8. NC State is batting .266 overall, but just .217 (44-for-203) in conference play while scoring 4.17 runs per game.
Freshman first baseman Harold Riggins leads the Wolfpack with a .385 average (15-for-39) with four doubles, a home run and 11 RBIs. He is hitting .393 in the last 10 games. Sophomore catcher Chris Schaeffer (.311) and Cartwright (.310-2-12) also are batting above .300 for the season. Cartwright is batting .323 (10-for-31) in the last 10 games with two doubles, two home runs and 10 RBIs.
Infielder Kyle Wilson has put together a five-game hitting streak, batting .389 (7-for-18) during the streak. Over the same span, Cartwright is at .375 (6-for-16) with a double, triple, home run and five RBIs. Schaeffer is hitting .357 (4-for-15) over the last five games, and Riggins is at .313 (5-for-16) with two doubles, a homer and six RBIs.
The Wolfpack’s pitching has been solid all season, including conference play. The Wolfpack has a 4.12 ERA in ACC games, 3.54 overall. Gillheeney is 3-0 with a 2.54 ERA, and Buchanan is rapidly becoming this year’s tough-luck starter, posting a 1-2 record despite a 3.08 ERA. The starting pitchers are 5-3 with a 3.28 ERA, while the bullpen is 4-5 with a 3.80 ERA and a save.
NC State faced Elon back on February 25 at Elon and handed the Phoenx a 3-1 defeat behind Buchanan. Elon is 8-5 following a 7-1 loss to Davidson on Friday. The Phoenix has won three of its last four games and four of its last six. Cory Harrilchak is hitting .407 (24-for-59) with six doubles, three home runs and 12 RBIs. Justin Hilt, the team’s top run producer, checks in at .364 (20-for-55) with five doubles, four homers and 15 RBIs.
Elon is hitting .320 as a team, while the pitching staff sports 6.23 ERA.
