North Carolina State University Athletics
Baseball Takes a Day Off After 27-Inning Marathon
3/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MIAMI, Fla. The day after NC State baseball’s longest day was a day of rest. What else is there to do after playing nearly eight hours of baseball, 27 innings’ worth, in one day?
“We let them sleep in this morning,” Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent said. “We wanted them to sleep in. They need their rest after a day like yesterday.”
After a fairly routine nine-inning 15-0 blowout of Villanova in the first game of Wednesday’s split-opponent doubleheader, NC State and Akron embarked on a pitchers’ duel that went on, and on, and on, and on, and, well, you get the idea.
The Wolfpack held a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but the Zips tied the game on a sharp single to right by pinch-hitter John Turk to send the game into extra innings. The two teams then went scoreless for a six-inning stretch that saw both pitching staffs dominate.
From the 10th through the 15th innings, NC State pitchers allowed just two baserunners and struck out 11. Beginning in the 13th inning, Wolfpack pitchers struck out eight consecutive Zips batters, and nine of 11.
Akron pitchers, meanwhile, set down 14 of 15 Wolfpck hitters from the 12th through the 16th. When NC State finally did break through and score in the 16th, it came on a throwing error by catcher Brandon White on a strikeout that should have ended the inning. Akron tied the game in the bottom of the inning on a solo home run by Ryan Frazee, who was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts (three different pitchers) to that point.
NC State finally won the game with another unearned run in the top of the 18th, again thanks to a throwing error by White, this one on a steal of third base by Kyle Wilson. Alex Sogard, who got the win with 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief, set down the side in order in the bottom of the inning.
NC State used 11 pitchers, two shy of matching the NCAA record for pitching appearances in a single game. Wolfpack hurlers struck out 31 batters, a new NCAA Division I record. The two teams combined to strike out 51, also a new NCAA Division I record.
“Our pitchers were just outstanding,” Avent said. “We used 11 pitchers and they all threw well.”
Wolfpack catcher Chris Schaeffer, who caught 25 of the 27 innings in the doubleheader and drove in five runs vs. Villanova, went the distance against the Zips and recorded 27 putouts, two shy of the NCAA record. He would have gotten the record except that the third strike on four of NC State’s 31 strikeouts were in the dirt, forcing Schaeffer to throw the batter out at first base.
The heavy workload was forced on Schaeffer when the Pack’s regular backup catcher, Pratt Maynard, was scratched from the starting lineup in both games because of an intestinal virus. Maynard ad recovered enough by the second game to pinch-hit and went 0-for-4 as the designated hitter.
Whether or not Maynard could have gone behind the plate and caught was a moot point. Given the game’s length, the Wolfpack coaches were unwilling to risk lifting Schaeffer from the game and leave themselves with only one proven catcher.
“Chris Schaeffer had a great game hitting in the first game, then had a great game catching in the second game,” Avent said. “Not having Maynard available to catch forced us to leave Schaeffer in there that second game. Ideally you never want your catcher to catch that many innings, but we really didn’t have a choice. And he was fantastic.”
The Wolfpack will go through a light practice Thursday night at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field in preparation for the opening game of this weekend’s ACC series with the Miami Hurricanes, but for the most part, the Wolfpack players, coaches and support staff expected to take it easy.
In particular the Wolfpack pitching staff will probably use Thursday to recover. The Pack used 14 different pitchers in the doubleheader sweep of Villanova and Akron, although most were limited to an inning or two. Relievers Kyle Rutter, used in both games, and Joey Cutler, who threw four innings and 51 pitches, were the exceptions, and Rutter pitched 2 2/3 innings and 38 pitches in his two stints.
Junior lefty Jimmy Gillheeney (2-0, 2.08) did not pitch in the doubleheader and will start Friday against the Hurricanes, who will counter with sophomore lefthander Chris Hernandez (2-0, 4.09).
Sophomore righthander Jake Buchanan (1-0, 1.50), who tossed one inning (14 pitches) against Villanova, will start Saturday for the Pack. Miami will send junior righthander David Gutierrez (1-0, 0.75) to the mound.
Sunday’s starter is TBD for NC State. Wednesday’s games only made that decision that much more complicated. Miami will start sophomore lefthander Iden Nazario (2-0, 4.09).
Friday’s and Saturday’s games will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1). Sunday’s game will be live on WKNC barring a conflict with the NC State women’s basketball team at the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament. All three games will be broadcast on-line at gopack.com through the Pack Pass package.
“We let them sleep in this morning,” Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent said. “We wanted them to sleep in. They need their rest after a day like yesterday.”
After a fairly routine nine-inning 15-0 blowout of Villanova in the first game of Wednesday’s split-opponent doubleheader, NC State and Akron embarked on a pitchers’ duel that went on, and on, and on, and on, and, well, you get the idea.
The Wolfpack held a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but the Zips tied the game on a sharp single to right by pinch-hitter John Turk to send the game into extra innings. The two teams then went scoreless for a six-inning stretch that saw both pitching staffs dominate.
From the 10th through the 15th innings, NC State pitchers allowed just two baserunners and struck out 11. Beginning in the 13th inning, Wolfpack pitchers struck out eight consecutive Zips batters, and nine of 11.
Akron pitchers, meanwhile, set down 14 of 15 Wolfpck hitters from the 12th through the 16th. When NC State finally did break through and score in the 16th, it came on a throwing error by catcher Brandon White on a strikeout that should have ended the inning. Akron tied the game in the bottom of the inning on a solo home run by Ryan Frazee, who was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts (three different pitchers) to that point.
NC State finally won the game with another unearned run in the top of the 18th, again thanks to a throwing error by White, this one on a steal of third base by Kyle Wilson. Alex Sogard, who got the win with 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief, set down the side in order in the bottom of the inning.
NC State used 11 pitchers, two shy of matching the NCAA record for pitching appearances in a single game. Wolfpack hurlers struck out 31 batters, a new NCAA Division I record. The two teams combined to strike out 51, also a new NCAA Division I record.
“Our pitchers were just outstanding,” Avent said. “We used 11 pitchers and they all threw well.”
Wolfpack catcher Chris Schaeffer, who caught 25 of the 27 innings in the doubleheader and drove in five runs vs. Villanova, went the distance against the Zips and recorded 27 putouts, two shy of the NCAA record. He would have gotten the record except that the third strike on four of NC State’s 31 strikeouts were in the dirt, forcing Schaeffer to throw the batter out at first base.
The heavy workload was forced on Schaeffer when the Pack’s regular backup catcher, Pratt Maynard, was scratched from the starting lineup in both games because of an intestinal virus. Maynard ad recovered enough by the second game to pinch-hit and went 0-for-4 as the designated hitter.
Whether or not Maynard could have gone behind the plate and caught was a moot point. Given the game’s length, the Wolfpack coaches were unwilling to risk lifting Schaeffer from the game and leave themselves with only one proven catcher.
“Chris Schaeffer had a great game hitting in the first game, then had a great game catching in the second game,” Avent said. “Not having Maynard available to catch forced us to leave Schaeffer in there that second game. Ideally you never want your catcher to catch that many innings, but we really didn’t have a choice. And he was fantastic.”
The Wolfpack will go through a light practice Thursday night at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field in preparation for the opening game of this weekend’s ACC series with the Miami Hurricanes, but for the most part, the Wolfpack players, coaches and support staff expected to take it easy.
In particular the Wolfpack pitching staff will probably use Thursday to recover. The Pack used 14 different pitchers in the doubleheader sweep of Villanova and Akron, although most were limited to an inning or two. Relievers Kyle Rutter, used in both games, and Joey Cutler, who threw four innings and 51 pitches, were the exceptions, and Rutter pitched 2 2/3 innings and 38 pitches in his two stints.
Junior lefty Jimmy Gillheeney (2-0, 2.08) did not pitch in the doubleheader and will start Friday against the Hurricanes, who will counter with sophomore lefthander Chris Hernandez (2-0, 4.09).
Sophomore righthander Jake Buchanan (1-0, 1.50), who tossed one inning (14 pitches) against Villanova, will start Saturday for the Pack. Miami will send junior righthander David Gutierrez (1-0, 0.75) to the mound.
Sunday’s starter is TBD for NC State. Wednesday’s games only made that decision that much more complicated. Miami will start sophomore lefthander Iden Nazario (2-0, 4.09).
Friday’s and Saturday’s games will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1). Sunday’s game will be live on WKNC barring a conflict with the NC State women’s basketball team at the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament. All three games will be broadcast on-line at gopack.com through the Pack Pass package.
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