North Carolina State University Athletics
No. 16 East Carolina Downs Wolfpack, 14-4
4/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. East Carolina’s hot bats burned NC State Wednesday night at sold-out Doak Field at Dail Park.
The No. 16 Pirates, hitting .362 on the season, used a pair of three-run homers in the third inning to jump out to a 7-0 lead, and cruised to a 12-4 victory in front of 2,750 spectators in the midweek, non-conference contest.
Pirate lead-off hitter Trent Whitehead, who had not homered in 110 at-bats this season, began the offensive barrage in the third inning, with a three-run shot off the scoreboard in centerfield. He followed up with a two-run shot to left-center the next inning. The sophomore centerfielder, who leads ECU with a .430 batting average, was 3-for-6 with five RBIs on the night.
Outfielder Devin Harris added a three-run homer five batters later to extend ECU's lead. Third baseman Drew Schieber finished the game with a pair of hits and four RBIs.
The loss ended the Wolfpack’s five-game winning streak over the Pirates, which dated back to 2006.
Joey Cutler (0-2), the second of 10 Wolfpack pitchers on the night, took the loss for the Wolfpack. He relieved starter John Lambert after on hitter in the second inning. Brad Mincey (6-1) notched the win for the Pirates.
NC State (15-13 overall) scored its first two runs in the bottom of the fifth after freshman John Gianis singled to centerfield, extending his season-best hitting streak to 10 consecutive games. After Kyle Wilson advanced Gianis with a ground ball to first, freshman Pratt Maynard doubled off the centerfield wall to drive in Gianis.
Two batters later, junior Drew Poulk scored Maynard with another double off the centerfield wall. Poulk’s double extended his hitting streak to eight games, the Wolfpack’s second longest streak of the season.
The Pack added two more runs in the bottom of the seventh, when third baseman Andrew Ciencin doubled off the centerfield wall, driving in Kyle Wilson and Drew Poulk.
The Pirates (22-5) finished their scoring in the top of the eighth on a two-run error on a high pop up by Harris that landed in front of the mound.
The Wolfpack leaves Thursday for Chestnut Hill, MA, where it will face Boston College in a three-game ACC series. Friday’s opener begins at 2:30 p.m. and is available on WKNC-88.1 FM and worldwide on PackPass, the premium portion of GoPack.com.
The Pack’s next home game is Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. against UNC Wilmington.
