North Carolina State University Athletics
Baseball Drops Finale To Duke In 10, 8-7
4/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
DURHAM, N.C. - Nate Freiman’s two-out infield single capped a three-run rally in the bottom of the 10th inning Sunday and lifted the Blue Devils past NC State 8-7 in the final game of a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series at Jack Coombs Field.
The Wolfpack, which led 5-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning and 7-5 heading into the bottom of the 10th, dropped the three-game series to the Blue Devils, three games to two. By losing the series, NC State falls to 18-17 overall, 7-11 in the ACC and two games behind the eighth-place Blue Devils in the race to qualify for the ACC Tournament in May. Duke improved to 24-13 and 9-9.
Starting pitchers John Lambert of NC State and Eric Pfisterer of Duke both threw goose eggs through the first two innings, but the Wolfpack jumped to a two-run lead in the top of the third. Chris Schaeffer and Dallas Poulk led off with singles to left field, and Drew Martin bunted the runners to second and third. John Gianis drove them home with a one-out single up the middle.
The Wolfpack jumped to a 5-0 lead with a three-spot in the top of the fifth. Pfisterer loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a hit batter, and Pratt Maynard made him pay with an opposite-field double into the left-field corner, driving in all three runners.
Lambert carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning and a shutout into the fifth, but Duke broke up the shutout bid with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth. Gabriel Saade stroked a one-out solo homer to left to get the Blue Devils on the scoreboard. Ryan McCurdy worked Lambert for a walk, and Will Piwnica-Worms was safe on an error by third baseman Drew Martin to put runners on first and second with one away. Matt Williams singled to left to drive in McCurdy, but Lambert escaped further damage by retiring Freiman and Jeremy Gould, the three and four hitters in the Duke lineup, on shallow fly balls.
Alex Hassan led off the bottom of the sixth with a single past first base and into right field. Lambert got Joe Pedivillano to hit grounder to second base, but Andrew Ciencin’s flip to second base to force the lead runner was wild for an error and Duke wound up with runners on first and third with one out. Sam Brown came in to pitch for Lambert, and McCurdy cut the lead to 5-3 with a sacrifice fly. Piwnika-Worms grounded out to end the inning.
Duke tied the game in the bottom of the seventh, doing all the damage after the first two batters were retired. After setting down Matt Williams and Freiman on ground balls, Brown hit Gould and Hassan with pitches and walked Pedivillano to load the bases. Kyle Rutter was summoned from the bullpen and Jake Lemmerman hit a two-run single to left to tie the game at 5-5.
Hassan came in to pitch for Duke in the sixth and Kyle Rutter took the mound for the Wolfpack in the seventh, and the two of them kept the offenses at bay through the rest of regulation play. Hassan retired the last 12 Wolfpack hitters through the ninth inning, and Rutter had set down seven straight Duke hitters heading into the 10th. Both started the 10th. Neither finished it.
Martin led off the top of the 10th for NC State and singled to the hole between shortstop and third base. Ciencin was hit by a pitch with one down to put runners on first and second. Michael Ness came in to pitch for Duke, and Drew Poulk hit a grounder that just eluded shortstop Jake Lemmerman, scoring Martin and sending Ciencin to third. Ness then got his spikes tangled while pitching to Maynard, fell off the mound and was charged with a balk, scoring Ciencin and giving the Pack a 7-5 lead.
Pinch-hitter Tim Sherlock led off the bottom of the 10th for Duke and doubled to right-center. Lemmerman walked to put runners on first and second, and Saade rolled a single through the left side of the infield to drive in Sherlock and cut the lead to one. That left runners still on first and second with none away, and McCurdy tried to bunt the runners to second and third. Instead, he bunted straight back to Rutter, who nailed the lead runner at third base. Piwnica-Worms flied to center for the second out of the inning, but Williams singled past Ciencin to drive in Saade with the tying run.
Joey Cutler came in for Rutter, and Freiman ended it with a sharp grounder up the middle the shortstop Dallas Poulk was able to reach but was unable to glove for an infield single. Pinch-runner Tim Luciano scored on the play.
Ness, who recorded the final two out of the 10th inning, got credit for the win and improved to 2-0. He allowed one hit and struck out one. Rutter took the loss for NC State. He finished with three runs on four hits in three innings of work. He walked one and did not record a strikeout.
NC State will return to action Tuesday against Wofford at Doak Field at Dail Park. Game time is 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1) and on the internet at gopack.com through the Pack Pass package.
The Wolfpack, which led 5-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning and 7-5 heading into the bottom of the 10th, dropped the three-game series to the Blue Devils, three games to two. By losing the series, NC State falls to 18-17 overall, 7-11 in the ACC and two games behind the eighth-place Blue Devils in the race to qualify for the ACC Tournament in May. Duke improved to 24-13 and 9-9.
Starting pitchers John Lambert of NC State and Eric Pfisterer of Duke both threw goose eggs through the first two innings, but the Wolfpack jumped to a two-run lead in the top of the third. Chris Schaeffer and Dallas Poulk led off with singles to left field, and Drew Martin bunted the runners to second and third. John Gianis drove them home with a one-out single up the middle.
The Wolfpack jumped to a 5-0 lead with a three-spot in the top of the fifth. Pfisterer loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a hit batter, and Pratt Maynard made him pay with an opposite-field double into the left-field corner, driving in all three runners.
Lambert carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning and a shutout into the fifth, but Duke broke up the shutout bid with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth. Gabriel Saade stroked a one-out solo homer to left to get the Blue Devils on the scoreboard. Ryan McCurdy worked Lambert for a walk, and Will Piwnica-Worms was safe on an error by third baseman Drew Martin to put runners on first and second with one away. Matt Williams singled to left to drive in McCurdy, but Lambert escaped further damage by retiring Freiman and Jeremy Gould, the three and four hitters in the Duke lineup, on shallow fly balls.
Alex Hassan led off the bottom of the sixth with a single past first base and into right field. Lambert got Joe Pedivillano to hit grounder to second base, but Andrew Ciencin’s flip to second base to force the lead runner was wild for an error and Duke wound up with runners on first and third with one out. Sam Brown came in to pitch for Lambert, and McCurdy cut the lead to 5-3 with a sacrifice fly. Piwnika-Worms grounded out to end the inning.
Duke tied the game in the bottom of the seventh, doing all the damage after the first two batters were retired. After setting down Matt Williams and Freiman on ground balls, Brown hit Gould and Hassan with pitches and walked Pedivillano to load the bases. Kyle Rutter was summoned from the bullpen and Jake Lemmerman hit a two-run single to left to tie the game at 5-5.
Hassan came in to pitch for Duke in the sixth and Kyle Rutter took the mound for the Wolfpack in the seventh, and the two of them kept the offenses at bay through the rest of regulation play. Hassan retired the last 12 Wolfpack hitters through the ninth inning, and Rutter had set down seven straight Duke hitters heading into the 10th. Both started the 10th. Neither finished it.
Martin led off the top of the 10th for NC State and singled to the hole between shortstop and third base. Ciencin was hit by a pitch with one down to put runners on first and second. Michael Ness came in to pitch for Duke, and Drew Poulk hit a grounder that just eluded shortstop Jake Lemmerman, scoring Martin and sending Ciencin to third. Ness then got his spikes tangled while pitching to Maynard, fell off the mound and was charged with a balk, scoring Ciencin and giving the Pack a 7-5 lead.
Pinch-hitter Tim Sherlock led off the bottom of the 10th for Duke and doubled to right-center. Lemmerman walked to put runners on first and second, and Saade rolled a single through the left side of the infield to drive in Sherlock and cut the lead to one. That left runners still on first and second with none away, and McCurdy tried to bunt the runners to second and third. Instead, he bunted straight back to Rutter, who nailed the lead runner at third base. Piwnica-Worms flied to center for the second out of the inning, but Williams singled past Ciencin to drive in Saade with the tying run.
Joey Cutler came in for Rutter, and Freiman ended it with a sharp grounder up the middle the shortstop Dallas Poulk was able to reach but was unable to glove for an infield single. Pinch-runner Tim Luciano scored on the play.
Ness, who recorded the final two out of the 10th inning, got credit for the win and improved to 2-0. He allowed one hit and struck out one. Rutter took the loss for NC State. He finished with three runs on four hits in three innings of work. He walked one and did not record a strikeout.
NC State will return to action Tuesday against Wofford at Doak Field at Dail Park. Game time is 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1) and on the internet at gopack.com through the Pack Pass package.
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