North Carolina State University Athletics
Baseball Drops The Hammer On La Salle, 32-3
2/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. - This should have been a first-round TKO, but no one bothered to stop the fight. NC State scored 10 runs in the first inning and seven in the second and just kept on scoring en route to a 32-3 rout of La Salle that was not as close as the final score indicated.
The Wolfpack set a new school record for runs in a game, breaking the old mark of 29, set March 29, 1984, against Wake Forest.
NC State batted around in the first two innings of the game, and by the end of three innings, the top four hitters in the NC State lineup had been to bat four times apiece. Dallas Poulk drove in four runs in the first four innings, and Pratt Maynard drove in six in the first two innings.
La Salle starter Kevin Fuqua (0-1) struggled to find the strike zone from the get-go, and was behind in the count throughout his brief time on the mound. Dallas Poulk led off the bottom of the first with a walk and went to second when Andrew Ciencin scorched a 3-2 pitch into the left-field corner for a double. Maynard bounced a high chopper up the middle for a single, driving in Poulk and Ciencin, and Drew Poulk and Danny Canela walked to load the bases, still with none out.
Harold Riggins bounced into a 6-4-3 double play to account for the first two outs of the inning. Maynard scored the third run of the inning on the play and Drew Poulk advanced to third. Terran Senay reached on an infield single to drive in Poulk and make it 4-0. Kyle Wilson’s double to left-center scored Senay from first base, and Wilson scored on Matt Bergquist’s single to center. Dallas Poulk, batting for the second time in the inning, tripled to right to drive in Bergquist, and Ciencin singled to center to score Poulk.
That made it 8-0 and sent Fuqua to the showers after two-thirds of an inning. He allowed seven hits and three walks, and by the time the dust settled at the end of the inning, he was charged with nine runs, all earned.
Eric Van Wyk came in to pitch for the Explorers, but the result was more of the same. The first batter he faced, Maynard, ripped a 2-0 pitch the opposite way for a two-run homer to left, making it 10-0 after one inning.
Van Wyk also had control issues and never got out of the second inning. Canela led off the inning and hit a grounder to Jeff Flax at second base, but Flax’s throw to first was wide and pulled Jon Gyles off the base for an error. Van Wyk then walked four of the next five batters to force in a pair of runs, one unearned, and give NC State a 12-0 lead.
Jerry Dougherty came in to pitch, and Ciencin greeted him with a walk to make it 13-0. Maynard extended his streak of two-RBI at-bats to three with a two-run single to left, and Drew Poulk singled to left to drive in Ciencin and make it 16-0. A wild pitch moved Poulk to second and Maynard to third, and Canela’s sacrifice fly to center field scored Maynard and made it 17-0.
Jake Buchanan worked the first three innings for the Wolfpack. He retired the first four men he faced, and erased a hit by Gyles in the second when Mac Schoch grounded into an inning-ending double play. Brian Meagher ended the shutout with a one-out solo homer to left-center. Working a prearranged pitching split, Buchanan (1-0) got the win with three innings of two-hit baseball. He walked one and struck out one.
Senay made it a 17-run lead again with a leadoff solo homer in the bottom of the third, making it 18-1, and Wilson followed with a double to straightaway center field. Dallas Poulk homered to left-center to give the Wolfpack a 20-1 lead.
Canela led off the fourth inning and pulled a double into the right-field corner. Riggins followed and bounced a single through the left side of the infield to put runners on the corners with none out. A wild pitch moved Riggins to second, and Dougherty hit Wilson with a pitch to load the bases. Bergquist doubled to left-center to drive in Canela and Riggins, moving Wilson to third, and Dallas Poulk drove in Wilson with a groundout to second base. Ciencin’s RBI triple to right-center drove in Bergquist and made it 24-1.
Jim Tarabocchia led off the top of the fifth inning for La Salle with a walk, and consecutive singles by Brendan Norton, Tony Negrin and Flax moved Tarabocchia around the bases 90 feet at a time to drive in a run and trim the lead to 24-2.
The Wolfpack got that run back in the bottom of the fifth on singles by Canela and Senay, and walks to Wilson and pinch-hitter Chris Diaz.
Russell Wilson led off the bottom of the sixth pinch-hitting for Ciencin and was hit by a pitch. Consecutive doubles by John Gianis, Canela, Chris Schaeffer and Senay added three more runs, making it 28-2. Ryan Mathews followed with a three-run homer to left to give the Wolfpack a 31-2 lead and break the school record for runs in a game.
The Explorers picked up their third run in the top of the eighth. Flax led off with an infield single and John Malloy singled through the right side of the infield. With one down, Gyles doubled to center field to score Flax and slice the Wolfpack lead to 28 at 31-3.
The Wolfpack got its final run in the bottom of the eighth on a sacrifice fly from Bill Edwards, driving in Senay, who led off, was hit by a pitch and went from first to third on a single by Diaz.
NC State and La Salle continue their three-game series on Saturday at 2 p.m. Sophomore righthander Cory Mazzoni will start for the Wolfpack and will be opposed by junior lefthander Sean Kennedy for the Explorers. The game will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM and on-line on gopack.com via Pack Pass.
The Wolfpack set a new school record for runs in a game, breaking the old mark of 29, set March 29, 1984, against Wake Forest.
NC State batted around in the first two innings of the game, and by the end of three innings, the top four hitters in the NC State lineup had been to bat four times apiece. Dallas Poulk drove in four runs in the first four innings, and Pratt Maynard drove in six in the first two innings.
La Salle starter Kevin Fuqua (0-1) struggled to find the strike zone from the get-go, and was behind in the count throughout his brief time on the mound. Dallas Poulk led off the bottom of the first with a walk and went to second when Andrew Ciencin scorched a 3-2 pitch into the left-field corner for a double. Maynard bounced a high chopper up the middle for a single, driving in Poulk and Ciencin, and Drew Poulk and Danny Canela walked to load the bases, still with none out.
Harold Riggins bounced into a 6-4-3 double play to account for the first two outs of the inning. Maynard scored the third run of the inning on the play and Drew Poulk advanced to third. Terran Senay reached on an infield single to drive in Poulk and make it 4-0. Kyle Wilson’s double to left-center scored Senay from first base, and Wilson scored on Matt Bergquist’s single to center. Dallas Poulk, batting for the second time in the inning, tripled to right to drive in Bergquist, and Ciencin singled to center to score Poulk.
That made it 8-0 and sent Fuqua to the showers after two-thirds of an inning. He allowed seven hits and three walks, and by the time the dust settled at the end of the inning, he was charged with nine runs, all earned.
Eric Van Wyk came in to pitch for the Explorers, but the result was more of the same. The first batter he faced, Maynard, ripped a 2-0 pitch the opposite way for a two-run homer to left, making it 10-0 after one inning.
Van Wyk also had control issues and never got out of the second inning. Canela led off the inning and hit a grounder to Jeff Flax at second base, but Flax’s throw to first was wide and pulled Jon Gyles off the base for an error. Van Wyk then walked four of the next five batters to force in a pair of runs, one unearned, and give NC State a 12-0 lead.
Jerry Dougherty came in to pitch, and Ciencin greeted him with a walk to make it 13-0. Maynard extended his streak of two-RBI at-bats to three with a two-run single to left, and Drew Poulk singled to left to drive in Ciencin and make it 16-0. A wild pitch moved Poulk to second and Maynard to third, and Canela’s sacrifice fly to center field scored Maynard and made it 17-0.
Jake Buchanan worked the first three innings for the Wolfpack. He retired the first four men he faced, and erased a hit by Gyles in the second when Mac Schoch grounded into an inning-ending double play. Brian Meagher ended the shutout with a one-out solo homer to left-center. Working a prearranged pitching split, Buchanan (1-0) got the win with three innings of two-hit baseball. He walked one and struck out one.
Senay made it a 17-run lead again with a leadoff solo homer in the bottom of the third, making it 18-1, and Wilson followed with a double to straightaway center field. Dallas Poulk homered to left-center to give the Wolfpack a 20-1 lead.
Canela led off the fourth inning and pulled a double into the right-field corner. Riggins followed and bounced a single through the left side of the infield to put runners on the corners with none out. A wild pitch moved Riggins to second, and Dougherty hit Wilson with a pitch to load the bases. Bergquist doubled to left-center to drive in Canela and Riggins, moving Wilson to third, and Dallas Poulk drove in Wilson with a groundout to second base. Ciencin’s RBI triple to right-center drove in Bergquist and made it 24-1.
Jim Tarabocchia led off the top of the fifth inning for La Salle with a walk, and consecutive singles by Brendan Norton, Tony Negrin and Flax moved Tarabocchia around the bases 90 feet at a time to drive in a run and trim the lead to 24-2.
The Wolfpack got that run back in the bottom of the fifth on singles by Canela and Senay, and walks to Wilson and pinch-hitter Chris Diaz.
Russell Wilson led off the bottom of the sixth pinch-hitting for Ciencin and was hit by a pitch. Consecutive doubles by John Gianis, Canela, Chris Schaeffer and Senay added three more runs, making it 28-2. Ryan Mathews followed with a three-run homer to left to give the Wolfpack a 31-2 lead and break the school record for runs in a game.
The Explorers picked up their third run in the top of the eighth. Flax led off with an infield single and John Malloy singled through the right side of the infield. With one down, Gyles doubled to center field to score Flax and slice the Wolfpack lead to 28 at 31-3.
The Wolfpack got its final run in the bottom of the eighth on a sacrifice fly from Bill Edwards, driving in Senay, who led off, was hit by a pitch and went from first to third on a single by Diaz.
NC State and La Salle continue their three-game series on Saturday at 2 p.m. Sophomore righthander Cory Mazzoni will start for the Wolfpack and will be opposed by junior lefthander Sean Kennedy for the Explorers. The game will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM and on-line on gopack.com via Pack Pass.
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