North Carolina State University Athletics
Baseball Drops Series Finale To Miami 4-0
3/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. – Eric Erickson and two relievers combined to scatter eight hits, and 15th-ranked Miami scratched out four runs Sunday to defeat NC State 4-0 at Doak Field at Dail Park. The Hurricanes won the three-game ACC series with the Wolfpack two games to one.
Miami improved to 16-7 overall and 7-2 in the ACC. NC State fell to 15-9 and 3-6.
Erickson (2-1) allowed seven hits and struck out four in 5 2/3 innings. Relievers E.J. Encincosa and Eric Whaley worked the final 3 1/3 innings and allowed just one hit between them. Wolfpack starter Alex Sogard (0-1) took the loss after yielding one run on four hits in three innings. Four NC State relievers combined to allow three runs, two earned, on five hits over the final three innings, walking one and striking out four.
Sogard struggled with his command early, walking Jake DeVoss and Stephen Perez to start the game. Scott Lawton sacrificed the runners to second and third, and Yasmani Grandal, who had a huge series for Miami, walked to load the bases with one away. Harold Martinez hit a grounder into the hole wide of second base that scored DeVoss and gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead.
Sogard was lifted after the third inning in favor of freshman Anthony Tzamtzis, who retired seven of the first eight men he faced before Nathan Melendres hit a one-out home run in the top of the sixth to make it 2-0. Tzamtzis allowed just the one hit in his three innings on the mound. The Canes made it 3-0 in the seventh, when Zeke DdeVoss led off with a single up the middle, went to second on Stephen Perez’s sacrifice bunt, took third on a wild pitch, and scored on Scott Lawson’s sacrifice fly to center field.
Miami starter Eric Erickson, meanwhile, was masterful for three innings then pitched out of jams in the fourth and fifth before being pulled with two down in the sixth. Erickson retired the first eight men he faced and did not allow an NC State baserunner past second base. He allowed seven hits in all and struck out four without issuing a walk.
The Canes added one final run in the top of the ninth. Frankie Ratcliff led off and tripled into the right-field corner, then scored on a two-out error on a grounder up the middle by Stephen Perez. The run was unearned off Rob Chamra, who worked the final 2 1/3 for the Wolfpack and allowed two hits, struck out three and did not issue a walk or allow an earned run.
NC State will return to action on Wednesday with a non-conference game vs. Old Dominion. Game time is 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1) and on-line on zgopack.com through the Pack Pass package.
