North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack Drops Series Opener Vs. UNC, 14-7
4/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BY TIM PEELER
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The game began sloppy and ended ugly for NC State, which gave up 12 walks and made five errors in a 14-7 loss to North Carolina in the series opener between the two ACC rivals.
The Wolfpack (20-11 overall, 5-8 ACC) jumped out to two early leads, scoring single runs in the first and second innings, but could not sustain them.
North Carolina (21-11, 5-8) tied the game in the bottom of the first and took the lead for good with three runs in the bottom of the second. The Tar Heels put up three more in the sixth and six more in the seventh, as the Wolfpack pitching got a little wild.
Both starting pitchers, NC State's Jake Buchanan and North Carolina's Matt Harvey, got off to shaky starts. And both team's defenses were even shakier. In the first two innings, the teams combined for nine hits, four errors, two wild pitches and two runners thrown out on the bases.
The Wolfpack's Kyle Wilson opened the game with a single to right field and advanced the round the bases when UNC outfielder Brian Goodwin dropped Dallas Poulk's fly ball. But Wilson was thrown out at the plate by Tar Heel cutoff man Tommy Coyle trying to score on the play.
Drew Poulk followed with a double to centerfield to score Dallas Poulk, but what could have been a big inning ended shortly thereafter.
In the Tar Heels' second, the Wolfpack got two quick outs, on a strikeout of Coyle, a single by Dillon Hazlett and a fielder's choice by Ben Bunting. But UNC's hitters stretched out their at-bats, with Jacob Stallings drawing a walk and Mike Cavasinni singling to rightfield.
With runners on second and third, Brian Goodwin hit a scorcher to second base that second baseman Dallas Poulk fielded, but threw wildly to first base, scoring Bunting and Stallings. Goodwin was thrown out trying to advance to second base.
The Wolfpack added another run in the top of fourth, when left fielder John Gianis reached on a fielders choice, advanced to second on a balk, to third on a passed ball and scored on a single by Bergquist.
The Tar Heels had opportunities to score all night long. After leaving the bases loaded in the fourth without a run, UNC scored three runs in the sixth, thanks primarily to Wierzbicki's second run-scoring double of the night, this one chasing Buchanan from the mound.
In the seventh, the Wolfpack's usually reliable bullpen walked six hitters, including three with the bases loaded.
The Wolfpack's offense came back with four runs in the top of the eighth, including pinch hitter Harold Riggans' first career triple, a long fly that bounced off the right field wall, scoring Danny Canela and Andrew Ciencin.
On a night when NC State's offense out-hit UNC 13-10, Ciencin was 3-for-4 on the night with one RBI. Senior Drew Poulk and freshman shortstop Matt Bergquist also had multiple hit games.
For North Carolina, both Brian Goodwin and Wierzbicki drove in three runs apiece, while catcher Jacob Stallings walked four times.
The teams meet will meet in the second game of the three-game set Saturday at 6 p.m. at Boshamer Stadium. The Wolfpack will start Cory Mazzone (3-2, 4.99 ERA), while the Tar Heels will go Patrick Johnson (3-2, 3.21 ERA)
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
