North Carolina State University Athletics
Baseball Makes It Two Straight Over Maryland, 7-2
4/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Cory Mazzoni pitched NC State’s second complete game in as many days, and five different Wolfpack hitters drove in runs to lead the Pack past Maryland 7-2 in the second game of a three-game ACC series at Shipley Field.
The Wolfpack, which won the first game of the series behind the stellar pitching of Jake Buchanan, has won the first two games of the series and now stands at 24-13 overall, 8-9 in the ACC. Maryland fell to 14-23 qand 4-13.
Although not quite as dominant as Buchanan was on Friday, Mazzoni (5-2) was in complete command from his first pitch to his last. He allowed just one earned run on five hits, walked one and struck out five. He never allowed more than two Maryland baserunners in a single inning and held Maryland hitless until two were out in the bottom of the fourth. He had retired 11 of 12 men to that point, and the one he reached base did so on an error, meaning Mazzoni did his job. For the game he set down 27 of 35 opposing hitters, and two of the eight who reached were the result of errors. Mazzoni retired 10 in a row in one stretch during the first four innings, and also cut down the final six batters he faced.
Maryland ace Brett Harman (4-5), while not quite as sharp as Mazzoni, pitched quite effectively and could have kept the Terrapins in the game if he’d had better defensive support. The Terps committed five errors, all during Harman’s six innings on the mound, and as a result two of the four runs he allowed were unearned. He surrendered eight hits, walked one and struck out five.
For the second time in as many games in the series, NC State drew first blood in the top of the first inning. Pratt Maynard hit a sky-high, one-out popup in the top of the first. Shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez tracked the ball down, but the wind played tricks with it and the ball fell at Rodriguez’s feet in shallow center field. Maynard hustled all the way to second base on the error, then scored the unearned run when Danny Canela lined a double off the wall in right field.
Dallas Poulk hit a one-out single to center in the top of the fifth, took second and third on wild pitches, and scored when third baseman Matthew Murakami misplayed Drew Poulk’s grounder for an error. Maryland got that run back in the bottom half of the inning. Ian Schwalenberg led off and walked, stole second base, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored when Harold Riggins lost Rodriguez’s’s fly ball to left for a two-base error. Riggins made up for the error and the run with a long homer to right field, his second of the series, leading off the top of the sixth. Andrew Ciencin followed with a double off the wall in left field, then came around to score and make it 4-1 on Matt Bergquist’s two-out single through the right side of the infield.
Maryland got its final run in the top of the eighth. David Poutier led off with a double into the gap in right-center, took third on Brandon Padula’s fly ball to right-center, and scored on a two-out wild pitch.
The Wolfpack applied the knockout punch in the top of the ninth. Maynard led off and worked pitcher Blair DeLean for a 10-pitch walk. Maynard came all the way around to score when Drew Poulk, following a lengthy delay after fouling a ball into his own midsection on a sacrifice attempt, lined a double down the left-field line. Russell Wilson pinch-ran for Poulk. Canela singled up the middle to put runners on the corners, still with none out, and reliever Jimmy Reed hit Riggins with a pitch to load the bases. Ciencin grounded to shortstop, and Rodriguez went home for the force on Wilson, and Terran Senay struck out for the second out, but John Gianis’s grounder up the middle split the middle infielders and then split the left and center fielders, rolling all the way to the wall for a two-run double to give NC State a five-run lead at 7-2.
NC State and Maryland will play the final game of this weekend’s series on Saturday at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM and on-line at gopack.com.
The Wolfpack, which won the first game of the series behind the stellar pitching of Jake Buchanan, has won the first two games of the series and now stands at 24-13 overall, 8-9 in the ACC. Maryland fell to 14-23 qand 4-13.
Although not quite as dominant as Buchanan was on Friday, Mazzoni (5-2) was in complete command from his first pitch to his last. He allowed just one earned run on five hits, walked one and struck out five. He never allowed more than two Maryland baserunners in a single inning and held Maryland hitless until two were out in the bottom of the fourth. He had retired 11 of 12 men to that point, and the one he reached base did so on an error, meaning Mazzoni did his job. For the game he set down 27 of 35 opposing hitters, and two of the eight who reached were the result of errors. Mazzoni retired 10 in a row in one stretch during the first four innings, and also cut down the final six batters he faced.
Maryland ace Brett Harman (4-5), while not quite as sharp as Mazzoni, pitched quite effectively and could have kept the Terrapins in the game if he’d had better defensive support. The Terps committed five errors, all during Harman’s six innings on the mound, and as a result two of the four runs he allowed were unearned. He surrendered eight hits, walked one and struck out five.
For the second time in as many games in the series, NC State drew first blood in the top of the first inning. Pratt Maynard hit a sky-high, one-out popup in the top of the first. Shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez tracked the ball down, but the wind played tricks with it and the ball fell at Rodriguez’s feet in shallow center field. Maynard hustled all the way to second base on the error, then scored the unearned run when Danny Canela lined a double off the wall in right field.
Dallas Poulk hit a one-out single to center in the top of the fifth, took second and third on wild pitches, and scored when third baseman Matthew Murakami misplayed Drew Poulk’s grounder for an error. Maryland got that run back in the bottom half of the inning. Ian Schwalenberg led off and walked, stole second base, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored when Harold Riggins lost Rodriguez’s’s fly ball to left for a two-base error. Riggins made up for the error and the run with a long homer to right field, his second of the series, leading off the top of the sixth. Andrew Ciencin followed with a double off the wall in left field, then came around to score and make it 4-1 on Matt Bergquist’s two-out single through the right side of the infield.
Maryland got its final run in the top of the eighth. David Poutier led off with a double into the gap in right-center, took third on Brandon Padula’s fly ball to right-center, and scored on a two-out wild pitch.
The Wolfpack applied the knockout punch in the top of the ninth. Maynard led off and worked pitcher Blair DeLean for a 10-pitch walk. Maynard came all the way around to score when Drew Poulk, following a lengthy delay after fouling a ball into his own midsection on a sacrifice attempt, lined a double down the left-field line. Russell Wilson pinch-ran for Poulk. Canela singled up the middle to put runners on the corners, still with none out, and reliever Jimmy Reed hit Riggins with a pitch to load the bases. Ciencin grounded to shortstop, and Rodriguez went home for the force on Wilson, and Terran Senay struck out for the second out, but John Gianis’s grounder up the middle split the middle infielders and then split the left and center fielders, rolling all the way to the wall for a two-run double to give NC State a five-run lead at 7-2.
NC State and Maryland will play the final game of this weekend’s series on Saturday at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM and on-line at gopack.com.
Auburn Regional Preview: Elliott Avent on ACC PM
Thursday, May 29
Game Three Press Conference: Athens Super Regional
Tuesday, June 11
Game Two Press Conference: Athens Super Regional
Sunday, June 09
Game One Press Conference - Athens Super Regional
Saturday, June 08