North Carolina State University Athletics
Baseball Downs High Point, 10-3
5/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. – Harold Riggins, Pratt Maynard and Matt Bergquist drove in three runs apiece, and Alex Sogard worked six incredibly fast shutout innings Tuesday as NC State cruised past High Point 10-3 in non-conference action at Doak Field at Dail Park.
The Wolfpack improved to 33-20 with the win. The Panthers dropped to 26-27. Sogard, who allowed four hits and struck out four without allowing a walk, threw just 45 pitches, an average of 7.5 pitches per inning. He improved to 1-2 with the win.
High Point starter Brian Jones (0-4) pitched three shutout innings before running into trouble in the fourth and fifth. He wound up allowing six runs, four of them earned, on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings, walking one and striking out five. The Wolfpack managed just one hit off of Jones through the first three innings, a two-out double in the first inning by Drew Poulk, but finally broke through on a two-run homer to left field from Maynard in the fourth.
Bergquist hit his first home run of the season, a one-out solo shot, in the bottom of the fifth, and Dallas Poulk followed with a double to left-center. Andrew Ciencin hit a grounder to third base, but Drew Greissinger’s throw to first pulled Andrew Bartlett off the bag for an error. Jones hit Drew Poulk with a pitch to load the bases, and Riggins drove in a pair with a double down the left-field line. Maynard made it 6-0 with an RBI-groundout.
The six-run lead was more than enough for Sogard, who faced the minimum through four innings and got three double-play grounders behind him. Nick Rice pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning in relief, but got dinged for a run in the top of the eighth. Max Fulginiti led off with a single up the middle and Kyle Mahoney walked. Fulginiti stole third and scored on Murray White IV’s single to right field.
The Wolfpack answered the High Point run with a four spot in the bottom of the inning. John Gianis led off and singled to center. Russell Wilson drove a double off the wall in left-center to put runners on second and third. Drew Dades came in to pitch for the Panthers and gave up a two-run double to Bergquist and then hit Dallas Poulk with a pitch, the 82nd time this season an NC State batter has been plunked. That ties the school record, set in 2005. Ciencin hit a line drive to right that went off the glove of right fielder Steve Antolik for an error, allowing Bergquist to score. Riggins capped the inning with a run-scoring grounder to first base.
Nate Roberts led off the top of the ninth for High Point with his 18th home run of the season. Gantner walked and Wolfpack hurler Nate King hit Antolik with a pitch. Fulginiti lined out for the first out of the inning, and Mike Russo came in to pitch for NC State. Mahoney doubled to right-center to drive in the game’s final run.
NC State returns to action on Thursday with the first game of a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series vs. Duke. This will be the final series of the regular season, and there are postseason implications galore. The Wolfpack is one game ahead of North Carolina for the eighth and final spot in the ACC Tournament, which begins a week from Wednesday. Because UNC has the tiebreaker with the Pack, NC State must match or better the number of wins that the Tar Heels get this weekend in their series vs. Virginia Tech in Chapel Hill. If the Tar Heels tie the Wolfpack in the standings, then UNC will go to the tournament and NC State will most likely stay at home.
One other series to watch with postseason implications is Georgia Tech at Boston College. If the NC State can win two more games this weekend than the Eagles, then NC State would move ahead of BC in the standings. North Carolina also would have a chance to tie or pass the Eagles this weekend.
Game times for the NC State-Duke series are 6:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and 1 p.m. on Saturday, which will be senior day. All three games will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM and on-line at gopack.com.
