North Carolina State University Athletics
College of Charleston Holds On For 9-6 Win
6/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BY TIM PEELER
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Drew Poulk's eighth-inning grand slam couldn't make up for the College of Charleston's 14 singles in the first five innings of Friday night's NCAA Myrtle Beach Regional first-round game, a 9-6 victory at BB&T Coastal Field.
The Cougars slapped out 13 of those one-base hits against Wolfpack starter Jake Buchanan and another against Nick Rice before Jose Rodriquez smacked his team's first extra-base hit, a towering solo homer to left field, and Greg Blake added another solo shot in the bottom of the eighth.
The Wolfpack, trailing 7-0 through five innings, scored a pair of unearned runs in the sixth then added four more on Poulk's third grand slam and his team-leading 14th home run of the season. John Gianis singled to start the eighth for the Wolfpack and both Kyle Wilson and Dallas Poulk drew walks against starter Kevin Decker, who was strong throughout his 7 1/3 innings on the mound.
Charleston brought in reliever Tom Schiller to face Drew Poulk, but on Schiller's second pitch Poulk drove an 0-1 slider over the left field bleachers, cutting the Cougars' lead to 8-6. It was Poulk's third grand slam of the season and the team's ninth, extending the single-season school record.
The Cougars (43-17) added another solo homer in the bottom of the eighth, by first baseman Greg Blake, for a three-run cushion going into the ninth.
"We don't mind falling behind like that, because our team plays with a great sense of resiliency," NC State coach Elliott Avent said. "But that early lead seemed to give College of Charleston a boost. They played a little better with that lead."
The Wolfpack (38-23) made the game interesting in its final at-bat, as Pratt Maynard walked and pinch hitter Russell Wilson was hit by a pitch. State twice sent the game-tying run to the plate, but pinch hitter Chris Diaz hit a fly ball to center field and senior Kyle Wilson hit a game-ending ground ball to shortstop.
The Wolfpack will play Stony Brook Saturday at 1 p.m., while College of Charleston will face host Coastal Carolina in the 7 p.m. nightcap.
Buchanan, a senior from Gastonia, was pitching on five days rest following his stop-and-go weekend at the ACC Championship. He allowed seven runs (four earned) in his 4-plus innings on the mound. The Cougars scored three runs in the first and four in the fourth, all without an extra-base hit.
That changed in the sixth with Rodriquez's solo blast over the left field wall. On the night, Rodriguez was 4-for-5 with one RBI.
"I don't think he was tired," Avent said. "He battled for us throughout the game. I think he left the ball up a couple times, especially after he got ahead of some of their hitters. That's just the way it goes."
The Wolfpack scored two runs in the top of the sixth, thanks to an infield single by John Gianis and an error on a bunt by Matt Bergquist. They ended up on second and third with no outs and were driven in on run-scoring groundouts by Kyle Wilson and Dallas Poulk.
With an opening loss, the Wolfpack has an uphill battle in the double-elimination regional format. But that doesn't concern Avent or his players.
"This team has battled a lot of adversity all year long," Avent said. "Now, it's just a matter of whether we are good enough to do it again."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
