NC State
2-3
California
4-1
Baseball Falls To No. 18 Cal, 4-0
2/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 26, 2011
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Andrew Knapp hit a three-run home run and Erik Johnson and Kyle Porter combined on a three-hit shutout Saturday to lead 18th-ranked California past NC State 3-0 at BB&T Coastal Field in the second round of Baseball at the Beach.
The Wolfpack dropped to 2-3 on the season with the loss. The Bears improved to 4-1, their only loss coming at No. 8 Stanford.
Johnson (2-0) allowed just three walks and three hits in six innings, and allowed just two runners to reach scoring position. He struck out six. Kyle Porter worked the final three innings and retired nine of the 10 men he faced for his first save.
NC State’s Cory Mazzoni (1-1) couldn’t have pitched much better, but for the second time in as many outings in 2011, he allowed a three-run home run in the second inning, this time to Cal designated hitter Andrew Knapp. Unlike opening day vs. Elon, however, the Wolfpack didn’t back Mazzoni with 17 runs and he took the tough-luck loss.
Chadd Krist got the second inning started for the Bears with a one-out double to left-center. Chad Bunting, who homered twice against Coastal Carolina in Cal’s 17-0 rout of the Chanticleers on Friday, drew a walk to put runners at first and second. Knapp deposited the second pitch he saw from Mazzoni over the wall in right field to make it 3-0.
And it stayed 3-0 until the bottom of the eighth as both hurlers dominated thereafter. Following the home run, Mazzoni set down 14 of the next 15 hitters he faced, and 18 of the next 20. Mazzoni, who allowed just four hits in 7 1/3 innings, departed after issuing a one-out walk to leadoff hitter Austin Booker in the eighth. With righthander Rey Cotilla on the mound, Booker stole second and third, then strolled home on Marcus Semien’s bloop single to left.
The Wolfpack was unable to dent Johnson in his six innings on the mound. He got out of a jam in the top of the first by rolling a double-play grounder, then set down 10 men in a row and 13 of 15 before allowing a single and a walk in the sixth. He escaped that inning with another double play and was done for the day. Porter allowed a one-out walk to Pratt Maynard in the ninth and that was all. The walk was Maynard’s third of the game.
NC State will conclude play in Baseball at the Beach on Sunday with a 3 p.m. game against host Coastal Carolina. The game will be broadcast live on WKNC-FM (88.1), and the broadcast can be heard on-line on GoPack.com’s All-Access package. Live stats will be available on Gametracker. Just click the Gametracker icon on the baseball schedule page on GoPack.com.
As always, visit GoPack.com regularly for full coverage of all NC State athletics news and events.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Erik Johnson (2-0)
L: Mazzoni, Cory (1-1)
S: Kyle Porter (1)
Batting:
2B: Williams, Brett 1
Base Running:
CS: Riggins, Harold 1
Batting:
2B: Chadd Krist 2
HR: Andrew Knapp 1
RBI: Marcus Semien 1 ; Andrew Knapp 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Austin Booker 1 ; Chadd Krist 1 ; Chad Bunting 1 ; Andrew Knapp 1
SB: Austin Booker 2
CS: Austin Booker 1 ; Marcus Semien 1
