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NC State Rallies Past No. 3 Tar Heels For 8-6 Win
March 29, 2008 | Baseball
March 29, 2008
CARY, N.C. - A two-run double by Pat Ferguson in the eighth capped a late-inning rally for NC State Saturday in an 8-6 victory over No. 3 North Carolina at Cary's USA Baseball National Training Complex. The Wolfpack (15-9, 5-6 ACC) scored six times over the seventh and eighth innings to even the weekend series with the Tar Heels (21-5, 8-3 ACC) at a game apiece.
State second baseman Dallas Poulk went 4-for-4 with two RBI, and left fielder Jeremy Synan (3-for-5) and designated hitter Nick Stanley (2-for-3) also had multi-hit games for the Wolfpack, which pounded out 15 hits on the afternoon.
Left-hander Alex Sogard (1-1) worked 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief to earn the win, and lefty Jimmy Gillheeney picked up the final four outs to earn his sixth save.
Carolina right-hander Rob Wooten (1-1) allowed two unearned runs on three hits and a walk over the final two innings to take the tough-luck loss.
Left fielder Kyle Shelton had two hits and two RBI, and right fielder Tim Fedroff added two hits for the Tar Heels. Second baseman Kyle Seager extended his career-best hitting streak to 22 games with a ninth-inning single, and third baseman Chad Flack hit safely for the ninth straight game. Center fielder Seth Williams saw his career-best hitting streak snapped at nine games.
NC State went in front in the fourth on a solo home run to left center by Marcus Jones, which snapped a 1-for-17 slump for the Wolfpack center fielder, but the Tar Heels came right back with two in the bottom of the inning to grab their first lead.
Singles by Fedroff and Tim Federowicz and a two-out walk to Williams loaded the bases for Shelton, who singled to right center to score two. Jones made a diving attempt on Shelton's base hit but was unable to glove the ball, allowing Fedroff and Federowicz cross the plate with the tying and go-ahead runs.
State came right back to tie the game in the top of the fifth when shortstop Tommy Foschi doubled off the wall in left and scored on a single through the right side by Poulk, who singled in each of his first three trips to the plate.
Flack, who hit what proved to be the game-winning three-run homer Friday night, tripled home the go-ahead run in Carolina's four-run sixth. After Federowicz drew a leadoff walk and scored on Flack's three-bagger down the right field line, Flack crossed the plate on a balk by State reliever Jake Buchanan for a two-run UNC lead.
With Williams on third, Fleury singled through the drawn-in infield and moved to third on a pair of wild pitches. Shortstop Garrett Gore followed with an RBI single up the middle to drive in the fourth run of the inning.
State answered again in the top of the seventh to pull within a single run. Poulk drove in the first run with a two-out triple down the right field line off UNC righty Colin Bates. Drew Martin then plated Poulk with a bunt single to third, which Flack fielded and threw errantly to first, allowing Martin to take second. Matt Payne followed with a single to right to score Martin from second with an unearned run to trim the lead to 6-5.
After scoring three in the seventh, the Wolfpack came back with three more in the eighth to take an 8-6 lead. A Jeremy Synan single and a catcher's interference call on Fleury put two on for catcher Chris Schaeffer, who singled to left field to tie the game at six. A throwing error on the play by Shelton allowed the runners to move up an extra base, and Ferguson scored them both with a double to left for a two-run State lead.
Neither starter figured into the decision, as UNC righty Adam Warren went five innings and allowed two runs on six hits and a walk. NC State left-hander Eric Surkamp fanned seven over five-plus innings and allowed five runs on five hits and four walks.
The series concludes at 1:30 p.m. Sunday with freshman right-hander Matt Harvey on the mound for the Tar Heels. A webcast of the game will be available live and on-demand through ACC Select.
