April 6, 2008
RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State used some timely two-out hitting to send Wake Forest to a 14-4 defeat in game one of a Sunday afternoon doubleheader at Doak Field. With the loss, the Demon Deacons drop to 12-17 overall and 5-8 in the ACC. The Wolfpack move to 19-9 overall and 7-6 in conference play with the victory. NC State scored two in the first, one in the third, four in the fourth and one in the fifth to jump out to an 8-3 lead. All eight of those runs were scored with two outs. During the stretch, the Wolfpack had just one runner reach base with less than two outs. NC State went on to score six more runs in the game to turn it into a rout. The Deacons, on the other hand, could not come through with the big hit when they needed it most. Wake Forest stranded runners in scoring position in each the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, the Deacs had runners on second and third with one out but could not push a run across. It was a similar story an inning later, when the Deacons came up empty after having runners on second and third with no outs and then having the bases loaded with one out. Andy Goff provided most the offense for Wake Forest, hitting a three-run home run in the second inning, his first homer of the season. Goff finished the game 2-for-3 and also added a double. Allan Dykstra went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run, and Ben Terry stole his 10th base of the season. Starter Charlie Mellies (0-3) suffered the loss for the Deacs. The righthander allowed 11 runs on 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings of work. Mellies struck out four and walked two. Early on, the game looked as if it would turn out to be a slugfest, as the Wolfpack held a 4-3 lead after just two innings. However, the Wake Forest bats went silent the rest of the way, while NC State continued on with its half of the slugfest.
NC State scored twice in the first to take an early lead. After Mellies struck out the first two batters, Matt Payne hit a double into the rightfield corner. Jeremy Synan followed with a two-run home run to rightfield. Wake Forest came right back to take the lead with three runs in the second. Allan Dykstra led off with a single, and Dustin Hood followed with a single of his own one out later. Goff then drove a 3-2 offering from Wolfpack starter Eric Surkamp to leftfield for a three-run home run. It was Goff's first homer of the season. The Wolfpack tied the score with a run in their half of the second. With two outs in the frame, Chris Schaeffer went the opposite way on the first pitch he saw for a solo home run to right center. NC State reclaimed the lead with four runs in the fourth. Synan led off with a double and then moved to third on a flyout. Two batters later, Schaeffer singled to left to drive in Synan. Tommy Foschi followed with a two-run double down the leftfield line. Dallas Poulk kept the rally going with a single up the middle to score Foschi from second and give the home squad a 7-3 lead. After the Deacons left the bases loaded in the top of the sixth, the Wolfpack plated another two-out run in the bottom of the inning. Marcus Jones hit a 1-0 pitch from Mellies over the scoreboard in left center for a solo home run. The Wolfpack broke the game wide open with five runs in the sixth. Schaeffer reached on a one-out walk, and Foschi followed with a double off the wall in right center to put runners at second and third. Poulk duplicated Foschi's feat with a double off the right centerfield wall, scoring both runners. Pond then greeted reliever Ryan Bouton with a single up the middle to drive in Poulk. Payne cleared the bases and pushed NC State's lead to 13-3 with a home run to left on a 1-1 pitch from Bouton. NC State added a run against reliever Greg Young in the seventh. Consecutive singles and then back-to-back walks brought in the run to give the Wolfpack a 14-3 advantage. The Deacons scored a run in the ninth inning but fell considerably short of the requisite 11-run rally. Eric Williams reached on a one-out walk, and Willy Fox followed with an infield single one out later. Dykstra then hit a single through the left side to score Williams. Surkamp (2-2) picked up the win for the Wolfpack despite getting himself into jams on multiple occasions. The lefty starter went just five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and one walk. He struck out a career-high 10 batters. Surkamp threw 108 pitches during his five-inning outing, which was almost twice Mellies' total of 64 through the same number of frames. Joey Cutler pitched three innings of scoreless relief. Cutler did not allow a hit while walking three and striking out two. Six players had multi-hit performances to lead NC State at the plate. Foschi finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs, two runs and a pair of doubles. Reliever Eli Robins pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Deacons. |
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