Mark Fleury (Courtesy of UNC Media Relations)
Here is your ACC recap for Febraury 20th. We saw the North Carolina Tar Heels jump off to a great start to the season with a 13-3 victory over VMI. The ACC had a strong day which saw them win 9 games while dropping only three games.
North Carolina 13 VMI 3
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Garrett Gore and Mark Fleury each drove in three runs as No. 1 North Carolina broke open a tight game with a six-run fifth inning to claim a 13-3 win over VMI Friday at Bryson Field at Boshamer Stadium. All-America right-hander Alex White opened the Tar Heels’ brand-new facility in style with nine strikeouts over five innings to record his 20th career victory.
Carolina (1-0) pounded out 16 hits and 13 runs for its biggest opening day offensive output since 2003. Gore went 3-for-5 with three RBI, while Fleury was 3-for-4 with three RBI. Fleury’s three hits and three RBI matched career highs. Every Tar Heel starter hit safely on the afternoon.
Florida State 9 Hofstra 3
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State (1-0) started the 2009 season on the right foot courtesy of a 9-3 victory over Hofstra (0-1) Friday evening on Mike Martin Field inside Dick Howser Stadium. The Seminoles pounded out 13 hits against the Pride to extend their win streak to 11 straight on opening day.
Sophomore Mike McGee paced the Seminole offense as he tied a career-high with three hits on Friday. The Port St. Lucie, Fla., native also knocked in three runs including a two-run single in the fourth which put the Seminoles ahead for good. Tyler Holt and Ohmed Danesh contributed offensively with a pair of hits in the win. Holt finished the evening 2-for-3 with a bunt single and a double, while Danesh was a perfect 2-for-2 with a single, a double and two RBI.
Miami (FL) 6 Rutgers 1
CORAL GABLES, FLA.– Head coach Jim Morris won his 1,200th career game as a Division I head coach and newcomer Scott Lawson went 3-for-4 with two RBI as the 12th-ranked University of Miami baseball team defeated Rutgers, 6-1, on opening night at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.
Miami (1-0) and Rutgers (0-1) remained tied at one heading into the bottom of the fifth before Lawson’s third hit of the game – a two-out single to right – brought home Jason Hagerty for what would prove to be the game-winning run for the `Canes.
Miami (FL) Recap
Rutgers Recap
Georgia Tech 9 Lipscomb 0
ATLANTA – Jeff Rowland and Derek Dietrich hit home runs to support the three-hit pitching of Deck McGuire, lifting Georgia Tech to a 9-0 victory over Lipscomb in the season opener for both teams Friday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.
McGuire (1-0) fanned a career-high 13 batters in seven innings, eclipsing the nine he accumulated against Georgia on May 7 of last season. He allowed just three hits and walked one while throwing 101 pitches. The 13 strikeouts were the most by a Tech pitcher since Cory Vance had 14 against No. 2 North Carolina on March 14, 2000.
GT Recap
Lipscomb Recap
Clemson 8 Charlotte 3
After missing the entire 2008 season due to injury, sophomore Addison Johnson returned to the Tiger lineup with a game-high three hits and #19 Clemson stole nine bases en route to an 8-3 victory over Charlotte in the season-opener in front of 4,968 fans at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Friday. The Tigers moved to 1-0 with the victory and the 49ers fell to 0-1.
The nine stolen bases were the most by the Tigers in a game since April 19, 1989, when Clemson stole 10 bases in a 16-5 win over Georgia Tech. Four Tigers combined for the nine thefts. Johnson had a game-high three stolen bases.
Trey Delk (1-0) was in midseason form against the 49ers, as he worked 5.1 innings, allowing four hits, one run, and one walk with five strikeouts. Charlotte starter Joe Yermal (0-1) took the loss, as he allowed three runs in 2.1 innings pitched.
Wake Forest 11 Akron 2
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest freshman Austin Stadler went 4-for-5 at the plate with a game-high four RBIs and also pitched five strong innings on the mound to pick up the win as the Demon Deacon baseball team opened the season with an 11-2 win over Akron in the Wake Forest Baseball Tournament presented by Hampton Inn and Sleep Inn.
Wake Forest moves to 1-0 on the season, while Akron drops to 0-2.
Stadler excelled at both the plate and on the mound. He had a team-best four hits in the game and also drove in four runs, while scoring a run. On the mound, he threw five innings, allowing five hits and one earned run, while striking out seven with two walks. He earned the win in the first start of his collegiate career.
Boston College 8 Stetson 7
DeLand, Fla. – Senior captain JB MacDonald started the year off on the right foot, throwing 5.2 innings and allowing just one run as the Boston College baseball team beat Stetston, 8-7, in front of 2,789 spectators at Melching Field at Conrad Park. Junior Robbie Anston drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning and freshman Brad Zapenas added what would prove to be the game-winner.
MacDonald allowed four hits and struck out four. Anston and Zapenas both had two RBI in the game. Zapenas went 2-for-5 in his collegiate debut while sophomore Mickey Wiswall went also had a pair of hits.
Virginia 12 Bucknell 0
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia baseball team opened its 2009 season in resounding fashion Friday afternoon, shutting out Bucknell, 12-0, at Davenport Field. Virginia pitchers Andrew Carraway (Sr., Marietta, Ga.), Sean Lucas (R-Fr., Fishkill, N.Y.) and Shane Halley (Fr., Burke, Va.) combined to blank the Bison on four hits, while Dan Grovatt (So., Tabernacle, N.J.) and Steven Proscia (Fr., Suffern, N.Y.) each had three hits, including a home run.
Grovatt homered, tripled, scored three times and drove in two, while Proscia homered in his first college game, scored twice and also knocked in two. Virginia racked up 15 hits in the contest. Jarrett Parker (So., Stafford, Va.), Danny Hultzen (Fr., Bethesda, Md.) and Tyler Cannon (Jr., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) each had a pair of hits for the Cavaliers.
LaSalle 5 Duke 2
DURHAM, NC – La Salle University Baseball – behind strong pitching performances from Drew Gerhart and Christian Schulz and the bats of John Malloy and Marc Schoch – opened the 2009 baseball season with a 5-2 victory over the Duke Blue Devils, Friday afternoon at Jack Coombs Field.
Down a run after two innings, La Salle used a pair of solo home runs to take a one-run lead at 2-1. After Duke starter Chris Manno retired the first two batters in the top of the third, Malloy and TJ Chism went back-to-back. Malloy hit a 1-0 pitch down the right field line and Chism hit the next pitch also over the right field fence.
UNC Wilmington 10 Maryland 4
WILMINGTON, N.C. – Junior Grayson Evans drove in three runs on a pair hits while sophomore Daniel Cropper fanned six in five innings as UNC Wilmington knocked off Maryland, 10-4, in its season opener Friday at Brooks Field.
Both Evans and Cropper missed the 2008 season due to injuries. Cropper had arm surgery while Evans suffered an ankle injury.
Cropper allowed just two runs on six hits and a pair of walks. All six hits came in the first three innings before he settled down and struck out the side in the fourth.
Rhode Island 11 NC State 8
RALEIGH, N.C. – Senior Dan Rhault (Lincoln, R.I.) and junior Oliver Palmer (North Kingstown, R.I.) both went 4-for-5 as the Rhode Island baseball team downed NC State, 11-8, in the season opener for both teams, Friday afternoon at the Summit Hospitality Invitational. Rhody out-slugged NC State, recording 15 hits compared to nine by the home team.
Rhault homered twice in the win and finished with five RBI while sophomore Kenny Burns (Shelton, Conn.) added three. Palmer, who crossed the plate three times, also batted in a pair of runs for the Rams.
Va Tech 21 UNC Asheville 4
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Virginia Tech opened its 2009 baseball season with a bang, posting the most runs for a Hokie nine in an opening game since 1988 on the way to a lopsided 21-4 win over UNC Asheville on Friday in the Courtyard by Marriott Baseball Classic at Harley Park.
The Hokies’ 21 runs were the most for a Tech baseball squad in an opener since another 21-4 victory, that one at High Point on Feb. 27, 1988. Tech’s output against UNCA on Friday marked the most runs in any game for the Hokies since a 22-7 decision against Campbell in Blacksburg during the 2003 season.
