Here is your ACC Recap for February 17th.
Game 1: #3 North Carolina 10 Xavier 2
Carolina took a commanding four-run lead after the first inning in game one and never looked back en route to a 10-2 season-opening victory over Xavier.
Tommy Coyle opened the year as he finished 2011 by reaching base safely for the 30th consecutive game with a single to left field in the first. Colin Moran followed with a single of his own before Cody Stubbs was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Jacob Stallings.
The senior backstop lifted a pitch over the second baseman’s head to plate Coyle and Moran and give Carolina a 2-0 advantage. The very next batter, Tom Zengel, went with a pitch and tallied a double into the left center gap to score two more runs for starter Kent Emanuel.
Game 2: Xavier 10 #3 UNC 4
The nightcap saw Xavier get to starter Chris O’Brien for a pair of runs in the second, while Musketeer starting pitcher Jon Richard kept the Tar Heels in check.
Carolina was held hitless over the first three frames before a strange play kept the fourth inning alive. Cody Stubbs popped a ball up on the infield that the first baseman was unable to handle as it drifted back into play just over the first base bag.
Freshman Michael Russell followed by lining a ball up the middle for the first hit of the game but the threat would be stopped there.
Duke at #7 Texas (PPD)
Game 1: Kent State 5 #9 Georgia Tech 0
ROCK HILL, S.C. — Now that’s how you start a season.
The Kent State baseball team rode the arm of senior ace southpaw David Starn (Hudson, Ohio) to blank No. 9 Georgia Tech to lift the lid off of the 2012 season in grand fashion in the opening game of the Rock Hill Coca-Cola Classic Friday (Feb. 17) at the Winthrop Ballpark.
“It’s fun to watch as a coaching staff to see the players go out and compete and execute and do everything that we’ve asked them to do,” said eighth-year head coach Scott Stricklin. “You can’t ask for anything more than what they gave us today.”
#9 Georgia Tech 5 Winthrop 0
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Sophomore Matthew Grimes was dazzling and No. 9 Georgia Tech limited Winthrop to just one hit, blanking the Eagles, 5-0, Friday night at the Rock Hill Coca-Cola Classic in Rock Hill, S.C.
Tech flipped the tables after dropping a 5-0 defeat to Kent State earlier in the day by pounding out eight hits, jumping ahead 2-0 in the first and never looking back with Grimes in command.
“That was really key that we got runs early — scored two in the first — and Grimes took over from there,” said head coachDanny Hall, who is now 12 wins shy of winning his 1,000th career game. “Grimes was in complete control of the game and Evans threw the last two innings great as well.”
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (seminoles.com) – Florida State (1-0) registered its 14-consecutive opening day victory defeating Hofstra (0-1) 9-2 in Friday’s season opener in front of 4,849 fans on Mike Martin Field inside Dick Howser Stadium.
The Seminoles blasted four home runs and received a solid pitching performance from freshman starter Brandon Leibrandt (1-0) to remain undefeated all-time against the Pride in 14 all-time meetings.
“We are very pleased with the start,” said head coach Mike Martin. “It was an exciting day. I was very impressed with the Hofstra team. It was a good game and I thought that our guys had some big hits. I am very, very proud with the way we played.”
#16 Miami (FL) 6 Rutgers 2
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – On a picturesque night for baseball at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field, sixth-year lefty Eric Erickson made a brilliant return to the mound in No. 13 Miami’s 6-2 season-opening win over Rutgers.
Erickson, who missed all of 2011 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, finished the day with an impressive final line of six innings, four hits, no runs and seven strikeouts. The Sarasota, Fla. native needed only 83 pitches to get through his six innings of work.
The combination of seniors Peter O’Brien and Rony Rodriguez provided offense for the Canes, who enjoyed the benefits of five Rutgers errors in the field. After O’Brien singled through the left side of the infield in the fourth inning, Rodriguez knocked in the transfer catcher on a double to the gap in left-center, stretching the team’s lead to 4-0. Rodriguez would later score on an error by the Rutgers shortstop for the team’s fifth run of the night.
UAB 2 #17 Clemson 1
CLEMSON, S.C. —- Dillon Napoleon and Ryan Nance combined to hold the 16th-ranked Clemson Tigers to just one run as the Blazers earned a 2-1 victory at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in front of a near sell out of 5,994 fans on Friday night to start the college baseball season.
The two teams will square off again tomorrow, Saturday, as part of a doubleheader, beginning at 11 a.m. ET. Sunday’s game was moved up due to possibility of inclement weather.
UAB (1-0) received a standout performance from Napoleon, who worked the first seven innings, surrendering just one earned run on four hits. The senior right-hander’s final line included two walks and one strike out. He utilized his defense, most notably the outfielders, all night as 15 of 19 batters retired came on fly outs.
Conway, S.C. – The Boston College baseball team earned an opening-day victory, beating 17th-ranked Virginia, 5-3, at the Caravelle Resort Tournament hosted by Coastal Carolina. Sophomore right-hander Eric Stevens tallied the win for the Eagles (1-0) and junior righty Hunter Gordon earned the save, pitching the ninth.Right-hander Branden Kline recorded the loss for the Cavaliers (0-1). Stevens went 6.0 innings allowed seven hits, three runs, one walk and struck out one. Gordon tallied a strikeout in the save.Sophomore Tom Bourdon led the team, going 3-for-5 on the day, nailing a double. Senior Anthony Melchionda went 2-for-4, also hitting a double and recording an RBI. The Eagles outhit the Cavaliers, 9-8.Full Recap
Virginia Tech 6 Bradley 4
Virginia Tech 3 Kennesaw State 2
KENNESAW, Ga. – Strong starting pitching was the key for Virginia Tech as the Hokies opened the 2012 season with a pair of wins on Friday. Power at the plate helped them to the 6-4 victory over Bradley in the first game and timely hitting brought them back in a 3-2 win against Kennesaw State in their second game.
Starters Manny Martir and Joe Mantiply combined to toss 14 innings – seven each – and allow just one earned run in their times on the mound. Martir matched his career high with the seven frames and struck out eight Braves in a no-decision effort. Mantiply surrendered two unearned runs to the Owls and struck out five, but also got a no decision.
NC State 10 Marshall 3
RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State freshman Carlos Rodon helped the Wolfpack through a rough patch early, before fellow freshman Trea Turner blew the game wide open with a bases-clearing double in the eighth to propel State to a 10-3 season-opening win over Marshall, Friday night at Doak Field at Dail Park.
“I looked up at one point and saw three freshmen batting one, two, three, and a freshman on the mound,” said NC State head coach Elliott Avent. “That’s when the game turned in our favor, and for those guys to be involved in that, it makes me feel good as a coach.”
New Mexico State 5 Wake Forest 3
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State baseball team (1-0) opened the 2012 season with a 5-3 victory over Wake Forest (0-1) at Presley Askew Field, Friday, Feb. 17.
The Aggies won the game behind the arm of starting right-handed pitcher Ryan Beck as he went 5 2/3 innings marking seven strikeouts and walking only two batters. He allowed one run and three hits while facing 23 batters. After allowing a single in the top of the first, Beck and the Aggies retired 13 consecutive batters before a Deacon hit a single in the sixth.
2 comments
If you are going to cover Conference USA.. then make sure you don’t leave out anyone… especially East Carolina.
East Carolina 4, University Wisconsin-Milwaukee 0
East Carolina 16, University Wisconsin-Milwaukee 1
East Carolina 6, University Wisconsin-Milwaukee 3
East Carolina has been the NCAA Regionals 26 times. Consistently at the top of one of the top 5 baseball conferences in the country.
Milwaukee isn’t even that good…let’s be honest here…
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