Box Score

NC State 11, VT 5

 

BLACKSBURG, Va. - North Carolina State came back from a 4-2 deficit and broke open a close game late to defeat Virginia Tech 11-5 in ACC baseball action on Sunday afternoon. Virginia Tech falls to 17-23 overall and 4-17 in ACC action, while NC State improves to 27-12 overall and 12-8 in league action.

The Hokies opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when first baseman Sean O'Brien (r-Sr., Chappaqua, N.Y.) hit a leadoff home run to left field - his fifth round-tripper of the season.

NC State answered in the top of the second inning when center fielder Marcus Jones led off with a single to left and designated hitter Ryan Pond was hit by a pitch. Jones and Pond advanced one base on a sacrifice bunt by catcher Nick Stanley and Jones scored on a wild pitch by Tech starter Jesse Hahn (Fr., Groton, Conn.). Then, after a walk to shortstop Tommy Foschi, Pond scored on a two-out single up the middle by second baseman Dallas Poulk.

In the bottom of the third inning, Hokies' designated hitter Matt Blow (r-Fr., Richmond, Va.) led off with a double down the right field line and shortstop Tony Baliseri (Fr., Lexington, Va.) walked. NC State starter Eryk McConnell then issued a walk to O'Brien to load the bases. Following a Sean Ryan strikeout, Blow and Balisteri scored on an infield single by catcher Anthony Sosnoskie (So., Front Royal, Va.), with a throwing error on McConnell allowing Balisteri to touch home. O'Brien then scored on squeeze bunt by right fielder Klint Reed (Jr., Chesterfield, Va.) to give the Hokies a 4-2 lead.

With one out in the top of the fifth inning, Wolfpack first baseman Pat Ferguson hit his seventh home run of the season to left-center field to pull the visitors within one.

In the top of the seventh inning, Poulk reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to third on a single up the middle by Ferguson. After left-hander Sean McDermott (Fr., Walpole, Mass.) relieved Hahn, Poulk scored on a throwing error by O'Brien to tie up the game at four.

The Wolfpack took a one-run lead when Pond opened the top of the eighth inning with a double down the third base line and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Stanley. Pond later scored on an errant pickoff at third base by McDermott. NC State broke the game open in the top of the ninth inning, scoring six runs on just three hits.

Tech added its final tally in the bottom of the ninth inning on third baseman Michael Seaborn's (r-Fr., Atlanta, Ga.) sixth home run of the season.

NC State's Kyle Rutter earned the win in relief to improve to 2-1, while Jimmy Gillheeney earned his ninth save of the season after entering in the eighth inning with a one-run lead. McDermott falls to 1-4 on the season after being tagged with the loss.

The Hokies return to action on Tuesday night, as they travel to historic Calfee Park in Pulaski, Va., to face Radford. First pitch is at 6:30 p.m.