[Update] Pack Sweeps Doubleheader, Series; Pack Baseball vs Cal St. Bakersfield – Series Thread

Wolfpack Baseball (30-12, 16-8 ACC) takes a break from the ACC slate and welcomes the Roadrunners of Cal State Bakersfield to town this weekend for a three game series. Games one and two are scheduled for 6:30pm Friday and Saturday night respectively, while game three is set for 1:00pm Sunday. Prior to Sunday’s game, NC State Baseball will honor its seniors.

This is the final regular season weekend series at home for the Pack, which will hit the road for both of the following two weekends for conference series against VT and FSU. Single mid-week home games remain against NC A&T (May 8th) and UNC-G (May 15th).

Game times and probable pitching match ups for this weekend are as follows:

  Game One – Friday, May 4, 6:30pm

• RHP Anthony Tzamtzis (5-3, 2.51 ERA) vs. RHP Scott Brattvet (4-4, 3.96)

  Game Two – Saturday, May 5, 6:30pm

• RHP Ethan Ogburn (3-2, 2.95) vs. RHP Spenser Messmore (3-3, 1.78)

  Game Three – Sunday, May 6, 1:00pm

• RHP Logan Jernigan (4-1, 5.26) vs. LHP Jeff McKenzie (4-4, 2.03)

Conspicuously missing from that list for the Pack is LHP Carlos Rodon. Since I have not heard or seen anything that would indicate Rodon is injured, etc., I am presuming that he is being given some rest this weekend as he has pitched a lot of innings recently, and the post-season is looming. That doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t get some work this weekend, however (probably will, in fact).

Despite an overall losing record (19-20), the Roadrunners do boast a pretty good pitching staff with an overall team ERA of 3.37.

Pack in the Polls:

State’s rankings vary somewhat depending on the poll you look at:

Baseball America: 17^th (up from 19)

USA Today/Coaches: 18^th (up from 22)

Nat’l College Baseball Writers (NCBWA): 20^th (up from 25)

Collegiate Baseball: 17^th (up from 21)

NCAA RPI: 14^th (up from 15^th)

Yep, that’s right. A 4-0 week, including a sweep of Duke, moved State up a whopping one spot in the RPI. No offense to CSUB, but this weekend is similar (more to lose than to gain RPI-wise). Nonetheless, still gotta hold serve at home and at least take 2 of 3.

College Baseball Bracketology:

ESPN’s College Baseball Blog has a new college baseball bracketology out this week, while this piece from collegebaseballinsider.com has a look at likely NCAA bids by conference. Baseball America also does a great job of this here, just in case you missed it.

A few notable links:

Chris Diaz named to the Wallace Shortstop of the Year Award watch list – (collegebaseballhall.org)

The Wallace Award, sponsored by Mizuno, recognizes the nation’s top shortstop and will be presented on June 30 in Lubbock, Texas, as part of the College Baseball Hall of Fame’s Night of Champions.

“Of course, we look at all the statistics — batting average, double, triples, home run, etc. — when developing our watch lists, but for a shortstop award, fielding percentage has to be of huge importance,” said Kevin Dunagan, Wallace Award co-chair. “Each of these young men has compiled statistics that justify their place on this list.”

Carlos Rodon named to the midseason Golden Spikes Award watch list – (GoPack.com)

Fan voting will once again be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2012. Tuesday, May 29, marks the day when amateur baseball fans from across the country will be able to vote for their favorite semifinalist on GoldenSpikesAward.com.  As part of this selection process all voters will be asked to choose three players from the list of 30 names.  On Tuesday, June 5, USA Baseball will announce the three finalists, and voting will once again commence that same day.

Trea Turner and Carlos Rodon have each accepted invitations to play for Team USA  – (GoPack.com)

Team USA has started the process of finalizing the 2012 schedule, highlighted by visits to Cuba and The Netherlands, and including 10 games in the state of North Carolina.

Turner and Rodon mark the first NC State players to suit up for the national team since Eric Surkamp in 2007.

 

The N&O’s Caulton Tudor says College Baseball is hot – again.

For the third straight season, game attendance is up. The turnstile totals aren’t close to football and basketball’s, of course. But for a sport that only a few years ago amounted to a special-interest endeavor for friends and family at the vast majority of schools, baseball seems to be gaining more momentum each season.

With more prospects opting for college competition over low minor-league assignments out of high school and with much more emphasis on college coaching quality, the on-field product is solid.

But it’s not just the competition, according to some college administrators.  Baseball seems to benefiting from its status as a bargain activity. Ticket prices vary from school. But generally, baseball admission prices are a fraction of the $50-and-up that many colleges charge for football and basketball tickets.

[snip]

N.C. State associate AD Sherard Clinkscales, a former collegiate standout pitcher at Purdue and a former first-round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals, is in his first season on the Wolfpack staff.  He said he has been impressed by the community interest in coach Elliott Avent’s program.

“He’s done a terrific job putting this team together. The fan support we’re getting is just tremendous,” Clinkscales said. “Baseball in this area and in the ACC is in terrific shape.”

ACC Baseball:

Elsewhere around the league, FSU welcomes Maryland to town for the weekend while Carolina plays host to BC. Like the Wolfpack, Clemson, GT and Miami all have out of conference series scheduled for the weekend, while VT, UVa and Wake have the weekend off.  Duke goes on the road to Longwood (seriously).

Current conference standings, courtesy of theACC.com:

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Not sure what will occur re: live blogging of games this weekend.  I’ll be around tonite to post updates for game one, the rest of the weekend we’ll have to play by ear.

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Game One – Friday

First pitch delayed approx. 30 mins due to lightning

1st inning – Back to back one out singles, then a two out single gives CSUB a run and runners at the corners….a passed ball puts both runners in scoring position and a walk loads the pond with Roadrunners….but Tzamtzis gets out of it with a ground out to 2nd.  One run on three hits for CSUB, Pack coming to bat; Trea Turner draws a leadoff walk then advances to second on a passed ball, Diaz grounds out to first (unassisted) to move Turner to third…Canela goes down swinging but catcher drops 3rd strike, throws Canela out at first…Turner heads for home on the play and scores on throwing error by firstbaseman…one run on zero hits for the Pack.  CSUB 1, Pack 1 after 1 complete. (Correction: No throwing error on Turner scoring play…Gary Hahn disagrees)

2nd inning – CSUB’s Shryock leads off the inning by going the opposite way on the first pitch for a solo HR…a hit batsman then a one out single, runners advance on groundout third to first, but are stranded when Tzamtzis gets Martinez swinging.  Another run on two hits gives the lead again to CSUB, 2-1; Senay crushes a 3-1 pitch to right center to lead off for the Pack…Ciencin walks, Fincher walks, Austin goes down looking, Ratledge grounds into inning ending double play (6u-3).  Pack gets one on the Senay homer, tie it up again 2-2.

3rd inning – Tzamtzis retires first two batters then issues a 2 out walk, but K’s Shryock to end the inning.  The line on Tzamtzis thru three is 2 runs on 5 hits, 3 K’s, 2 BB; Pack goes quietly in their half of the 3rd.  Still tied 2-2 after three.

4th inning – Leadoff single, runner thrown out at 2nd on attempted sac bunt by Hein…Hein advances to second on a pickoff attempt (e1), then to third on the fielder’s choice to first (3u), scores on an error by Fincher (e8) on the Brockmeyer pop up.  Bakersfield gets one, retakes the lead 3-2; Ryan Mathews leads off the bottom of the 4th with a single, advances to 2nd on a wild pitch…a one out infield hit to the left side by Ciencin puts runners on the corners with one down…Mathews scores on the Fincher sac fly.  One run on two hits for the Pack to tie it up again, 3-3.

5th inning – A leadoff double by Legg and a sac bunt gives CSUB a man at 3rd with one out…sac fly by Christensen scores Legg.  Another run on one hit gives CSUB the lead again, 4-3; Leadoff single for Ratledge goes to waste after Turner K’s and Diaz grounds into the double play (4u-3).  Still 4-3 CSUB after five.

6th inning – Bakersfield gets the leadoff man aboard after being hit by pitch, steals 2nd…after another hit batsman, CSUB has runners at 1st and 2nd with two down…Tzamtzis gets the hook – 4 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits, 3 K’s, 2 BB, 3 hit batsmen – as Ryan Wilkins comes on to try and sit the Roadrunners down…Wilkins gets Martinez on a called 3rd strike to put out the fire; Canela reaches on a throwing error (e6), Mathews walks…Senay tries to give himself up with the bunt, but Canela is forced at 3rd…Mathews and Senay are stranded after the Ciencin K and the Fincher groundout.  Roadrunners still lead by one, 4-3.

7th inning – A two out infield single for CSUB’s Christensen, but he’s caught trying to steal 2nd (2-4 on the throw) to end the inning; Brett Austin leads off for the Pack with a single up the middle, Ratledge singles to right (moving Austin to 3rd) and advances on a throwing error by rightfielder (e9)…Pack has 2nd and 3rd with nobody down….Trea Turner singles to centerfield to score both Austin and Ratledge, then steals 2nd, moves to 3rd on Diaz sac bunt…Canela parks one over the right field fence scoring himself and Turner…CSUB’s Brattvet is done for the night in favor of Hayden Carter, with one down…Ryan Mathews hits a solo shot off of Carter…Senay reaches on an error (e6), Ciencin K’s looking, Fincher walks…wild pitch from Carter, but Fincher’s hesitation causes him to get gunned down at 2nd (2-6 on the throw).  Nevertheless, the Pack bats around, scoring 5 runs on 5 hits.  Pack now leads 8-4 after seven.

8th inning – CSUB’s Shryock leads off with a single, advances to 2nd on a passed ball…infield single puts runners at the corners with no outs and top of the batting order coming up for the Roadrunners….after getting Hein looking, Wilkins will yield to DJ Thomas with one out and runners on the corners….Thomas K’s Younger (2 out), is then relieved by Chris Overman…Overman K’s Brockmeyer looking to end the CSUB threat.  No runs on 2 hits, Pack still leads 8-4; Christensen on in relief (from the DH slot) for CSUB sits the Pack down in order.  Roadrunners with 3 outs left, Martinez(4), Legg(5) and Sanay(6) due up.

9th inning – Ross Hough, on to pinch hit for Martinez, flies out to right field…Legg hit by pitch, Sanay flies out to right, Christensen goes down looking to end the game.  Pack takes game one, 8-4.

Game One thoughts and media coverage – Pack keeps the win streak going, now at 7 straight.  Tzamtzis struggled at times with control but avoided giving up the backbreaker.  Nice effort by the bullpen to quiet things down.  Wilkins gets the W (3-2), Overman gets his 4th save of the year.

GoPack.com – No. 17 State Erupts with Five-Run Seventh to Top Bakersfield 8-4

The Pack (31-12) and the Roadrunners (19-21) traded one-run innings for the first half of the ball game, as Bakersfield jumped out to leads of 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, and 4-3 with the Wolfpack answering each time. State finally took control in the seventh, taking a 5-4 lead on Trea Turner’s two-RBI single, then ripped the game open with three more runs on Mathews and Canela’s bombs to make the final margin 8-4.

Canela’s two-run shot off the scoreboard in the seventh marked his sixth of the year, and third in his last two games. Mathews went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI on his eighth homer of the season, extending his hitting streak to 11 games. Turner scored in the first inning for the fifth-consecutive game in a 1-for-4, two run, two RBI day with a stolen base to improve to an NCAA leading 42-for-44 on the season.

Box Score

GoRunners.com – No. 17 NC State Defeats CSUB 8-4

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Game Two – Saturday

Currently in a rain delay – Big slow moving T-storm cell dumping a lot of rain from the looks of it.  Guessing 60ish min delay, assuming the field can handle whatever rainfall comes and no more cells pop up behind this one.  Stay tuned….

OK, so I might have been a little optimistic with my 60ish min estimate.  Sue me.  Still waiting….

Game Two postponed due to rain.  Doubleheader tomorrow, first game scheduled for 10:30am.  Senior Day activities will take place AFTER game two.

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Sunday Doubleheader – Game One

Behind the 7.1 inning scoreless outing by Ethan Ogburn, the Wolfpack takes first game of the doubleheader, 2-0.  Ryan Mathews’ 2 RBI double in the 3rd inning accounted for the only runs of the game.

Sunday Doubleheader – Game Two

We pick it up in the 7th.  Pack has the lead 7-5 coming into the inning….

7th inning – CSUB’s Christensen hit by pitch with one out, advances to 2nd on a passed ball, scores on the 2 out double by Desimone…Desimone advances to 3rd on a wild pitch, then scores on the two out triple by Letourneau…Dillon Frye comes on in relief of Wilkins and gets Younger looking to end the inning, but not before CSUB gets two runs and knots the game up at 7; Fincher’s 2 out single for the Pack goes for naught, 7-7 at the end of 7 complete.

8th inning – Frye issues a leadoff walk to Brockmeyer, Legg pops up to 3rd, then Frye gets Sanay to ground into the double play to end the inning (4-6-3); Chris Diaz gets a 2 out double, scores on Canela’s RBI single…Mathews singles, moving Canela to 2nd…Camacho gets the hook for CSUB, James Barragan on in relief…Ciencin’s infield single to 3rd scores Canela, moves Mathews to 3rd…Brett Austin singles to score Mathews, moves Ciencin to 2nd…Barragan yields to Austin Davis…Davis gets Fincher to fan looking (dropped 3rd strike, 2-3 on the throw) to end the inning, but not before the Pack picks up 3 runs on 5 hits to retake the lead 10-7.  Roadrunners have one last chance with the 6, 7 and 8 hitters due up in the 9th, Overman comes on for the Pack to try and close it out.

9th inning – Overman K’s Gaston looking, Shryock pinch hits for Christensen and gets a one out single up the middle, Pierce goes down looking, Desimone pops up to end the game.

Pack wins 10-7.  Sweeps the Sunday twin bill and the weekend series, extends the current win streak to 9, and moves to 33-12 on the year.