Baseball
No. 13 Wolfpack baseball falls 6-1 at No. 9 Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. The No. 13 N.C. State Wolfpack baseball team fell 6-1 against No. 9 Louisville on Sunday at Jim Patterson Stadium.
The Wolfpack (32-17, 13-12 ACC) slipped into a 2-0 deficit in the bottom first. Louisville (42-10, 19-8) added four more in the second. N.C. State mounted a rally in the eighth, but only mustered one run before leaving the bases loaded, setting the final 6-1.
Evan Mendoza extended his hitting streak to 23 games, the third-longest in Wolfpack history. The sophomore third baseman trails the second-best hitting streak in program history by two games and sits three shy of tying the school record. Mendoza finished 2-for-4 with the Pack’s only RBI.
Shane Shepard scored the Wolfpack’s lone run, entering as a pinch hitter in the eighth, finishing 0-for-0 with a pair of walks. Stephen Pitarra led off the game with a single to left. Preston Palmeiro went 1-for-3, providing the Pack’s only other hit.
Wolfpack starter Ryan Williamson (7-2) took the loss after leaving in the second. The Pack utilized seven arms in the ballgame.
No. 7 Florida State 4, Duke 3: Florida State avoided a sweep against the Blue Devils, defeating Duke in the series finale at the Durham Bulls Park.
Duke (31-21, 12-15 ACC) put the first three batters aboard in the opening inning, but Florida State (33-17, 15-8 ACC) was able to work out of the jam. A fly ball to shallow center and two strikeouts kept the Blue Devils from an early advantage.
Duke scratched a second-inning run across for a 1-0 lead after two. Freshman Zack Kone reached via an FSU fielding error before Herron lined his first double of the day off the Blue Monster to drive in the contest’s opening run.
The Seminoles had at least one baserunner in each of the first three frames before striking for a run in the fourth. Duke countered in the bottom half with Peter Zyla’s first career home run.
The Seminoles answered with a two-run fifth, staking their first lead of the contest.
Duke starter Brian McAfee (7-4) fanned the first two FSU batters in the sixth, but a two-out Walls’ single and Sansone’s third double put the Seminoles ahead, 4-3. McAfee took the loss, allowing four runs – three earned – on 11 hits over 5 2/3 innings.
Wake Forest 15, No. 15 Virginia 5: The Wake Forest offense drilled 11 extra-base hits en route to a series-clinching victory over Virginia Tech at English Field.
Will Craig and Kevin Conway each homered, and the Demon Deacons (31-20, 13-14 ACC) hit nine doubles – three from Nate Mondou and two apiece from Stuart Fairchild and Johnny Aiello.
Wake Forest scored at least two runs in each of the final five innings, answering the Hokies’ (19-33, 6-21 ACC) five-run fifth inning by scoring 10 unanswered runs to end the game.
Drew Loepprich took a no-hit bid into the fifth inning as the Deacs took a 5-0 lead at the midway point, but a hit by pitch and error helped Virginia Tech tie the game at 5-5.
But the Deacs responded, as Jonathan Pryor hit a two-run single in the sixth for what proved to be the game-winner, and the bullpen rebounded after struggling Saturday, allowing just one hit in 4 2/3 scoreless innings.
The series victory helped Wake Forest’s ACC Tournament chances, as the Deacons rank in a tie for sixth overall as of Sunday evening. The top 10 make the tournament, with the top six receiving a bye into pool play.
UNC vs. Notre Dame: The Tar Heels (32-19, 11-15 ACC) had an off day Sunday before their series finale against the Notre Dame Irish (27-23, 11-13 ACC) at 7 p.m. Monday.
From news releases
This story was originally published May 15, 2016 at 8:35 PM with the headline "Baseball."