College Notebook

NC State’s seven-game win streak ends

After clinching the series victory with wins on Friday and Saturday, the N.C. State baseball team fell short of the sweep Sunday as the Wolfpack was edged by Delaware, 5-4, at Doak Field. The loss snaps a seven-game winning streak for the Pack.

Burk FitzPatrick earned the win for the Blue Hens (25-20) with four innings in relief, while Dalton Feeney took the loss for the Wolfpack (27-21).

Delaware struck first to own its first lead of the series after a solo home run by Calvin Scott in the top of the first, but N.C. State countered in the bottom half with three runs to go out front.

After a single up the middle by Josh McLain and a walk by Brad Debo, Joe Dunand ripped an RBI single to right center to push across the first run for the Wolfpack. Brett Kinneman followed with a sacrifice fly to deep right field, as Debo tagged and scored to give N.C. State a 2-1 advantage. Will Wilson extended the Pack’s lead to 3-1 with his 16th double of the year to drive in Dunand from first base. His total is tied for sixth in the ACC and leads all freshmen in the league.

The Blue Hens countered with a big seventh inning, plating three runs in the frame to take a 5-3 lead. Kyle Baker had the big hit in the inning with a two-run single to left field with the bases loaded, and three batters later Jeremy Ake singled to score a run.

Evan Mendoza led off the bottom of the inning for N.C. State with a solo home run over the left-field wall. It was his fourth of the year and helped trim the score to 5-4, but unfortunately Delaware’s FitzPatrick rebounded to get out of the frame.

The Wolfpack will return to action at 6 p.m. Wednesday against UNC-Wilmington at Doak Field.

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons clinched their sixth ACC series of the year, beating Boston College 5-2 in the rubber game on Sunday at David F. Couch Ballpark. Connor Johnstone improved to 7-0 after another strong start, allowing two runs on three hits with four strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings of work. Griffin Roberts earned his fifth save with 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief, striking out four. Offensively, Jake Mueller (two doubles) and Stuart Fairchild (2-for-3, two RBIs, two stolen bases) led the way for Wake Forest.

ECU: USF scored five runs in the first inning and held on to complete an AAC series sweep of the Pirates 6-3 Sunday at the USF Baseball Stadium. With the win, the Bulls improve to 37-10 overall and 12-6 in league play while the Pirates fall to 24-24 and 4-14. Peter Strzelecki (2-2) picked up the win allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits with 10 strikeouts and one walk in a career-high 8 1/3 innings. Andrew Perez notched his seventh save of the season working two-thirds of an innings with one hit. Jake Agnos (2-3) took the loss surrendering six runs (all earned) on nine hits with seven strikeouts and two walks in 3 2/3 innings.

Campbell: Liberty batted around in the fifth and sixth, breaking open a scoreless game, and held on for a 7-1 Sunday win to claim the Big South weekend series. Liberty moved to 28-17 on the season and 14-7 in Big South games, while the Camels dipped to 21-25 and 7-11. The Flames claimed Friday’s opener 4-3 before Campbell evened the series with a 7-4 Saturday victory. Evan Mitchell (6-1) picked up the win, going 6 1/3 innings with a run on six hits, striking out two and walking two. Eric Grabowski tossed the final 2 2/3 innings, allowing a hit with four strikeouts. Ryan Kirk (3-5) took the loss, allowing three unearned runs on three hits with three strikeouts and four walks. Kirk did not allow a hit until the fourth, allowing just two Flames to reach until Sammy Taormina’s one out single. Up next, the Camels head to Duke on Tuesday and N.C. Central on Wednesday.

Elon: A leadoff homer in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the Hofstra Pride to a 5-4 victory over the Phoenix in the deciding game of a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series on Sunday. Ryne Ogren and Kory Shumate each had two of the team’s seven hits, while Zach Evers drove in a pair of runs for the Phoenix. Vinnie Costello was 2-for-4 with the game-winning homer and two runs scored to lead Hofstra. Robbie Welhaf (4-5) took the loss after allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits in two innings. Starter Ryan Conroy went six innings and was charged with three runs (two earned) on six hits. Chris Weiss (5-2) picked up the win for Hofstra after striking out six in 2 2/3 innings of relief.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack concluded its regular season on Sunday at Dail Stadium with a 7-0 loss to Louisville. The Cardinals took the series, improving to 31-18 (14-8 ACC), and the Wolfpack moves to 17-37 (10-14 ACC). The Cards quickly took a 1-0 lead in the first off when Morgan Meyer smacked a double to left center and scored on a one-out single to left field. The Cards never looked back, plating two more in the third, another in the fourth, and their last three in the sixth. Strong Cardinals pitching kept the Wolfpack at bay, even though they loaded the bases in three separate occasions.

Duke: Junior attackman Justin Guterding tallied a game-high seven points from three goals and four assists to headline a convincing 18-8 victory for the sixth-ranked Blue Devils over Boston University in the fifth annual Battle at Bethpage Sunday. Eleven Blue Devils tallied at least one point in the victory. The team improves to 12-4 overall and will await its next opponent in the NCAA selection show aired by ESPNU at 9 p.m. Boston University falls to 12-5 on the year. Brad Smith chipped in a career-high four goals, while freshman Kevin Quigley notched his first career hat trick. Scoring their first career goals as Blue Devils were sophomore Cade Van Raaphorst and freshman Brian Smyth.

From news releases

This story was originally published May 7, 2017 at 11:30 PM with the headline "College Notebook."