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March 19, 2000
RALEIGH, N.C. — Brian Wright and Mike Prochaska combined for fourdoubles, two home runs and seven RBIs, but it was Eric Mosley’s three-rundouble in the seventh inning that provided the margin of victory for NCState, which downed Virginia 16-13 in an Atlantic Coast Conferenceslugfest Friday at Doak Field.
On an afternoon when the pitching coaches were reaching early and oftenfor the antacids, Josh Miller (2-0), the third of three NC Statepitchers, brought a sense of order to the proceedings by allowing justone run on three hits in three innings. Mark Hurrie (0-1) took the lossfor the Cavaliers after being roughed up for three runs on just one hitin one inning on the mound.
The win was NC State’s fourth in a row, matching the team’s season high,and its fifth in its last six games. The Wolfpack improved to 14-7overall and 3-1 in the ACC. Virginia, in its ACC opener, fell to 11-11-1and 0-1. The game was a hitters’ delight. Wolfpack pitchers were able toretire the Cavaliers 1-2-3 in an inning just once, which was one morethan their Virginia counterparts could muster. The Pack had at least onebaserunner in each of the eight innings in which it batted.
Virginia took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on Luis Giraldo’s RBIsingle, but Dan Mooney’s solo homer leading off the bottom of the secondtied the game at 1-1. The homer was Mooney’s fourth of the season.
Tim LaVigne drove in a pair of runs, one of them unearned, with a singlein the top of the third, but NC State tied the game at 3-3 on a one-outdouble by Wright and back-to-back RBI doubles by Prochaska and Craig Leein the bottom of the inning. The Wolfpack added two more in the bottom ofthe fourth. Richard Lee grounded into a double play, and after JasonSmith, up next, was hit by a pitch, Wright made it 5-3 with his seconddouble in as many innings.
The game see-sawed back Virginia’s way in the top of the fifth. Withrunners at second and third with two out, Ryan Combs balked in a run, andMark Rueffert then reached on an error to send home a run. Ben Himes madethe Pack pay for the extra out with a two-run homer to deep center fieldthat gave the Cavs a 7-5 lead.
Virginia’s lead, as most were in this game, was short-lived. Prochaskaled off the bottom of the fifth with a double, went to third when CraigLee’s fly ball to center field was misplayed for a two-base error, andscored when Jeremy Dutton beat out a squeeze bunt for a single. DanMooney singled in a run, and Andy Baxter sacrificed the runners to secondand third, Richard Lee drove in a run with a groundout, Smith walked, andWright hit a three-run homer to right field, his fourth of the season.That gave NC State an 11-7 lead, and Prochaska’s leadoff homer in thebottom of the sixth made it 12-7.
The Cavaliers tied the game with five runs in the top of the seventhwhen the first six batters of the inning reached base safely. RBI singlesby David Stone and a two-run single by Robbie Marvin cut the Wolfpacklead to 12-11, and Tim LaVigne’s sacrifice fly knotted the score at adozen runs apiece.
NC State broke the tie in the bottom of the seventh. Baxter and RichardLee walked to lead off the inning, and Smith beat out a sacrifice attemptfor a single that loaded the bases. Wright walked to force in thego-ahead run, and Mosley ripped a hot grounder just past the thirdbaseman and down the left-field line for a bases-clearing double.
Virginia got one run back on an RBI grondout by Robbie Marvin, butMiller worked out of further damage and went on to retire the Cavs in theninth on just one hit.