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May 23, 2002
St. Petersburg, Fla. – The #6 seeded University of Virginia baseball team dropped another heartbreaking loss, this time in the second round of the 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship at Al Lang Field in Florida Power Park after suffering a 6-5 loss to the #7 seeded N.C. State Wolfpack in 10 innings. UVa battle back from an early 5-2 deficit to tie the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings, before the Wolfpack’s Brian Wright hit the second of his two home runs in the game to seal the win for N.C. State. The defeat was Virginia’s sixth consecutive loss to N.C. State dating back to last season.
UVa took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Dan Street hit a two-out triple off the wall in right-center field before scoring a run in UVa’s next at-bat when Robert Word posted a RBI-single through the left side. Word scored a run himself one batter later when Mark Reynolds hit a RBI-double to right field to give the Cavaliers a two-run advantage. Reynolds’ double, his 12th of the season and the third of the tournament, appeared to get lost in the sun by NCSU right fielder Joe Gaetti before falling into the field of play for a hit.
N.C. State bounced right back in the top of the second inning and erupted for five runs to take its first lead at 5-2. David Hicks got things started when he singled and scored a run three batters later on a RBI ground out by Adam Hargrave before Gaetti hit a two-run double to left field to give the Wolfpack their first lead at 3-2. One batter later, Wright hit a two-run home run down the right field to extend NCSU’s lead to 5-2.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Virginia cut N.C. State’s lead to 5-4 when D. Street connected on his 12th home run of the season with a two-run shot to left field that also scored his brother, Matt Street, who singled to reach first base. The score remained at 5-4 until the bottom of the ninth inning. With two outs and nobody on base, UVa’s Word kept the Cavaliers alive when he doubled to right-center field. After a walk by Reynolds, Shawn McCleary tied the ballgame at 5-5 to force extra innings when he hit a RBI-single to left field to drive in Miguel Luina, who was pinch running for Word. McCleary’s game-tying hit came with two strikes in the count, one strike away from UVa being eliminated.
However, N.C. State answered Virginia’s run with a run of its own when Wright hit his second home run of the game with a solo shot to right field, giving the Wolfpack a 6-5 lead. Wright’s home run proved to be the game-winner and sealed the win for NCSU as the Cavaliers were unable to score another run.
UVa starting pitcher Canon “Meat” Hickman went 7.1 strong innings in a no decision and allowed five runs on five hits with four strikeouts before being replaced by Alan Zimmerer. Zimmerer (1-3) took the loss after pitching 2.2 innings and allowed one run on two hits with two strikeouts. NCSU starting pitcher Mike Prochaska lasted 7.0 innings in a no decision and surrendered four runs (three earned) on 11 hits with four strikeouts before Ryan Combs replaced him in the bottom of the eighth inning. Combs (1-1) earned his first win of the season after going three complete innings and gave up one run on four hits with four strikeouts.
With the loss, Virginia was eliminated from the tournament and finished the 2002 season with an overall record of 25-32. The Cavaliers finished 0-2 in the ACC Tournament and marked the first time since 1999 that UVa went winless in the event. The victory improves N.C. State’s record to 33-25 overall, 1-1 in the ACC Tournament. The Wolfpack will advance to the third round to face the loser of the #1 Florida State vs. #4 Clemson game on Thursday at 12:00 noon.
— UVa —