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State drills Sacred Heart 16-5 in first game of NCAA tourney

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NC State bombarded Sacred Heart to advance to the winners’ bracket of the Raleigh regional with a 16-5 win Friday at Doak Field at Dail Park.

The Wolfpack (40-17) fell behind the Pioneers (25-31) 2-0 in the top of the first, but rallied behind the 15th homer of the year by Ryan Mathews, a three-run blast, to take a 4-2 lead into the second. The blitz continued in the third and fourth as State padded the lead to 9-2. SHU scored once in the sixth before the Pack shut the door with seven runs in the bottom half, eventually prevailing 16-5.

Mathews went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and three runs scored, his third four-RBI game of the year. Andrew Ciencin scored twice in a 3-for-4 game with a stolen base. Jake Fincher stole a pair of bases in the game, helping the Wolfpack to four swipes on the evening.

Trea Turner went 2-for-5 with two runs, scoring in the first inning for the 10th time in the Pack’s last 16 games. Brett Austin pushed three runs across with two sac flies and an RBI single.

Starter Vance Williams (4-3) scored the win on six innings of work, tying a career-high with eight strikeouts while allowing three earned on five hits. Dillon Frye (1) claimed his first career save on three innings, surrendering two earned on four hits.

Sacred Heart starter Troy Scribner ended up with the loss after eight runs, seven earned, in the first three innings.

NC State’s 16 runs matches the most ever scored by the Wolfpack in an NCAA postseason game, a record set in 1975 against The Citadel. Mathews’s homer gave the Pack 36 on the season, 24 of which have come at Doak Field at Dail Park.

The Pack’s 40th win marks the 14th time in school history and the seventh time under head coach Elliott Avent that State has pulled the feat. Avent’s total ties Ray Tanner’s seven 40-win seasons.

Friday’s game started 30 minutes late due to lightning, and endured a 10-minute weather delay in the top of the ninth.

Sacred Heart opened up a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-out, two-RBI double from Hunter Phillips. A walk and a hit batsman put two on and nobody out. Williams rebounded from the early trouble with a strikeout and liner to right to put two away. Phillips came up with the clutch hit, though, dropping a double into the right field corner to score a pair.

NC State answered with four in the bottom half of the first, three of which came on the Mathews home run. Turner led off with a double down the left field line, and Chris Diaz followed with a single to right. Mathews unleashed on a 1-0 pitch, sending it towering over the left field fence to put the Pack on top 3-2. Danny Canela walked and Ciencin singled through the left side to keep the inning going. Tarran Senay’s sac bunt moved the runners into scoring position, and Austin’s sac fly to the wall in left brought in the fourth run.

The Pack manufactured a pair of runs in the third on small ball. Canela’s walk started the inning, and Ciencin reached with a bunt single behind him. Senay tried to bunt the pair over, but Scribner hustled off of the mound to gun down the lead runner. Ciencin and Senay executed a double steal to put two in scoring position, setting up Fincher’s bunt single to drive in a run. Austin hit his second sac fly of the game to make it 6-2 in favor of the Wolfpack. Fincher stole second and third, but ended up stranded there after a pop up to end the inning.

Three more came home for the Wolfpack in the fourth. Diaz walked as the lead off, then moved to second on a balk. Mathews popped foul, but a drop by the catcher gave him new life, which he used to hit an RBI single through the left side. Canela singled to right before Ciencin bunted he and Mathews into scoring position. Mathews scored later on a passed ball, and Canela took home on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 9-2.

State ripped the game wide open with seven runs in the sixth to stretch the lead to 16-3. Senay was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and nobody out to start the scoring barrage. With one out, Austin sent a fly to the wall in right that bounced off of the Sacred Heart right fielder to score one more. Matt Bergquist followed that by hitting a two-RBI single up the middle. Turner walked to reload the bases and Diaz plated one with a grounder to the right side. With two in scoring position, a wild pitch brought in Bergquist, and Turner motored all the way home from second when the flip to the plate sailed over the covering pitcher’s head.

NC State advances to take on Vanderbilt in the winners’ bracket at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Doak Field at Dail Park. Streaming video will be linked from GoPack.com. Radio coverage will be provided by 88.1 WKNC, fans can follow Twitter updates from @NCStateBaseball, and live stats will be available at GoPack.com.

Featured stories, The skinny

Family Fun Day held in Cary during Division II baseball championship

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Delta State, 6-5 winners over Minnesota State Friday, takes on West Chester Saturday at 7 p.m. for the Division II college baseball championship in Cary at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.

As part of the festivities there is a Family Fun Day comprised of inflatables, face painting and games. After the game, there will be fireworks.

Located in Mississippi, Delta State rallied from a 5-0 deficit with five runs in the bottom of the eighth and Michael Vinson’s bases-loaded walk-off single in the ninth to earn the right to play West Chester. Delta State head coach Mike Kinnison is making his ninth appearance in the National Finals with Delta State, including his fifth as head coach. He has also been to the National Finals with the Statesmen as an assistant coach and before that, as an All-America shortstop.

Located in Pennsylvania, West Chester defeated North Carolina team Catawba 2-1 with a Josh Heyne bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth that brought home the winning run. Fred Breidenbach retired the final 11 batters he faced and finished with a complete game six-hitter as West Chester earned a spot in the championship game for the first time in school history.

Featured stories, UNC

UNC opens NCAA baseball tourney with win over Cornell

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Colin Moran had four hits to help North Carolina beat Cornell 7-4 on Friday in the Chapel Hill Regional of the NCAA tournament.

Jacob Stallings and Adam Griffin each drove in two runs for the top-seeded Tar Heels (45-14), the No. 6 national seed. Moran’s big day came a week after going just 2 for 14 in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

North Carolina scored the first five runs Friday, then added two after the fourth-seeded Big Red had closed to 5-3 in the sixth inning.

Hobbs Johnson (7-1) earned the win, allowing six hits and two runs in five innings. Michael Morin picked up his 18th save to tie a school single-season record.

Brian Billigen hit a two-run homer in the sixth for Cornell (31-16-1), which committed four errors.

Rick Marks (4-5) took the loss, allowing nine hits and five runs in 3 2-3 innings.

The game included a 71-minute rain delay.

North Carolina Head Coach Mike Fox said, “I think Cornell showed you what it’s like playing in the NCAA Tournament after 30 years. The excitement, being here. I thought they played terrific. They’d probably like to have a couple walks, a couple ground balls back and that game is entirely different. I don’t want to take anything away from our team because the first game in a regional is always that one you just have to work really hard to get the win and get past this one, but I really thought Cornell just played outstanding. They were excited to be here, and I’m not sure our team matched that. I think you have to be really careful about being in a regional and being at home and being complacent and just not locking in and bringing it.”

– News release

Featured stories, N.C. State

Suggestions for NC State’s first Hall of Fame inductions – not the usual suspects

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When a group starts a Hall of Fame of any kind, they certainly want to have some big names to start it off and create excitement. When NC State announces its first class, don’t be surprised to hear names that everybody knows but I’d suggest going back, way back in time.

The reasons are many – from simply being chronological to picking individuals who have relatives who still remember them, from tipping the cap to important historic features to educating the public about little-known but important figures while the attention is high.

There will be plenty of time for the Norm Sloans and Jim Valvanos to be added to the Hall of Fame – I’m looking for the Jack McDowells and John Ripples of NC State’s history to make the first Hall. Who, you might ask?

McDowell, who played for NC State in the 1920s, died in 1969 so many will not remember him, but they know him. McDowell, a member of North Carolina’s Sports Hall of Fame, was the college’s first first-team All-America football player. He was a running back in football and led State to a 9-1 record and the Southern Conference Championship in 1927. He also was captain of the basketball team, ran track, played baseball and won 16 letters.

Ripple, who played football for NC State almost 100 years ago when it was the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Engineering, died in 1965 but an offensive lineman scholarship is named for him. He made second team All America in 1918. So, he was the school’s first All-America player. At 6-2, 200 pounds, he was one of the biggest players around at that time. He also had a good basketball career and, though he didn’t get the same accolades, he felt he was a better basketball player than football player.

If I had to guess the popular picks for the first Hall of Fame class, it would be: Willis Casey, Everett Case, Earle Edwards, Ronnie Shavlik, Kay Yow, Norm Sloan, Jim Valvano, David Thompson, Phillip Rivers and Ted Brown.

All those should eventually be in the Hall of Fame but for the first class, if I had 10 to pick, only the first five from above would be in my first 10. I’d have Willis Casey, Everett Case, Earle Edwards, Ronnie Shavlik, Jack McDowell, John Ripple, Connie Mack Berry, Ray Reeve, Roman Gabriel and Kay Yow.

By having women’s basketball coaching legend Kay Yow in my picks for the first class it may seem like I’m being inconsistent. But, for the most part, women’s athletics did not start until much later than men’s. In fact, it was 1975 when Yow became State’s first full-time women’s basketball coach. Her coaching record was an astounding 737-344. She is in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, one of only five women inducted, and is a gold-medal winning Olympic coach. If you want women included in the first class of athletes, Yow is the one.

If I were to pick anyone else from the last 40-50 years for the first induction, it would be David Thompson, quite possibly the best college basketball player under 7 feet tall ever, and Jim Ritcher, the nation’s best lineman in 1979 and two time All-American football player. I would also not induct Sloan and Valvano in the same year so as not to minimize Sloan’s achievements. Similarly, I wouldn’t induct Roman Gabriel and Phillip Rivers the same year.

Gabriel, twice an All-American and twice the ACC Player of the Year in the early 1960s, was a strong-armed quarterback who set 22 school and nine conference football records.

Connie Mack Berry, who played for the two-time NFL champion Chicago Bears, played year-round for NC State. At 6-3, he was a good basketball player, leading the Southern Conference in scoring in 1936 and 1937. He was the star end in football, the star center in basketball, a top pitcher in baseball and a track star.

Reeve, the long-time radio voice of the Wolfpack, is what most would consider the surprise pick. A pioneer broadcaster who started calling games in 1939, Reeve is most associated with NC State. He was the first broadcaster ever inducted in the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame. As the person who brought Wolfpack sports to the people before television was even around, Reeve deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

If my top 10 were picked, you’d hear a lot of “Who?” questions – and that’s what the public needs, to find out about who these important athletic figures were. The others can wait.

Some other names that need to be considered are: four-time All-America swimmer Bob Mattson, seven-time individual swimming winner Dick Fadgen, first basketball All-American Morris Johnson, State’s first real basketball big man Tommy Burleson, Olympic gold medal swimmer Steve Rerych, seven-time NCAA cross country champion Julie Shea, ACC basketball player of the year Lou Pucillo and first-team All-America basketball star Sammy Ranzino.

Featured stories, N.C. State, The skinny

NC State to establish athletics Hall of Fame; your nominations needed

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NC State has established its first-ever Athletics Hall of Fame to celebrate the accomplishments of the university’s greatest student-athletes, coaches and special contributors.

The inaugural class will be selected this summer and enshrined during a celebration at Reynolds Coliseum on the evening of Friday, October 5, the night before the Wolfpack’s home football game against Florida State.

“Those who appreciate the achievements of NC State athletics will finally have the opportunity to appropriately recognize the individuals who have represented us so well,” said NC State director of athletics Deborah A. Yow. “We anticipate a sold-out event at historic Reynolds Coliseum in October.”

Tickets for this special event are $75 and may be ordered through the Wolfpack Ticket Office at 919-865-1510 or online at this GoPack.com link. Guests of the black-tie optional event will be treated to a reception where they can meet and mingle with the honorees prior to the star-studded induction ceremony. Complete details will be available in August.

Hall of Fame inductees will also be recognized at halftime of the Wolfpack’s home football game against Florida State on Saturday, October 6.

The 14-person Hall of Fame Election Committee has been appointed and will be charged this summer with selecting the inaugural class from more than 12 decades of athletics achievement at NC State. The committee includes five former student-athletes, 11 alumni, 13 Wolfpack Club members, eight North Carolina natives, and one current head coach.

Chris Kingston, executive senior associate athletics director, will chair the committee, which includes four permanent members, 10 at-large members each serving two-year terms and one ex-officio (non-voting) member.

Wolfpack fans are encouraged to submit nominations for outstanding individuals and teams for the committee’s consideration www.gopack.com/ot/halloffame.htmlhere. The deadline for nominations for the 2012 inaugural class is Friday, June 15, 2012.

Featured stories, The skinny

Division II baseball coach praises Cary as the Beverly Hills of NC

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Chico State head coach Dave Taylor, despite his team losing out of the Division II NCAA tournament, hopes Cary keeps the tourney in the future.

“This is a big upgrade for Division II baseball,” Taylor said. “Driving back and forth through the Town of Cary, you feel like it’s the Beverly Hills of North Carolina. It’s a very nice area with nice people and the tournament is well run by the USA staff and the NCAA.”

The championship game is set for Saturday. Below is the remaining schedule:

Wednesday, May 30
3 p.m. Game 9: Southern New Hampshire vs. Minnesota State
7 p.m. Game 10: Catawba vs. St. Mary’s
Promotional event: Rawlings giveaway

Thursday, May 31
3 p.m. Game 11: Delta State vs. winner game 9
7 p.m. Game 12: West Chester vs. winner game 10
Promotional event: USA Baseball hat giveaway (first 250)

Friday, June 1
3 p.m. Game 13, if necessary
6 p.m. Game 13/14, if only one game is necessary
7 p.m. Game 14, if necessary
Promotional event: “What if” day, all tickets $4

Saturday, June 2
7 p.m. Championship Game
Following game Awards Presentation and Fireworks
Promotional event: Family fun day (inflatables, face painting, games)

Featured stories, N.C. State

NC State hosts regional, starting with Sacred Heart Friday

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NC State earned the top seed in the Raleigh regional, and will be joined by two-seed Vanderbilt, three-seed UNC Wilmington, and four-seed Sacred Heart this weekend.

With Raleigh already named a regional host on Sunday, the Wolfpack awaited the NCAA’s bracket announcement Monday to find out which teams will visit Doak Field at Dail Park.

The Pack (39-17) ended up with a Friday date against Sacred Heart (25-30), and a game against either Vanderbilt (33-26) or UNC Wilmington (38-21) on Saturday.

If NC State advances out of the Raleigh regional, it will take on the winner of the Gainesville regional, either Florida (42-18), Georgia Tech (36-24), Charleston (37-20), or Bethune-Cookman (34-25).

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Carolina earns No. 6 national seed, hosting regional starting Friday

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No. 6 national seed North Carolina learned Monday it will host East Carolina, St. John’s and Cornell in the 2012 NCAA Chapel Hill Regional when the 64-team tournament field was announced on ESPNU.

The Tar Heels (44-14) will meet the No. 4 seed Cornell Big Red (31-15-1), the Ivy League champions, at 6 p.m. Friday at Boshamer Stadium. The tournament opener will take place at 1 p.m. with No. 2 seed East Carolina (35-22-1) meeting No. 3 seed St. John’s (37-21).

The Chapel Hill Regional champion will advance to face the winner of the Arizona Regional in the Super Regional round for the right to advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

A top-eight national seed for the fifth time in the last six seasons, Carolina is making its 27th NCAA appearance. The Tar Heels are 50-25 in NCAA play under Mike Fox and are 15-0 at home in regional play since 2006.

Carolina is 13-6 all-time against Cornell, but have not met on the diamond since 1969.

The Tar Heels are 49-25 against East Carolina, including a 1-0 extra inning win on April 25. Carolina is 6-1 all-time against the Pirates in postseason play. After an 8-4 win over St. John’s on Feb. 28 the Tar Heels are 8-5 all-time against the Red Storm. UNC claimed the only postseason meeting between the teams with a 9-5 win in the College World Series in 1978, a team that featured UNC head coach Mike Fox.

2012 NCAA Chapel Hill Regional Schedule
Friday, June 1
Game 1: #2 East Carolina (35-22-1) vs. #3 St. John’s (37-21), 1 p.m.
Game 2: #1 North Carolina (44-14) vs. #4 Cornell (31-15-1), 6 p.m.
Saturday, June 2
Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 1 p.m.
Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 6 p.m.
Sunday, June 3
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 1 p.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 6 p.m.
Monday, June 4
Game 7: 6 p.m. – If necessary

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Former UNC rusher Mike Voight dies at 58

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Mike Voight, the second-leading rusher in North Carolina history and a two-time ACC Player of the Year, has died at the age of 58.

Voight, whose quirky nature earned him the nickname “Space Cowboy,” was found at his home Tuesday morning. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Voight ran for 3,971 yards and scored 42 touchdowns from 1973 to 1976 at Carolina. He was the first ACC player to post three 1,000-yard rushing seasons. At the conclusion of his career he ranked fifth in college football history in rushing.

Former UNC sports information director Rick Brewer wrote an excellent piece on Voight. To read it, please click here.

Voight led the ACC in rushing in 1975 with 1,250 yards and in 1976 with 1,407. Voight had split time with James Betterson at tailback in 1974, but still finished with 1,033 yards.

Voight saved his greatest performance for the final home game of his career. He ran for 261 yards on 47 carries in a 39-38 win over Duke. He scored four touchdowns that day and added the winning two-point with 37 seconds to play.

That capped a tremendous finish to his season. In the two previous games he had 161 yards and three touchdowns at Clemson and 190 yards and three touchdowns against Virginia. He finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting after his senior season.

Voight was chosen to the ACC Silver Anniversary Team.

Duke, Featured stories, N.C. State, UNC

ACC baseball tourney opens in Greensboro

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Pairings and game times have been set for the 2012 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship, which will be held from Wednesday, May 23 through Sunday, May 27, at NewBridge Bank Park.

As the No. 1 overall seed, Atlantic Division champion Florida State (43-12, 24-6) will be placed atop Pool A and will be joined by No. 4 Virginia (36-16-1, 18-12), No. 5 Clemson (32-24, 16-14) and No. 8 Georgia Tech (33-24, 12-18). Coastal Division champion North Carolina (42-13, 22-8) is the No. 2 seed and will be joined in Pool B by No. 3 NC State (38-15, 19-11), No. 6 Miami (34-19, 16-14) and No. 7 Wake Forest (32-22, 13-17).

All eight teams in this year’s ACC Championship field are ranked among the top 40 of the most recent NCAA RPI report. Florida State held a No. 1 national ranking in two major national polls last week, while North Carolina was ranked as high as No. 7, NC State as high as No. 13, Virginia as high as No. 19 and Miami as high as No. 21.

Under the pool-play format, each team will play one game against each of the other three opponents in its division Wednesday-Saturday (May 23-26). The two teams with the best records within their respective division brackets will advance to the title game on Sunday, May 27, with the winner earning the ACC’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Play begins on Wednesday at 11 a.m. with Florida State facing Georgia Tech. NC State meets Miami at 3 p.m., followed by North Carolina vs. Wake Forest at 7 p.m. Virginia and Clemson swing into action with the 11 a.m. game on Thursday. North Carolina faces Miami at 3 p.m., followed by NC State vs. Wake Forest at 7 p.m. On Friday, Virginia faces Georgia Tech in the 11 a.m. opener. Florida State plays Clemson at 3 p.m., followed by Miami vs. Wake Forest at 7 p.m.

Saturday will see Clemson face Georgia Tech at 11 a.m. Florida State meets Virginia at 3 p.m., and North Carolina meets NC State at 7 p.m. Sunday’s Championship game is set for 12 noon.

Fans can still purchase tickets to next week’s competition. Complete books to all 13 games are available, as well as individual game tickets. Online ticket information can be found at http://bit.ly/2012ACCBaseTix or by calling 336-268-2255.

All 13 games of this year’s ACC Baseball Championship will be televised for the sixth straight year. RSN, a regional network that covers the entire conference footprint, will carry 12 total games on Wednesday through Saturday. Please check http://bit.ly/2012ACCBase for local affiliates and stations. Sunday’s noon championship game will televised nationally by ESPN2.

All games will live-streamed via the Internet by ESPN3. In addition, Sirius 93 will broadcast all 13 games live via satellite radio, and every game with exception of the Wednesday and Friday 7 p.m. games will also be broadcast live via satellite radio on XM 190. Live stats will be available at the ACC Baseball Championship site.