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Heels, Moran streaking at the right time

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ACC Coastal Champion North Carolina, on a 13-game win streak, will open the 2012 ACC Tournament Wednesday night at 7 p.m. against Wake Forest.

Sophomore Colin Moran missed 21 games after suffering an injury March 24. He returned 12 games ago and has picked up where he left off and has registered at least one hit in 11 of the last 12 games. The Rye, N.Y., native is hitting .375 over the stretch with 10 runs scored and 10 RBI with five extra-base hits, four doubles and a homer.

The Tar Heels will also take on Miami on Thursday at 3 p.m. followed by a meeting with NC State at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Streaking
• The 13-game winning streak is the longest of the season and longest since the 2002 squad won 13 straight from March 13-30.
• The 13-game winning streak is tied for Kent State for the longest current winning streak in the nation.
• The Tar Heels are eight games shy of tying for the longest wining streak in school history of 21 set by the 2000 team.

Turning Around Fortunes
• Carolina has struggled in the ACC Championship as of late by going 3-6 in its last three appearances since the 2007 title.
• The ACC Tournament title in 2007 was the first for the Tar Heels since the 1990 squad claimed the title with a 5-0 mark in the tournament.
• From 1980-1990 the Tar Heels appeared in the ACC Tournament final eight times but have appeared in the final once since 1990 with the 2007 team claiming the title.
• Despite the lack of finals appearances the Tar Heels have appeared in five College World Series since 2006.

Pitchers Approach Record Numbers
• Carolina allowed two earned runs for the second straight series this past weekend with a third straight sweep.
• In the process the Tar Heels lowered their team ERA to 2.62 on the year, the third-lowest mark in the country.
• If the Tar Heels keep the ERA under 3.00 it would be just the third time since 1980 the Tar Heels have accomplished the feat.
• Carolina’s 2.62 team ERA ranks the sixth-lowest in school history since 1960 entering the ACC Tournament and the lowest mark since the 1972 team posted a 2.23 mark.

40 Wins Once Again
• Carolina reached the 40-win plateau for the 19th time in school history in the weekend sweep of Virginia Tech and have 42 wins in 2012.
• The Tar Heels have now won at least 40 games 10 times in the last 11 years.
• The 42 wins on the year are tied for the third-most in the country in 2012 and one shy of the nation’s top mark of 43 held by Stony Brook and Utah Valley.

Starting To Pick It
• For the first time all year the Tar Heels posted five straight games (May 11-17) without committing an error and have raised their fielding percentage to .969.
• Carolina has posted fielding percentages of .970 or higher for each of the last five years, including a school-best .979 last year.
• The infield made a change prior to the matchup against East Carolina that kicked off a 13-game winning streak and the re-tooled infield has committed just four errors in 13 games for a .983 fielding percentage.

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State’s Mathews enters tourney as ACC’s hottest hitter

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NC State’s Ryan Mathews enters the tournament as the ACC’s hottest hitter, currently on the longest active hitting streak in the conference at 21 games. Mathews has six home runs in his last seven games, and took both National and ACC Player of the Week honors on Monday.

Third-seeded NC State opens its ACC Tournament against Miami, Wednesday at 3 p.m. at NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro, N.C.

The Wolfpack (38-15, 19-11 ACC) returns to action on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Wake Forest, before finishing its pool play schedule with North Carolina at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Pack must finish with the best record (or win a tiebreaker) in its pool to advance to the ACC Championship game Sunday at noon.

Trea Turner could own the ACC single-season record for stolen bases by the end of the weekend. The freshman sits 54-for-58 on the year, leading the nation by 14 and the ACC by 32, nine shy of the conference record set by Brian Roberts in 1998.

In addition to his speed on the base paths, Turner poses a threat at the plate. The Lake Worth, Fla. native has a .340 batting average, good for top-10 in the ACC, but does significant damage early in the game. Turner bats .372 and has 18 runs in the first inning, having led off every game this season for the Pack. He has scored in 18 of State’s last 19 games, eight of the last 12 first innings.

The Wolfpack represents the only team in the conference with four players batting over .340 (top 10 in the ACC). Aside from Turner, Chris Diaz leads the team with a .369 average, Mathews is hitting .343, and Canela sits ninth in the ACC at .340. No other conference squad has more than two batters in the top 10.

Turner, Mathews, and Diaz each made All-ACC first team on Monday alongside Carlos Rodon, who claimed both the ACC Freshman and Pitcher of the Year awards. Rodon marks the first freshman in conference history to earn either Player or Pitcher of the Year honors.

Radio coverage for all of NC State’s tournament games will be provided by 88.1 WKNC

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

Despite losing stars, ACC basketball still has dangerous teams

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Probably the first ACC basketball prediction article has appeared on CBS Sports online and the college basketball writer has North Carolina State as the team to beat followed by the depleted North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils. Rounding out the top five are Miami and Florida State.

Just like in the old days, “Next season, Tobacco Road will control the top of the ACC, with the middle and bottom of the ACC needing to work their way up,” CBS Sports’ Jeff Borzello said.

However, Borzello said that the ACC as a whole is headed for a rebuilding season. “The top of the league has multiple questions, and it remains to be seen if any are legitimate Final Four threats at this poin,” he said. “Moreover, the entire All-ACC first team is gone, as are two more players from the second team. There are several candidates for breakout seasons, though, and eight top-100 recruits are entering the fold. Youth will be a theme of the ACC this season.”

On the Wolfpack, he wrote, “Pack have two all-league players, four returning starters and a national top-five recruiting class. On paper, might be best in the league.”

On the Tar Heels, he wrote, “Heels are talented, but have questions. Is Marcus Paige ready at PG? Are P.J. Hairston, James McAdoo and Reggie Bullock ready to break out? ”

And on the Blue Devils, he wrote, “Rasheed Sulaimon could be a top-10 frosh, but the Blue Devils have questions on the perimeter. Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly have to step up.”

The predicted all-conference team is Lorenzo Brown (North Carolina State), Michael Snaer (Florida State), C.J. Leslie (North Carolina State), James Michael McAdoo (North Carolina) and Mason Plumlee (Duke).

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Matsui’s Bulls split series with Youkilis’ PawSox

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Even though the newly signed Hideki Matsui didn’t make much of an impact, the Durham Bulls took two out of three games from the Pawtucket Red Sox, led my Boston Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis.

Friday night, the Bulls rallied from a 5-2 deficit with four runs in the eighth inning to win the series. Matsui went hitless while Bulls leadoff hitter was the hero with four hits, including a triple, and three RBI. Youkilis was 1-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts. Matsui is batting just .143 while Youkilis is hitting .400 and will probably come off the disabled list for the Red Sox soon.

Pawtucket shortstop Jose Iglesias went 3 for 5 and belted his first home run of the year in an 8-2 victory Tuesday night to start the four-game series.

Pawtucket narrowly defeated the Durham Bulls in a 5-4 final on Wednesday night at the DBAP. Hideki Matsui went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI but it wasn’t enough to edge out the PawSox, led by the rehabbing Youkilis who was 1-2 with a run scored.

On Thursday, one of the most historic nights in the rich history of the Durham Bulls Baseball Club, a sellout crowd of 10,064 watched two international megastars collide in a star-studded evening at the DBAP. Rehabbing Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka was dealt the loss, as the Matsui-led Bulls rode the arm of Jim Paduch to a 5-0 shutout victory.

Matsuzaka finished his rehab appearance throwing 6 2/3 innings, allowing 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB and 2 HR, while striking out three.

Matsui finished the night 0-3 with a run scored. He was plagued by the Pawtucket shift and narrowly missed homering in the 8th.

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No. 8 Duke blanks Baylor to reach NCAA tennis quarterfinals

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The eighth-seeded Duke men’s tennis team advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2001 with a 4-0 Round of 16 victory over No. 25 Baylor Friday afternoon at the McWhorter Courts at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The Blue Devils improved to 25-5 on the year for the program’s highest number of wins in a season since the 1999-2000 campaign.

“We were just really prepared,” said head coach Ramsey Smith. “Baylor is a tough out and they were playing their best tennis of the year going into this tournament, so we were ready for a battle. I’m just really proud of our guys.”

Duke (25-5) got off to a quick start in doubles, posting wins on courts two and three to claim the point for the 22nd time this season. In the No. 2 contest, senior David Holland and sophomore Fred Saba went up a break at 2-all against 45th-ranked Kike Grangeiro and Roberto Maytin of Baylor (19-12). The Blue Devil duo also broke the Bears at 6-4 and held serve to lead Duke off the courts with an 8-4 victory. Holland and Saba earned their fourth consecutive win in postseason doubles play while moving to 8-3 on the season.

Senior Torsten Wietoska and freshman Raphael Hemmeler also grabbed an early break in their No. 3 match against the Bears’ Julian Bley and Marko Krickovic, jumping out to a 3-1 lead on their way to an 8-2 win. Wietoska and Hemmeler improved to 15-5 overall and 13-3 this spring at the No. 3 position.

The match on court one went unfinished with the Bears’ Diego Galeano and Mate Zsiga leading the 16th-ranked tandem of junior Henrique Cunha and sophomore Chris Mengel, 7-5.

“David Holland has been our leader in terms of energy with doubles,” Smith said. “He just gets the guys going, and it was a phenomenal start in doubles. With the format in the tournament here, the doubles point is so key and against our singles, it makes it really tough to have to win four matches.”

While singles play started out tight across the board, Duke went on to take first sets on five of the six courts. Freshman Jason Tahir extended the Blue Devils’ advantage in the match to 2-0, cruising to a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Bley in the No. 6 spot. Tahir recorded the second NCAA Championship win of his collegiate career and pushed his overall record to 26-8.

In a battle of top-20 players on court one, fifth-ranked Cunha and No. 17 Zsiga traded breaks throughout the first set with Cunha coming out on top, 6-4. The Duke junior then took the second set by a 6-1 margin to garner his 23rd win over a ranked opponent. Cunha also moved to 38-8 this season in singles action with a 24-4 ledger at the top spot in the lineup.

Hemmeler battled to a 6-4, 5-4 advantage against Galeano of Baylor in the No. 5 matchup, but it was 38th-ranked Mengel who would close out the 4-0 victory for the Blue Devils. Mengel defeated No. 86 Maytin, 7-5, 6-4, to clinch his sixth match of the season and improve to 31-12 overall on the year.

“That was awesome. I haven’t really had a great ending to the year, so that was important for me individually,” Mengel said. “Baylor is a good team – they’re definitely under-ranked – so we needed the doubles point to make things a little easier on us.”

The win sets up a quarterfinal meeting with top-seeded and three-time reigning champion USC Sunday, May 20 at 12 p.m. on the Henry Feild Courts at the University of Georgia’s Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The Blue Devils will make an appearance in the tournament’s quarterfinals for the seventh time in program history and the first time since 2001.

“USC is the team to beat,” Smith said. “They certainly have some pressure on them – I think this is the first year they’ve been seeded No. 1. We have beat them the last two years. They got us pretty handily at National Indoors but we know we can beat them … We’re in a really good place right now so we’re going to give them everything we’ve got and we’re looking forward to it.”

– News release

Featured stories, N.C. State, The skinny

State’s Choi tied for first in golf championship, keeping Pack alive

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Sophomore Albin Choi’s 5-under 66 on Friday kept NC State’s chances of advancing to the NCAA Championship alive as the club sits seventh in the field after two rounds of the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional at U-M Golf Course.

The low five teams advance to the championship. The Wolfpack fired a 2-under 282 during Friday’s second round, and owns a 36-hole score of 4-over 572. State will begin Saturday four shots out of fifth place, currently occupied by fellow ACC member Virginia.

Choi had one of the most amazing rounds of golf in his brief, but successful collegiate career. Hovering at even par with four holes left, the Freshman All-America eagled back-to-back par-4’s, and then birdied the next par-3 to record a 2 on three-straight holes.

He drove the green on the 309-yard par-4 sixth and made a 10-footer for the first eagle, and then holed out from 40 yards from the fairway on No. 7. Choi is the only player in the field to eagle the 378-yard par-4 so far in the regional.

Choi is tied atop the leader board at 7-under 135 with TCU’s Julien Brun. A group of four golfers are one-shot behind at -6. Two of them, Virginia’s Ben Kohles and Oregon’s Daniel Miernicki, posted 65’s today, the only rounds better than Choi on Friday.

Seniors Chad Day and Graham Baillargeon, and junior Mitchell Sutton all posted rounds of 1-over 72 on Friday.

Sutton is tied for 30th at 3-over 145. He had three birdies today on his card.

Day had a very steady morning with one birdie and two bogeys, and is tied for 46th through 36 holes at 7-over 149. He has recorded 25 pars so far in 36 holes, which is among the top figures in the field.

Baillargeon had four birdies and five bogeys through his trek around the course today and is tied for 55th at 9-over 151.

Senior Mark McMillen had a tough day with an 81, despite posting three birdies on Friday. He is tied for 59th at 10-over 152.

Southern California stormed up the standings with a 12-under 272 and leads at 7-under 561. Pac-12 mate Oregon, Kent State and TCU are all one-shot back at 6-under 562.

Virginia is fifth at even-par 568, Notre Dame is sixth at 1-over 569, and NC State is seventh.

The low five teams at the regional and the low individual not on a qualifying team will advance to the NCAA Championship, to be held May 29-June 3 at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

NC State begins Saturday’s final round at 7:30 a.m., off hole No. 10 for the third-straight day. The Wolfpack will play with Oklahoma State for the second day in a row, and Kennesaw State.

Team Results
1. Southern California 289-272=561 (-7)
T2. Oregon 288-274=562 (-6)
T2. Kent State 286-276=562 (-6)
T2. TCU 278-284=562 (-6)
5. Virginia 287-281=568 (E)
6. Notre Dame 291-278=569 (+1)
7. NC State 290-282=572 (+4)
8. Oklahoma State 290-283=573 (+5)
9. Kennesaw State 287-290=577 (+9)
10. Purdue 291-293=584 (+16)
11. Baylor 296-297=593 (+25)
12. Ohio State 305-297=602 (+34)
13. Navy 322-306=628 (+60)

NC State Individual Results
T1. Albin Choi 69-66=135 (-7)
T30. Mitchell Sutton 73-72=145 (+3)
T46. Chad Day 77-72=149 (+7)
T55. Graham Baillargeon 79-72=151 (+9)
T59. Mark McMillen 71-81=152 (+10)

Featured stories, The skinny, UNC

Heels win 12th straight with regular season finale Saturday

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Freshman Shell McCain connected on his first career home run to break up a no-hitter in the fifth inning and Benton Moss did the rest to help Carolina claim a series win over Virginia Tech with a 2-1 win Friday night. The win was Carolina’s (41-13, 21-8 ACC) 12th straight and Moss improved to 6-3 on the year, while Virginia Tech fell to 34-20 on the year and 11-18 in ACC play.

Carolina fell in an early 1-0 hole when the Hokies pushed across an unearned run in the first but freshman Benton Moss responded by allowing just three hits over the next six scoreless frames.

Virginia Tech’s starter Joe Mantiply was just as good as he kept the Tar Heels in check by retiring the first 12 batters he faced in the contest.

Cody Stubbs broke up the perfect game in the bottom of the fifth as he battled to a six-pitch walk with one out in the inning.

Freshman Shell McCain stepped in and was sitting fastball and sent a shot into left field. Virginia Tech’s Tyler Horan ran to the wall and attempted to pull the ball back into the field of play but it sailed narrowly over his glove for a game-changing two-run home run. The long ball was the first of McCain’s career and gave Carolina a 2-1 lead.

Moss responded with a scoreless inning in the sixth before the Tar Heels nearly added to their lead in the bottom half.

Carolina had the first two men reach when Parks Jordan was hit by a pitch and Chaz Frank dropped down a bunt single. A failed hit and run cut down Joran at third before Michael Russell dropped a single into center field to put runners at the corners.

With Carolina’s three and four hitters due up the chance to score runs looked promising but Mantiply picked up a strikeout and a ground out to end the threat.

Moss kept the momentum in Carolina’s favor in the seventh inning as he needed just six pitches to retire the Hokies. Moss capped off the inning with his eighth strikeout of the night.

Moss retired the first two batters in the eighth inning before departing in favor of left-hander R.C. Orlan. The junior came on to face the ACC’s second-leading home run hitter in Tyler Horan.

Orlan made quick work of Horan as he threw four pitches to retire the slugger via the strikeout and keep the Tar Heels in front, 2-1.

Closer Michael Morin shut the Hokies down in the ninth to cap off the victory and earn his 17th save of the season which moved him within one of the single season school record of 18.

McCain paced the offense on a night that the Tar Heels managed just four hits as he connected on a home run in the fifth and a double in the seventh.

Moss finished the night allowing the lone unearned run and surrendered just four hits, while striking out eight for the sixth time this season.
Carolina will be aiming for its fifth sweep of the ACC season on Saturday as the Tar Heels will celebrate senior day. Seniors Jimmy Messer and Jacob Stallings will be honored on the field before their final regular season contest at Boshamer Stadium.

Duke, Featured stories, The skinny

Duke lacrosse beats Syracuse to advance to NCAA quarterfinals

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Redshirt senior midfielder Justin Turri had three goals and two assists while junior goalkeeper Dan Wigrizer posted 12 saves as third-seeded Duke defeated visiting Syracuse, 12-9, in NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament action on Saturday afternoon in front of 3,672 fans at Koskinen Stadium.

“I think it was our most complete game to date,” head coach John Danowski said. “Certainly as a coach we saw a lot of areas where we could be better. I thought in the clearing game we threw the ball away several times where situations we need to look at and practice. I thought the fourth quarter we handled very well. During the past we hadn’t handled fourth quarters very well. And I thought the seniors, Robert Rotanz and Justin Turri, led the charge with some great decision making on the offensive end of the field.”

While improving to 14-4 on the season, the Blue Devils advance next Sunday’s quarterfinal round to meet the winner of Massachusetts-Colgate at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. Duke has won 17 of its last 22 NCAA Tournament games dating back to 2005 and today picked up the program’s first postseason victory over Syracuse in four tries.

“The NCAA tournament filled with tough teams,” Danowski said. “Whoever you are going to play is going to be terrific. When we heard that it was Syracuse I think it got everybody’s attention immediately. So the focus in practice all week was undeniable in terms of the guys’ readiness to accept whatever it is that the coaching is going to throw at them. I thought that we had a great week of preparation. It’s Syracuse. It’s very hard to say that this is a different team. It’s not. They are talented, athletic with a great coaching staff and a tremendous tradition. They are who we want to be one day. With all their championships and what they’ve accomplished in our sport. I thought their kids played hard. They played for 60 minutes. It was a hell of a Division I lacrosse game.”

The Orange concludes the 2012 campaign with a 9-8 overall ledger.

The Blue Devils, who pushed their nation’s best current home winning streak to 10 games and are now 59-6 (.908) at home under head coach John Danowski, jumped on top 3-0 in the first five minutes of action with Turri sandwiching two markers around a goal by Jordan Wolf. Syracuse’s Scott Loy broke the ice for the Orange with 37 seconds left in the opening period.

After Duke received goals from Robert Rotanz and Christian Walsh to claim a 5-1 advantage, Syracuse countered with a four-goal spurt to tie the contest at 5-5 just 25 seconds into the third period when Kevin Drew scored on a feed from Matt Harris. The Blue Devils then responded with four consecutive goals of their own as Rotanz tallied twice while Josh Dionne and Walsh netted one marker apiece.

“We were attacking from X,” Rotanz said. “Jordan Wolf and Jake Tripucka were doing a great job of finding the open guy. They were throwing great through passes to shooters up top and we just did a great job of shooting and getting it on net and finding spots where the goalie couldn’t save. Obviously when you have the ball that much because of faceoffs it makes it easier to get in the flow offensively.”

The two teams would trade the next six goals, with Dionne’s second of the afternoon pushing Duke ahead, 12-8, at the nine minute mark of the fourth quarter. Matt Harris scored for the Orange with two seconds on the clock to account for the final margin.

Duke received a huge lift from Brendan Fowler and Greg DeLuca at the face-off X as the teammates – who both played for the Blue Devil football team last fall – combined to win 17-of-24 draws. Fowler secured 12-of-17 face-offs with six ground balls while DeLuca chipped in five-of-seven draws with three grounders and one assist.

“I have to give Ron Caputo a ton of credit who works with our faceoff guys,” Danowski said. “They’ve been working hard all year, Greg [DeLuca] and Brendan [Fowler]. They just happened to get their shot today. I think originally the plan was we could bring CJ in kind of like a sixth man kind of thing. But because Brendan and Greg were doing so well it wasn’t necessary today.”

Now with 22 career points (13g & 9a) in NCAA Tournament play, Turri moves into seventh place on Duke’s all-time chart past Brad Ross, who had 21 points (17g & 4a). Turri also moves into fifth place on Duke’s all-time post-season assists list and into a tied for ninth place on the school’s career NCAA chart for goals. With one more assist this year, Turri will become just the fourth player in Duke history to reach double figures in both goals and assists in NCAA action, joining Matt Danowski (25g & 32a), Zack Greer (35g & 17a) and Ned Crotty (17g & 31a).

Rotanz and Walsh finished with three goals each while Wolf had one goal and two helpers. The Blue Devils scored on 12-of-34 (.353) shots, marking their fourth-best percentage effort of the year and top mark since a 13-of-33 (.394) showing at Georgetown on March 23.

In goal, Wigrizer logged 12 saves against eight goals allowed for his 10th win of the year. The 12-save effort marked Wigrizer’s second-highest total in NCAA play, trailing only a 14-save performance against Notre Dame in the 2011 quarterfinal round. Michael Manley aided the defensive unit with five ground balls and a game-best three caused turnovers. CJ Costabile posted a game-high eight ground balls for the Blue Devils.

Syracuse was paced by Tommy Palasek’s one-goal, two-assist performance. Drew and Loy each scored twice while goalkeeper Bobby Wardwell was credited with 10 saves.

Duke is now 23-14 (.622) all-time in NCAA Tournament action and next week will look to advance to the program’s sixth straight national semifinal. Under Danowski, the Blue Devils are 14-4 (.778) in post-season play.

“We talk a lot about playing for one more week,” Turri said. “As a fifth-year senior this could be my last week of playing Duke lacrosse. So just to come out every day in practice and put on the pads, come out one more time next weekend in Philly, that’s just what’s driving me and the seniors. Hanging out with the guys for one more week and not looking past the day. Whether it’s practice, a meeting a team meal and cherishing every moment we have with these guys. Because who knows we may never be as one group again so I’m not looking past anything.”

Featured stories, N.C. State, The skinny

NCSU women’s golf advances to first-ever NCAA championship

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NC State women’s golf advanced to its first-ever NCAA Championship by finishing seventh of 24 teams at the NCAA Central Regional on an 12-over par 300 final round, Saturday at Ohio State’s par 72, 6,264 yard Scarlet Course.

The 2012 Wolfpack solidified its case as the best team in the program’s history by securing its first championship berth ever on its highest finish ever at an NCAA Regional, bettering the previous record of 10th set in 2008.

Augusta James also made history by finishing tied for 10th, improving on Colby Cobb’s school-record 13th place finish in the 2002 NCAA East Regional. James scaled the individual leaderboard with a 1-under 71 over the final round, for a 6-over 222 total.

Brittany Marchand also landed in the top-20 with her best round of the tournament, a 2-over 74 to end up in 18th at 10-over with a 226.

Amanda Baker fired a 4-over 76 to finish 43rd, equaling her first round to finish with a 15-over 231. Vivian Tsui rounded out the Pack’s team scorecard with a 7-over 79, good for a 16-over 232 to finish 45th. Ana Menendez wrapped up her regional with an 8-over 80 to finish 88th.

State finished third in its group with Ohio State and Tennessee, but climbed in front of Oregon and held off a charge by Arkansas to qualify for the championship. Southern Cal won the regional by 25 strokes with a 10-over 874 total, bolstered by a final round 286. Southern Cal’s Lisa McCloskey shared medalist honors with Florida State’s Maria Salinas at 3-under 213.

The Wolfpack represents one of 24 teams nationwide to move on to the NCAA Championship, held May 22-25 at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn. Live scoring for the NCAA Championship will be available on Golfstat.com.

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Turner steals 50th base as Pack wins 12th in a row

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For the second time Saturday, Ryan Mathews provided No. 13 NC State’s game-winning hit, blasting a two-run shot with two outs in the seventh to push the Wolfpack ahead en route to a 6-2 win over Virginia Tech at English Field.

The Wolfpack (36-12, 18-8 ACC) took a 1-0 lead in the top half of the third before Virginia Tech (32-18, 10-16 ACC) answered with a pair in the bottom half to take a 2-1 lead. State tied the game in the fifth, then Mathews’s two-run blast made it 4-2 in the seventh. Another pair of runs came in during an error-riddled ninth to make the final margin 6-2.

The victory extends the Pack’s current winning streak to 12 games, the longest run since State won 16 in a row in 2003. State’s 18 conference wins ties the most in a single season, matching 2008.

Trea Turner stole a pair of bases in the to improve to 50-for-52 on the year and become only the third player in ACC history to steal 50 bases in a single season, joining Georgia Tech’s Ty Griffin (50 in 1986) and UNC’s Brian Roberts (63 in 1997). Turner finished the game 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, marking the 15th-consecutive game the freshman has scored at least one run.