NC State Edges Duke 7-6 in Extra Innings

Friday, May 21

Raleigh, N.C.

6:30 PM

Duke University

N.C. State

Baseball Game Notes: Duke vs. No. 1 Virginia

NC State Edges Duke 7-6 in Extra Innings

5/21/2010 10:00:00 PM | Baseball

By: Duke Sports Information

RALEIGH, N.C. - Andrew Ciencin cracked a walk-off double in the bottom of the 12^th inning to lead NC State to a 7-6 win over Duke in game two of the series at Doak Field.

The double was the first hit of the game for Ciencin, who drove in Wolfpack leadoff man Kyle Wilson with his two-bagger off the left field wall. The game-winning double capped a back-and-forth showdown that saw Duke score twice to take a 6-5 lead in the top of the ninth before the Wolfpack got a game-tying homer in the bottom of the ninth from first baseman Harold Riggins.

NC State (35-20, 14-15 ACC) won the battle of the bullpens, thanks to two shutout innings from reliever Rob Chamra and 1.2 more scoreless frames from closer Grant Sasser (3-3). Both NC State relievers struck out three batters while Chamra issued the only walk of the game for the entire Wolfpack pitching staff.

Duke (29-26, 8-21 ACC) got two innings of one-run relief from senior Michael Ness and three more shutout frames from senior Christopher Manno. Manno allowed just one hit and struck out six after entering the game with the score tied in the bottom of the ninth. The Blue Devils were the first to falter, however, as sophomore Ben Grisz, in his team-leading 25^th relief appearance of the year, surrendered the game-winning double to Ciencin in the 12^th.

The Wolfpack got two RBI and three runs from Riggins, who homered twice for his ninth and 10^th long balls of the season. Wilson, who started the ninth-inning rally with a one-out double, also accounted for four runs on the day, driving in three with a three-run homer while scoring the other on Ciencin's walk-off double. The senior center fielder reached base in three of his six trips to the plate.

Duke outhit NC State 18-8, but stranded 12 runners. Three of those hits went for extra bases as Grisz, Brian Litwin and Will Piwnica-Worms all doubled. Duke had seven players finish with multiple hits, including Litwin who went 3-for-6 and Piwnica-Worms who went 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI. Duke also stole four bases in the game.

Duke was down 6-5 heading into the top of the ninth inning, but got a leadoff double from Piwnica-Worms that set the table for a game-tying RBI single by junior Jake Lemmerman. Lemmerman moved to second on the play following an error and then stole third to draw an errant throw from NC State catcher Chris Schaeffer. The throwing error allowed Lemmerman to cross the plate and temporarily put Duke on to 6-5.

Duke tagged NC State starter Cory Mazzoni for 15 hits over 8.1 innings while plating six runs - five earned - against the sophomore right-hander. Mazzoni left the game without allowing a walk, however, before the bullpen duo of Chamra and Sasser blanked Duke for the remainder of the game.

NC State managed a season-low five hits through the first nine innings against starter Eric Pfisterer and relievers Ness and Manno. Pfisterer scattered three hits over six complete innings, but surrendered five runs.

The Blue Devils strung together three hits in the first inning on the way to a 1-0 lead. Stroman got the rally started with a two-strike leadoff single before Lemmerman and Jeremy Gould followed with consecutive base knocks later in the inning. Gould's single - a dribbler through the left side - gave Lemmerman just enough time to score from second base.

The hits kept coming for the Blue Devils in the second and third, as Duke tagged five hits over those two frames to increase the lead to 4-1. Three singles in the second inning led to two runs before Grisz double and a Ryan McCurdy squeeze bunt plated another run in the third. Grisz set the table with a one-out double down the left field line, putting him and Dennis O'Grady in scoring position for McCurdy. O'Grady took off for the plate from third base on the first pitch to McCurdy, and McCurdy did his job by reaching out and laying down a low fastball that was off the plate and nearly in the left-handed batter's box.

NC State tied the game with just one swing of the bat, however, as Kyle Wilson launched a three-run homer in the bottom of the third. Wilson's blast came after Russell Wilson drew a leadoff walk and Matt Bergquist singled to put two men on base. Kyle Wilson then lifted his three-run shot over the left field wall to tie the score at 4-4.

Both Pfisterer and Mazzoni settled down after the third inning and kept the game tied through the end of the fifth inning. Pfisterer retired six straight - two by strikeout - while Mazzoni spoiled a second-and-third scoring opportunity for the Blue Devils with two outs in the top of the fifth.

Pfisterer sat down the side for the third straight inning in the sixth, but ran into control issues in the bottom of the seventh. With the game tied at 4-4, Pfisterer walked the first two batters on eight pitches, prompting head coach Sean McNally to go to the bullpen. He brought in Michael Ness, who gave up an infield bunt single to Chris Schaeffer that loaded the bases, but then rolled a double play ground ball that went from Lemmerman to Stroman to Gould. The go-ahead run would score on the double play, however, before Ness got another ground ball back to himself for the third out.

The Blue Devils had a chance to tie the game after Litwin laced a one-out double down the left field line, but Mazzoni spoiled yet another scoring opportunity by retiring two straight to escape the jam. Ness, meanwhile, stayed on to throw another solid inning in the eighth and held the Wolfpack scoreless to keep the deficit at 5-4.

The Blue Devils could not be held down for long, however, as Piwnica-Worms opened the top of the ninth with a leadoff double and scored from second on an ensuing single to right field by Lemmerman. Lemmerman then stole third and drew an errant throw from Schaeffer, who short-hopped his third baseman. Ciencin could not handle the throw and it skipped behind him, giving Lemmerman just enough time to cross the plate for the go-ahead run.

Ness stayed on in the ninth, but threw one pitch too many as his second offering to Riggins was deposited over the wall in straightaway center field. The game-tying homer prompted Duke to go to the bullpen again as Manno took the mound and struck out two of the next four batters to take the game into the 10^th inning tied at 6-6.

Manno continued to duel with Chamra in as the opposing pitchers each fired scoreless innings in the 10^th. Manno picked up three more strikeouts, including his fifth of the game against Riggins with two outs and the winning run on second base. Manno would fire one more scoreless inning in the 11^th, retiring the side in order, before Grisz took over in the top of the 12^th.

NC State also changed relievers in the bottom of the 11^th, bringing in Sasser with one out and Piwnica-Worms on first base. Piwnica-Worms dropped a one-out single into right field to become the go-ahead run and then got 180 feet closer to scoring when Pedevillano pulled a two-out single into right field off of Sasser. Sasser came out on top, however, by getting O'Grady to ground out to shortstop to escape the threat.

Sasser fired one more scoreless frame in the top of the 12^th, working around a Litwin single in the process, before his offense rewarded him with a game-winning double off of Ciencin's bat. Grisz, who took the mound in relief of Manno to start the inning, retired two of the first three batters but also surrendered a double to Kyle Wilson. After intentionally walking three-hitter Drew Poulk, Grisz was forced to pitch to Ciencin, who lined a 2-0 offering off the left field wall for a walk-off double.

Only one game remains for Duke in 2010, as the Blue Devils take on the Wolfpack in the season finale on Saturday, May 22, at 1 p.m. in Raleigh, N.C. Duke will use right-hander Dennis O'Grady (2-4, 4.36 ERA), while NC State has not announced a starter.

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