April 27, 2014
RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State jumped out to a 7-0 lead after the second inning and beat Georgia Tech, 7-1, Sunday afternoon in the rubber game of an ACC series at Dail Park in Raleigh, N.C.
Tech, which has the week off for exams, slipped to 26-19 overall and 12-12 in the ACC, while the Wolfpack upped their record to 24-19, 9-15. Tech sits fourth-place in the Coastal Division and is in eighth place overall with three weeks left in the regular season. The top 10 teams qualify for the ACC Championship.
Connor Justus drove in the Yellow Jackets’ only run with an RBI ground out in the fifth inning, but the visitors left 14 runners on base in the game including eight in scoring position.
Daniel Spingola led off Sunday’s game with a single, but Tech came up empty after leaving two stranded in the top of the first. NC State would push four across in the bottom half, and Tech had a chance to cut into the margin in the second but left the bases loaded.
Brett Austin’s three-run triple down the right-field line in the first inning was the big blow for the Wolfpack. An RBI double from Trea Turner and a RBI single from Andrew Knizner were part of a three-run second inning.
Rookie Ben Schniederjans tossed a career-long 2.2 innings of shutout relief and retired eight of the nine Wolfpack batters he faced. Freshman lefty Ben Parr pitched two shutout innings and sophomore lefty Sam Clay worked a scoreless eighth.
The loss fell to junior Matthew Grimes (4-2), who was tagged for three hits and four runs in the first inning. Jon O’Donnell tossed 3.1 innings of relief, allowing two hits and one unearned run to earn his second win (2-0).
A.J. Murray and Arden Pabst each doubled for the Jackets.
Tech is back in action Friday night at Russ Chandler Stadium when Virginia Tech comes to town. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN3.
