Tuesday, March 13, 2007

North Carolina State tallied 17 hits while limiting the Crusaders to just two hits as the Wolfpack defeated Valparaiso 9-0 on Tuesday afternoon in Raleigh, N.C.

Jeff Rickert's (Hamilton, Ohio/Fairfield H.S.) third inning double and Ryan Manthei's (Kenosha, Wis./Tremper H.S.) eighth inning two-bagger were the only hits the Crusaders could manage off of a trio of Wolfpack hurlers.

North Carolina State jumped in front in the opening inning. Ryan Pond had a run-scoring single and Ramon Corona added a two-run double to make it 3-0. The Wolfpack added its fourth run in the third on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Calem Mangum.

The Wolfpack added three more in the sixth inning on four singles and another sacrifice fly. Two more runs came across the plate in the eighth, one on a single by Corona, his fourth hit of the day, and the other on a ground out.

Harvey Yergin (Akron, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) started and worked five innings for the Crusaders, suffering the loss (0-1). He surrendered four runs and 10 hits while striking out four.

Nate Karns (1-1) earned the victory for the Wolfpack, striking out seven in five innings of work while allowing just one hit.

Valparaiso (2-8) will look to snap its six-game losing skid on Wednesday afternoon as the Crusaders wrap up their brief two-game series with North Carolina State (13-6). First pitch is set for 2 p.m. CDT.