Clemson defeated Georgia Tech 10-4 to set up a showdown between State and Miami. Quite simply, win and advance to the championship game; lose and go home. After the meltdown against GT in game 1, it was unlikely the Wolfpack would find themselves in the is position. But, the necessary scenario unfolded (though not without some stress– the GT/Miami game was a nailbiter).
State obliterated Clemson Thursday night (10-0, 7 innings behind Shunick), so the pitching staff should be well rested. Miami used 4 pitchers in their 15-12 win over GT Thursday. I would guess everybody but Shunick is available for State today, Miami may not lose availability of any pitchers, as none exceeded 50 pitches Thursday- but they may be limited by pitch count and/or innings pitched.
Starting Pitcher: Jake Buchanan and Alex Sogard are listed by GoPack.com as possible starters. Buchanan had a 9 inning complete game earlier in the year against Maryland; Sogard is a transfer from Oregon State. Buchanan gets the nod.
Top 1: State sends three to the plate, and three go down in order. Garcia is on the hill for Miami and looks strong so far– he is being helped by a rather wide strike zone; let’s hope the zone is consistent.
Bottom 1: Buchanan sets three Hurricanes down in order. The plate umpire is consistent so far and it looks to be a good day for pitchers who can work the corners.
Top 2: Marcus Jones grabs a 2 out single but is left at first base.
Bottom 2: Jackson draws a 1-out walk but Schaeffer absolutely guns him trying to steal second base. 0-0 heading to the top of the third.
Top 3: State strands Foschi on 3rd base; Miami comes up with a couple of nice defensive plays on the infield.
Bottom 3: Weeks hits a 3-run homer down the right field line. He was sitting first pitch fastball and Buchanan obliged. 3-0 Miami after 3 innings.
Top 4: The offense is making this way too easy for Miami. 3 up, 3 down. 3-0 heading to the bottom of the 4th.
Bottom 4: Miami tacks on 2 more runs. Foschi cuts one runner down at the plate. It’s 5-0 Miami and Sogard comes in to relieve Buchanan. Sogard makes it interesting, but gets Weeks to groundout with the bases loaded to limit the damage. The bats are going to need to come to life soon here or the hole may be to deep to climb out of.
Top 5: State strands another runner in the top of the 5th. Running short on time.
Bottom 5: Sogard retires the Hurricanes in order. Pitching did its job, now the offense needs to begin to chip away at the deficit.
Top 6: State strands another; Miami bailed out by two first pitch outs. State isn’t showing much patience at the plate, probably facilitated by the Eric Gregg-esque strike zone. Miami has had some trouble with this as well, but State pitching has made a few mistakes over the middle of the plate.
Bottom 6: Miami’s offense is held in check again. It’s still 5-0.
Top 7: State has a runner cut down at the plate in about the dumbest display of base coaching I have ever seen. Absolutely no reason to send that runner down 5 runs.
Bottom 7: Nothing doing for Miami. Not looking good for the ‘Pack though unless the offense really steps it up.
Top 8: The Wolfpack throw two runs on the board. Could have been more but lack of extra base power nips that.
Bottom 8: Miami goes down in order; last chance for the ‘Pack. Three runs are a must, anymore is a bonus.
Top 9: State puts 2 runners on base, but that’s it. Miami wins 5-2. This was actually a pretty good game aside from a couple of mistakes over the plate by Buchanan.
