Deacons pull off late rally over No. 1 Clemson; ACC roundup

Posted 7:56AM on Saturday 27th April 2002 ( 23 years ago )

CLEMSON, S.C. - Jeff Ruziecki hit two-run homer to lead Wake Forest to a 4-2 victory against Clemson Friday night. Jamie D'Antona's hit to right field in the eighth inning brought home Nick Blue to tie the game 2-2 for the Demon Deacons. Then Ruziecki's homer gave Wake Forest (36-6, 15-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) the lead for good. Clemson (36-6, 10-3) had opportunities to score throughout the game, leaving 15 men on base. Khalil Greene went 3-for-4 to lead the Tigers, while Jeff Hourigan added two hits. Kyle Sleeth (9-0) earned the win for Wake Forest, pitching seven innings while yielding only one earned run. Dave Bush picked his fourth save of the season. Reliever Paul Harrelson (1-1) took the loss for Clemson. N. CAROLINA 5, MIAMI 4 CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Chris Iannetta hit an eighth-inning solo home run as North Carolina beat Miami 5-4 on Friday. North Carolina (31-14) won its sixth straight while the defending national champion Hurricanes (21-20) fell to just a game above .500. Michael Gross (5-3) struck out three batters in 2 2-3 scoreless innings to pick up the win. Adam Greenberg sparked a three-run first inning for the Tar Heels with his fifth leadoff home run of the season. Shawn Valdes Fauli (1-1) took the loss after allowing Iannetta's eighth-inning homer. Brad Safchik had two hits and two RBIs to lead the Hurricanes. FLORIDA ST. 9, N.C. STATE 3 TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA - Blair McCaleb had four RBIs and Matt Lynch pitched Florida State's first complete game of the season as the Seminoles beat N.C. State 9-3 Friday. Florida State (39-12, 7-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) got on top of N.C. State (26-18, 4-12) early, taking a 4-0 first-inning lead thanks to two Wolfpack miscues. N.C. State pitcher Ryan Combs dropped a throw while covering first base allowing Tony McQuade to score the game's first run. After Jerrod Brown followed with an RBI single, McCaleb scored on a Mike Futrell ground out. Brown capped the first inning scoring when he scored from third on Combs' wild pitch. The first inning outburst was enough for Lynch (9-1), who picked up the win, giving up three runs on eight hits and striking out four in the complete game win. Combs (0-1) took the loss for N.C. State, giving up seven runs and walking four in 3 1/3 innings. The Seminoles added three runs in the fourth on McCaleb's bases-loaded double and then capped their scoring with two runs in the eighth.

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