FURMAN ROUTS NC STATE 14-1
ZEBULON, N.C. - Dominic Frankey, Cole Hubka and A.J. Davidiuk had four hits apiece, and Thomas Mastny pitched seven innings of three-hit baseball to lead Furman to a 14-1 rout of NC State on Tuesday afternoon at Fie County Stadium.
Furman won for the third time in a row and improved to 6-1 on the season. NC State lost its second consecutive blowout and fell to 5-4. Mastny (2-1) allowed just one run, walked one and struck out five. He had a perfect game through four innings, and allowed just two baserunners to reach scoring position in his seven innings of work. NC State starter Phillip Davidson (0-1) took the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits in 3-2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out one.
Furman got onto the scoreboard with a run in the top of the third inning. Nick Wajda led off with a walk and Davidiuk singled to left. Clint Hill bunted the runners to second and third, and Craig Caudill's bunt up the third-base line went for an RBI single. Davidson got out of further trouble when he got Derek Norman to ground into a double play.
The Paladins had their first of two big innings in the top of the fourth. Frankey led off with a single to left, and Sam McLain blooped a single just in front of the left and center fielders. Hubka laid down a perfect bunt for a single to load the bases with none out. Matthew Betsell singled up the middle to drive in two runs and make it 3-0. Colt Morton nailed Hubka trying to steal third base, but after Wajda grounded out, Davidiuk, the nine hitter in the lineup, hit a two-run homer to left to give Furman a 5-0 lead. Frankey laced a one-out double down the left-field line in the top of the fifth, and scored on a two-out double down the right-field line by Hubka to inflate the Furman lead to 6-0.
The Wolfpack scored its only run of the game in the bottom of the fifth. Morton doubled to left with one down to break up Mastny's perfect game, and Tim Coffield singled to center to put runners on first and third. Dustin Knight walked to load the bases, and Chad Orvella bounced into a force play to drive in Morton.
Furman put the game away with a big sixth inning against Jason Duncan. Davidiuk reached on a bunt single with one down, and Hill singled to left. Duncan hit Richie Dean with a pitch to load the bases, and Derek Norman doubled to left to drive in a pair. Frankey's infield single drove in Dean to make it 9-1 and put runners on first and third, and Norman scored on Justin Riley's fielding error off McLain's grounder to third base to make it 10-1. Joey Devine relieved for Duncan, and Hubka got an infield single to load the bases again. All three runners advanced on a wild pitch, with Frankey scoring on the play, and Betsell's grounder to second drove in McLain with the final run of the inning to make it 12-1. Devine got Wajda to fly to right to finally bring the inning to a close.
The Paladins weren't quite finished, however. Davidiuk led off the top of the seventh and singled to right, and Hill walked. Dean singled to left to drive in Davidiuk, and Norman's infield single loaded the bases for Frankey, who made it 14-1 with an RBI grounder to third.
NC State returns to action this weekend in the Hughes Brothers Classic at UNC Wilmington. The Pack will take on Hofstra in the first round of the Classic, Friday at 3 p.m. Furman travels to Charlotte tomorrow to face the 49ers in a 3:30 p.m. game before returning to Greenville to open a three-game series against Ohio this weekend.