Highlighted by junior infielder Harold Riggins’ huge day, the Wolfpack came back to beat Buffalo (2-10) by a score of 7-5 Tuesday afternoon at Doak Field at Dail Park.
Highlighted by junior infielder Harold Riggins’ huge day, the Wolfpack came back to beat Buffalo (2-10) by a score of 7-5 Tuesday afternoon at Doak Field at Dail Park. State overcame a 5-0 deficit in the fifth to improve their record to 9-7 on the year.
Riggins drove in in six runs on a 2-2 day that included a double off the wall and an 8th inning grand slam that put the Wolfpack on top for good. Sophomore pitcher Chris Overman also provided a boost for State out of the bullpen, pitching the final 4 2/3 innings to improve his record to 3-0 on the year. Overman allowed only one run on one hit, which was to the first batter he faced.
Buffalo got on the board first in the top of the third inning after starting pitcher, sophomore Josh Easley, ran into some trouble. Easley retired the first seven Buffalos in order, then allowed a one out single to Andrew Smietana. He retired the next batter, then allowed a two out walk and hit the next batter to load the bases. The next batter hit double that cleared the bases and put Buffalo up 3-0.
Easley found himself in another jam in the fourth allowing three consecutive singles to load the bases for the second inning in a row. He worked his way out trouble, striking out Jason Kanzler and inducing Matt Pollock into an inning ending groundout.
Easley went back to work in the 5th but was replaced by Overman after allowing a one out hit to Alex Baldock. The first batter Overman faced hit a 0-2 pitch over the left field fence for a two run homerun and stretched the Buffalo lead to 5-0. This was the only hit Overman allowed on the day.
State finally broke through in the 6th on a two out, two run double by junior infielder Harold Riggins. Sophomore infielder Chris Diaz extended his hit streak to nine games with a one out single and then advanced to second after junior captain Andrew Ciencen, drew a walk. They both came around to score on Riggins’ double making the score 5-2 after six innings.
Minus Riggins’ two run double the offense was silenced until the 8th inning. Junior outfielder Brett Williams led the inning off with a single to left and Diaz followed with a walk. With runners at first and second, Kevin Hughes came in the game for Buffalo in relief of starter Cory Folk and surrendered an RBI single to Ciencen to make the score 5-3.
After another walk loaded the bases, Riggins hit a shot to centerfield for a grand slam and his first homerun of the year. Riggins’ grand slam put the pack up for good as Overman came back out in the 9th to give State the 7-5 victory.
Coming off a 2010 campaign where he hit .331 with 12 homers and 44 runs batted in, Riggins has gotten off to a relatively slow start this season. The Harold Riggins of old showed up on Tuesday. His six RBI’s was more than the five he had collected the entire season and the Pack will look him to continue swing a hot stick.
“The last couple days or so I’ve been going through some mechanical changes,” Riggins said. “I tried not to let that bother me at all. I just tried to relax, tried to square the ball up, and hit it hard.”
It’s been an up and down season for the Pack and they will look to build on the come from behind victory over Buffalo moving forward. State has proven it is a team that can put runs on the board and it has also proven it can rely on pitching and defense, which has carried the load this year. What it hasn’t proven is the ability to play consistently day in and day out.
Coach Avent made some adjustments to the lineup yesterday, most notably inserting Diaz into the leadoff spot, but his team is still looking to put all the pieces together.
“This is a good hitting ball club,” Coach Avent said. “We need to be who we are and start believing in ourselves.”
The Pack returns to Doak Field at Dail Park against George Mason today at 3 p.m.
