North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Opens Weekend Series Against Wake Forest
3/9/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
NC State (10-6, 0-0) vs. Wake Forest (11-4, 0-0) March 10-12, 2000 Doak Field / Raleigh, N.C.
The Series vs. Wake Forest: NC State leads the all-time series against Wake Forest by a 121-92-4 margin. The two teams met four times in 1999, with the Deacons winning three of the four, including an 11-6 thumping that eliminated the Wolfpack from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Wake also took two of three from NC State in the regular-season three-game series at Hooks Stadium, winning the first two games 13-9 and 11-10 (in 11 innings), before the Pack scrambled back to salvage the series finale 13-7.
NC State was 23-7 against Wake Forest in the 1990s.
The NC State Pitching Rotation: Sophomore righthander Mike Sollie (2-0, 2.16) will start the series opener for the Wolfpack on Friday afternoon. In his last outing, last Sunday against George Mason, Sollie had his worst start of the season, but still picked up the victory after allowing five runs, just one of which was earned, on six hits in five innings. He walked three (he walked six the entire 1999 season) and struck out two. For the season, Sollie has worked 25 innings in four appearances, all starts. He has walked seven and struck out 11.
Sophomore righthander Ryan Combs (1-3, 4.81) will start the middle game of the series on Saturday. Combs worked two perfect innings of relief on Wednesday against Richmond. In his last start, March 4 vs. George Mason, he was roughed up for six runs, five of them earned, on 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings. He walked four and struck out a season-high six. Combs has made five appearances, four of which were starts, and has allowed 29 hits in 24 1/3 innings. He has walked nine and struck out 14.
Sophomore lefthander Dan D'Amato (2-2, 2.93) will start the series finale on Sunday. D'Amato's last appearance was a midweek start on March 7 against Richmond, and although he took a hard-luck loss it was his best appearance of the season. Working on three days' rest, he allowed just one unearned run on five hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out three. For the season, D'Amato has made five starts and allowed 25 hits in 27 2/3 innings. He has walked 14 and fanned 19.
The Wake Forest Rotation: Junior righthander Scott Siemon (4-1, 2.77) will start the first game of the series. Siemon has worked five games, all starts, and allowed 20 hits in 26 innings, walking six and striking out 28. Opponents are hitting .206 against him. He was 12-2 with a 4.78 ERA as a spot starter and middle reliever a year ago.
Junior lefthander Danny Borrell (1-0, 7.17) will start the middle game of the series. Borrell has made four appearances, all starts, and has allowed 26 hits in 21 1/3 innings. He has walked 13 and struck out 13. Opponents are hitting .306 against Borrell, who also plays first base and designated hitter for the Deacons and is hitting .350 with five home runs and 24 RBIs this season.
Freshman lefthander Ben Clayton (4-1, 2.00) will start the series finale on Sunday for the Deacons. Clayton has appeared in six games, five of which were starts. He has pitched 27 innings, allowed 18 hits, walked 10 and struck out 26. Opponents are batting .194 against him.
Head Coach Elliott Avent: Now in his fourth season as NC State baseball coach, Elliott Avent has maintained the proud and rich tradition of excellence that is Wolfpack baseball. In his three-plus seasons on the job, Avent has guided NC State to a 131-74 record, a .639 winning percentage and an average of 40 wins per season. The Wolfpack earned NCAA regional berths in each of Avent's first three seasons, running NC State's current streak of consecutive regional appearances to four.
Avent's first three seasons as head coach did nothing but enhance the Wolfpack's longstanding baseball tradition. Avent's first team had lost four of its best players and had seen its recruiting class wiped out by the major league baseball draft. Avent guided the '97 Wolfpack to a 43-20 overall record and had the Pack in contention for first place in the conference standings until the last weekend of the regular season.
Avent's 1998 team was just as big a success story as its predecessor. The Wolfpack had lost a 1997 senior class that batted .345 with 48 home runs offensively and posted a 23-9 record on the mound with a 3.98 ERA. Despite the personnel losses, the Pack just kept on winning, running up a 41-23 overall record and finishing third at the NCAA West Regional at Palo Alto, Calif.
The success continued in 1999. Despite heavy losses to graduation and the baseball draft the previous two seasons, Avent's '99 team jumped from the gate quickly, winning 17 of its first 18 games, including 14 in a row at one point. NC State won five of its last seven regular-season games, and then won a pair of games in the ACC Tournament to nail down the program's 12th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 14 years, finishing the year at 37-25.
In Avent's three seasons at NC State, four Wolfpack players have earned All-America honors, two have been named Freshman All-Americans, and 11 have been named first- or second-team All-ACC. That success has carried over to the professional ranks, with 15 NC State players signing professional contracts after playing for Avent.
Avent Among The Winningest Young Coaches in America: According to research done by the George Mason University SID staff, NC State baseball coach Elliott Avent is the ninth winningest coach in the country among coaches age 45 or younger. At 43 heading into the 2000 season, Avent had an 11-year career coaching record of 346-279, which included a 121-68 mark in his three seasons with the Wolfpack.
The 10 Winningest Coaches Age 45 Or Younger (Through 1999)
No. Coach (School) Years Record
1. Jack Leggett (Clemson) 20 665-402
2. Ray Tanner (South Carolina) 12 537-238
3. Pat Murphy (Notre Dame) 12 506-279
4. Bill Brown (George Mason) 18 501-438
5. Danny Hall (Georgia Tech) 12 461-237
6. Jim Wells (Alabama) 10 436-179
7. Rod Delmonico (Tennessee) 10 404-207
8. Mike Stone (Massachusetts) 17 399-306
9. Elliott Avent (NC State) 11 346-279
10. Gary McClure (Austin Peay) 12 337-337
Starting Pitching Outstanding All Season: All a coach can ask of his starting pitchers is to keep the team in the game and give the offense a chance to win. Through 16 games this season, NC State's starting pitchers had done more than their share to keep the Wolfpack alive into the late innings of ballgames.
Although the starters had a combined won-lost record of just 5-6, their cumulative ERA was a sterling 3.40. NC State starters had allowed 98 hits and 34 walks in 87 1/3 innings while striking out 53. NC State starters were averaging 10.1 hits and 3.50 walks allowed per nine inning. Wolfpack starters had made 10 quality starts (3 earned runs or less in 6 or more innings) in 16 games.
A Great Week For The Bullpen: While NC State's starting pitchers have been consistent and solid from the outset of the season, the bullpen really began to assert itself this past week. Dating back to the beginning of the George Mason series on March 3, Wolfpack relievers were 1-0 with a save and a 2.45 ERA. In 16 appearances over that time, Pack relievers had worked 25 2/3 innings, allowed 17 hits, walked seven and fanned 28.
For the season, the NC State bullpen was 5-0 with four saves and a 4.67 ERA. Relievers had made 41 appearances and worked 61 2/3 innings. They had allowed 62 hits, walked 19 and struck out 47. They were averaging 9.05 hits and 2.77 walks allowed per nine innings pitched. Wolfpack relievers had inherited 33 runners and stranded all but eight of them.
Wolfpack Relievers And Inherited Runners
Pitcher IP IR Scored
Daniel Caldwell 13.2 7 0
Conrad Clark 3.0 5 0
Corey Mattison 5.2 4 0
Josh Miller 6.1 3 1
Mike Prochaska 15.2 1 1
Josh Schmitt 2.1 2 0
Ryan Steadham 8.2 5 2
Kyle Stephenson 4.0 6 4
Brian Wright Hitting Streak Reaches 15 Games: After establishing an NC State freshman record with a 21-game hitting streak a year ago, it should come as no surprise that sophomore Brian Wright began the 2000 season with an extended hitting streak. Heading into the Wake Forest series this weekend, Wright had hit safely in 15 straight games, his only hitless contest being the Wolfpack's season opener against East Carolina. Wright went 0-for-2 against ECU, but was hitting .306 (19-for-62) during his current hitting streak.
Wright's 21-game hitting streak a year ago not only was the longest ever by a Wolfpack freshman, it was the third longest in school history, behind Greg Briley's 27-game streak in 1986 and Tom Sergio's 26-game streak in 1995.
Freshman Class Coming Up Big: The NC State coaching staff knew the current Wolfpack freshman class was a good one when they signed them last season, but no one could have foreseen the impact that freshmen would have on this year's Wolfpack team. Among the highlights:
First baseman/outfielder Mike Prochaska had not only been the Wolfpack's Rookie of the Year to date, but was the leading candidate for team MVP honors as well. Through 16 games, Prochaska was second on the team with a .354 batting average and led the club with 15 RBIs. He had struck out just five times in 54 plate appearances, and had a .459 on-base percentage and a .472 slugging percentage. On the mound, Prochaska was 1-0 with a team-best 0.57 ERA. He had allowed 12 hits, walked three and struck out 11 in 15 2/3 innings.
Other freshmen are making a mark as well. Third baseman Jeremy Dutton was hitting just .271, but was tied for the team lead with five doubles and was second in RBIs with 12. Ryan Strain, out 3-5 weeks with a broken hand, was hitting a deceptively solid .269 and had been versatile enough to play second base and the outfield. Infielder Chris Goodman had provided excellent glovework at shortstop.
Daniel Caldwell has made a mark for himself as a bullpen stopper, coming into games with runners on base and pitching out of jams. Although Caldwell's ERA was 6.59, he had stranded all seven runners he had inherited through his first six appearances. He had struck out 13 and walked just one in 13 2/3 innings.
Lee Steps Up On Offense: While the NC State offense has been slow to come around this season, don't blame senior outfielder Craig Lee, who had done more than his part to help the Wolfpack put runs on the board.
Coming into the Wake Forest series, Lee was hitting .396 and led the team with seven multiple-hit games. He also was putting the bat on the ball, having struck out just twice in 62 plate appearances. Lee led the team with 21 hits, and was second in slugging percentage (.472), on-base percentage (.459), runs scored (11) and doubles (4).
Strain Breaks Hand, Out 3-5 Weeks: Wolfpack freshman Ryan Strain may have become a victim of his own success when he broke the fourth metacarpal on his left hand February 26 while diving for a fly ball in center field against Cleveland State. The injury, comparable to a hairline fracture, will sideline Strain for 3-5 weeks.
A career middle infielder, Strain readily agreed to give center field a try when the Wolfpack coaching staff suggested it as a way to get his bat into the lineup. Strain's first game in center field came on a rainy Friday against Rutgers, and he handled numerous difficult chances without a miscue. The game vs. Cleveland State was his third start in the outfield.
For the record, on the play in question, Strain did make the catch for the third out of the second inning. He stayed in the game for one more inning before being removed. Strain has played nine games and made seven starts, batting .269.
Smith Wins Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship: Senior infielder Jason Smith, an eight-time Dean's List student and three-time member of the ACC Honor Roll, received his latest academic honor on February 29 when he was named a recipient of the ACC's Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship.
Smith, currently in graduate school in civil engineering, holds a bachelor's degree in construction engineering and management. He graduated last spring with a 3.84 GPA. Smith also has won a graduate scholarship from the American Science Foundation and the AGC Education and Research Foundation.
The Weaver-James-Corrigan Scholarships are named after former ACC commissioners Jim Weaver, Bob James and Gene Corrigan. NC State has had 14 Weaver-James-Corrigan Scholarship winners in the last four years, tops among ACC schools.
Another Tough Schedule For NC State: According to the NCAA's RPI rankings, NC State played the seventh-toughest schedule in the country last season, and if Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America are right, the Wolfpack will play a schedule almost as demanding in 2000.
In its February 20 College Preview issue, Baseball America ranked the top 100 teams in the country, and the top of that list looks a lot like NC State's 2000 schedule. NC State had 22 games scheduled against BA's top 33 teams.
In the latest weekly poll by Collegiate Baseball, four NC State opponents are ranked in the top 10: No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 North Carolina, No. 8 Clemson, and No. 10 Miami. The Wolfpack has a three-game series scheduled with each. That's 12 games against four of the top 10 teams in the nation.
Big League Bloodlines: Three current NC State players have former major league players for fathers. Redshirt sophomore infielder Sammy Esposito is the son of former Wolfpack coach Sam Esposito, who was an infielder for the Chicago White Sox from 1952-1963 and with the Kansas City A's in 1963. Freshman infielder Ryan Strain is the son of Joe Strain, who was an infielder for the San Francisco Giants from 1979-80 and the Chicago Cubs in 1981. Freshman righthander Daniel Caldwell is the son of ex-Wolfpack lefty Mike Caldwell, who pitched for the San Diego Padres from 1971-76, the Cincinnati Reds in 1976, and the Milwaukee Brewers from 1976-84.
Wolfpack Aiming To Continue NCAA Tournament Streak: NC State headed into the 2000 season looking to continue one of the most impressive postseason streaks in the nation. The Wolfpack has appeared in the NCAA Tournament 12 times in the last 14 years, including the last four years in a row. Since 1986, the Pack has played in the NCAA regionals every year except 1989 and 1995. NC State has not gone back-to-back seasons without appearing in the NCAA Tournament since the 1984 and '85 seasons.
Wolfpack Inks Four In Fall Signing Period: With eight Wake County and Triangle area players already on the NC State baseball roster, Wolfpack head coach Elliott Avent went out this past fall and added to the local look of his team by signing four more Raleigh-area players in the fall signing period.
Avent and his coaching staff signed Millbrook High School outfielder Joe Gaetti, plus three players from Raleigh's Broughton High School -- catcher Conor Clougherty, first baseman and lefthanded pitcher David Hicks, and shortstop Lee Kimball.
All four of the Wolfpack's signees were first-team all-conference selections as juniors, and Gaetti is a three-time All-Cap-8 honoree. In 25 games as a junior in 1999, Gaetti batted .514 with nine home runs, 26 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Baseball America ranks him as the No. 3 player in the state and projects him as a fifth- to eighth-round draft pick next June.
Hicks led NC State's Broughton trio in 1999, setting school records for home runs with 12 and RBIs with 36, while hitting .418. Kimball also broke the old school mark for homers, stroking 11 long balls, while drive in 21 runs and batting .345. Clougherty, the younger brother of former Wolfpack All-American Pat Clougherty, batted .340 with six home runs and 15 RBIs.
This past summer, Hicks and Kimball helped lead the Garner American Legion team, coached by former Wolfpack shortstop Moe Barbour, to the state championship and a berth in the national tournament. Hicks batted .481 with 22 home runs, while Kimball batted .377 with 21 homers.
