North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Entertains Clemson In Weekend Baseball Series
5/4/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 4, 2001
NC STATE BASEBALL (25-25/8-13 ACC)
vs. Clemson (31-17/12-6 ACC)
May 5-6, 2001 / Doak Field
Raleigh, N.C.
TRAFFIC WARNING: To all fans planning to attend this weekend's baseball series between NC State and Clemson, please be aware that because of road construction on Sullivan Drive, Doak Field cannot be accessed from Sullivan Drive and Gorman Streets.
The only way in and out of Doak Field will be via Thurman Drive off of Dan Allen Drive. The intersection of Thurman Drive and Dan Allen Drive is located just south of the Southern Railroad overpass on Dan Allen Drive. Thurman Drive -- normally a one-way street -- is narrow, and game traffic could be delayed.
NC STATE VS. CLEMSON: The Tigers lead the overall series with the Wolfpack by an 82-58 margin. Clemson has beaten NC State 22 of 36 times over the last 10 years, but the Wolfpack holds an 8-7 advantage in the 15 games played at Doak Field in that time.
Under current NC State coach Elliott Avent, Clemson has won seven of 13 meetings with the Wolfpack, but Avent is 5-1 vs. the Tigers at Doak Field.
A YEAR AGO AT CLEMSON: The Tigers took two of three from the Wolfpack at Doug Kingsmore Stadium last April 7-9. In the opener, NC State's Ryan Combs dominated the Tigers, holding them to one run on two hits in 7 1/3 innings as the Wolfpack took a 5-1 decision. Brian Wright had three hits and Josh Schmitt hit a three-run homer.
Clemson's Ryan Mottl took care of business in the middle game, allowing no runs on one hit in seven innings to pace the Tigers to a 9-0 rout. Jarrod Schmidt homered and Jeff Baker drove in three runs to lead Clemson to an 8-4 win in the finale of the series. Wright went 4-fof-5 with a pair of doubles for NC State.
TWO YEARS AGO AT DOAK FIELD: In the series opener on May 14-15 (the game was suspended in the second inning on the 14th and completed the next afternoon), the Wolfpack scored five runs in each of the first three innings to hand Clemson a 19-9 defeat. Four NC State players had three hits apiece, and four more had two hits each. Mike Sollie allowed just one earned run in 7 2/3 innings of standout relief.
In the middle game of the series, Dan Mooney drove in three runs and Brian Wright drove in two to lead NC State to a 7-4 win over Clemson. The Tigers battled back to salvage the final game of the series 7-4 behind six strong innings from starter Mike Proto and a two-run homer from Jason Harris.
THE STARTING ROTATION: Sophomore righthander Derek McKee (3-2, 4.77) will start the first game of the series on Saturday afternoon. McKee has made 12 appearances, including eight starts, and has allowed 63 hits, walked 16 and struck out 43 in 54 2/3 innings. In his last start, April 27 at Duke, he worked six innings, allowing three runs on nine hits, walking two and striking out two. He got no decision in NC State's 9-5 victory. In his last five starts, McKee is 1-0 with a 4.18 ERA. He worked at least six innings in all five starts, and allowed three earned runs or less in four of them.
Senior righthander Jason Blanton (4-1, 4.72) will start the second game on Saturday. Blanton has made 15 appearances, including eight starts. He has worked 55 1/3 innings, allowed 69 hits, walked 29 and struck out 46. In his last start, April 28 at Duke, he worked 5 1/3 innings, allowed six runs, five of them earned, on seven hits. He walked four and struck out four. He got no decision in an 11-10 loss. If Blanton is on his game, the Wolfpack infield will be busy. For the season, Blanton has 84 outs on ground balls compared to just 24 on fly balls.
Senior righthander Corey Mattison (1-3, 5.00) is scheduled to start the series finale on Sunday. Mattison has made 15 appearances and five starts. He has worked 45 innings, allowed 42 hits, walked 17 and struck out 47. In his last start, April 29 at Duke, Mattison was charged with a 10-6 loss after allowing six runs, four of them earned, on five hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out five. In three starts since rejoining the rotation on April 18, Mattison is 1-1 with a 3.63 ERA. He has allowed 13 hits, walked five and fanned 19 in 17 1/3 innings over those three starts.
WHO'S HOT: Any discussion about who's hot for NC State has to begin with junior outfielder Brian Wright, who is on a tear (what else is new?). Wright enters play this weekend on a 10-game hitting streak. He has been red-hot during the streak, batting .488 (21-for-43) with four doubles, four home runs and 17 RBIs. He has driven in 14 runs in his last five games, and has batted .490 (25-for-51) with 24 RBIs in his last 11 games.
Senior third baseman Sean Walsh currently is riding a 12-game hitting streak, hitting .354 (17-for-48) with four doubles, three home runs and nine RBIs during his streak.
Sophomore second baseman Jeremy Dutton also comes into action this weekend on a hot streak. Dutton went 7-for-14 with three doubles, two triples, and seven runs scored in the Duke series last weekend, and in his last 14 games is hitting .333 (20-for-60) with eight doubles, three triples, one home run, 11 RBIs and 18 runs scored.
Freshman catcher Colt Morton broke out of a slump in the Duke series, hitting .385 with a double and a triple against the Blue Devils, and is 6-for-17 in his last four games.
MEDICAL REPORT: NC State heads down the homestretch of the 2001 season with an extensive injury list, including four players who are out for the season. They are: LHP/1B Mike Prochaska (labrum surgery), LHP Nate Cretarolo (labrum surgery), LHP Daryl Minugh (labrum surgery), and 1B/3B Matt Butler (fractured jaw).
Prochaska, a Freshman All-American a year ago, was projected to hit in the middle of the Pack lineup and to hold down a spot in the weekend pitching rotation. His loss was the equivalent of losing two front-line players. Minugh also was projected as a possible weekend starter, but has not thrown a pitch in competition this season following surgery last summer.
Butler was a valuable and versatile part-time player who played first and third base, plus the outfield. He appeared in 32 games, made 19 starts, and was hitting .309 at the time he was injured on April 22 at Wake Forest. Cretarolo figured to pitch in middle relief this season and come out of the bullpen to match up against lefthanded hitters.
In addition to those four, senior reliever Josh Miller is pitching with a torn left ACL. He is using a brace designed specifically for ACL tears. He has been the Wolfpack's best releiver all season. Junior lefthander Kyle Stephenson, another middle-innings lefthander, missed three weeks when he cut his knee in a fall at Virginia.
Among position players, catcher and designated hitter Justin Riley sprained an ankle on April 29 at Duke, but returned to action this week at East Carolina. Freshman center fielder Joe Gaetti fractured his left wrist when he ran into the outfield wall chasing a fly ball on April 13 vs. Maryland. He missed all or most of the next 12 games. He returned to the starting lineup this week at ECU.
A BRUTAL SCHEDULE: If strength of schedule really is a factor in determining NCAA Tournament at-large bids, then NC State is definitely a contender.
The strength of NC State's scorechule might come as a surprise to some. At first glance, the Pack's non-conference schedule looks like a succession of cupcakes ? Elon, Rutgers, Cincinnati, Campbell, Winthrop, Ball State.
Guess again.
Through games of May 2, only seven of NC State's 24 opponents had losing records. Ten had won at least 30 games, with East Carolina (42-10) and Winthrop (37-11) ranked among the national leaders in victories. Four more were within two wins of the 30-win plateau.
Collectively, through games of May 2, NC State's opponents had a won-lost record of 658-483. That's a .577 won-lost percentage.
NC State Opponents' W-L Record
(through games of May 2)
| Opponent | W-L |
| Cincinnati | 30-17 |
| West Virginia | 24-21 |
| George Mason | 18-29 |
| The Citadel | 30-20 |
| Rutgers? | 37-13 |
| Elon? | 28-21 |
| Richmond | 24-22 |
| Ball State | 28-17 |
| Georgia Tech | 33-14 |
| Winthrop | 37-11 |
| Campbell | 29-16 |
| Florida State | 35-14 |
| Virginia | 24-26 |
| North Carolina | 29-23 |
| UNC-Wilmington | 31-18 |
| UNC-Greensboro | 24-23 |
| Charlotte | 18-27 |
| High Point | 18-24 |
| Virginia Commonealth | 33-14 |
| Old Dominion? | 17-29 |
| Maryland? | 15-31 |
| Wake Forest? | 36-15 |
| Davidson? | 18-28 |
| East Carolina? | 42-10 |
| TOTALS? | 658-483 |
BRIAN WRIGHT IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Junior outfielder Brian Wright is slowly ascending the various charts in the NC State record book.
Wright already has cracked three top 10 lists ? eighth in career hits with 234, seventh in career total bases with 370, and 10th in career RBIs with 143. He also ranks 11th in doubles with 47, 12th in at-bats with 640, 13th in runs scored with 144, and is tied for 12th in home runs with 27.
Wright's career batting average currently stands at .366 (234-for-640). That would place him seventh in the NC State record book, although batting average obviously is subject to fluctuation and could go down. Then again, as streaky as Wright has been in his career, he also has been remarkably consistent. He batted .363 as a freshman and .366 a year ago. He heads into play this weekend vs. Clemson hitting .367, which almost matches his career average.
MORTON TIED FOR FROSH HOMER MARK: Freshman catcher Colt Morton's sixth-inning solo home run on April 7 at High Point was his 11th this season. That tied the NC State record for home runs by a freshman, set in 1991 by Pat Clougherty, whose younger brother Conor also is a freshman on the current NC State team.
DUTTON IGNITES FROM LEADOFF SPOT: A big part of NC State's offensive resurgence has come from leadoff hitter Jeremy Dutton, who has been setting the table for the middle of the order quite nicely this season.
Currently hitting .318 with 16 doubles, six triples, two home runs, 29 RBIs, 44 runs scored and 11 stolen bases, Dutton got off to a slow start this season, hitting just .237 through 10 games. In 40 games since then, Dutton has batted .337 (55-for-163) with 15 doubles, six triples, two homers, 24 RBIs and 37 runs scored.
For the season, Dutton has reached base in 44 of 50 games and has not gone consecutive games without reaching base.
IT'S MILLER TIME AGAIN: He's b-a-a-a-a-a-ck! The last time we saw senior righthanded reliever Josh Miller, it was March 20 and he had just torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. The NC State medical staff at the time believed that Miller, the Wolfpack's best reliever, was done for the season, a devastating blow to say the least.
At the time of his injury, Miller was 1-2 with a 1.99 ERA and four saves. In 13 appearances, he had worked 22 2/3 innings and allowed 20 hits, walked four and struck out 18.
Miller, fitted with a knee brace designed specifically for ACL tears, returned to action the night of April 18 vs. Old Dominion, and has allowed four earned runs in 10 1/3 innings over five outings since then. For the season, he has fashioned a 2-3 record with a 2.45 ERA and a team-high four saves.
Miller's most impressive attribute as a pitcher is pinpoint control. A year ago, he went 5-1 with a 2.35 ERA and two saves. He allowed 10 earned runs on 40 hits in 38 1/3 innings while recording 27 strikeouts. He faced 155 batters and walked just one.
Miler faced 97 batters last season before Miami's Kris Clute worked him for a base on balls, and then faced another 57 men without issuing a walk.
Miller's control has not been quite as remarkable through 18 appearances this season, but he still has managed to issue just six walks all season (two intentional) while facing 144 batters.
In 45 career appearances at NC State thus far, Miller has a 7-4 record, six saves and a 2.40 ERA in 71 1/3 innings. He has faced 299 batters, struck out 53, and walked seven, two intentional. That's one walk every 42.7 batters faced, and one unintentional walk every 59.8 batters faced.
While Miller's control may seem unique, he is, in fact, the keeper of a budding NC State tradition. Miller is the second pitcher from Brevard to come to NC State and seemingly never issue a walk. Former Wolfpack righthander Brett Black was a starter for the Wolfpack from 1996-97, won 22 games in two seasons, and walked just 29 of the 977 batters he faced in 238 innings on the mound. That's one walk every 34 batters faced. Black once faced 143 consecutive batters without issuing a walk.
THIS COLT IS A STALLION: NC State's freshman catcher Colt Morton was an All-Name Team member from birth. But as Wolfpack Radio Network broadcaster Tony Haynes said on the air March 25 at Charlottesville, "If he keeps playing this well, a name change may be in order, from Colt to Stallion."
Through 49 games this season, Morton is hitting .276 with 10 doubles, 11 home runs and 39 RBIs. In 21 ACC games, he is hitting .310 (26-for-84) with five doubles, six home runs and 23 RBIs. Morton also has been a late-inning terror, hitting .500 (9-for-18) in the ninth inning. His ninth-inning slugging percentage is .833 and his on-base percentage is .550.
THE WRIGHT STUFF IN ATLANTA: While the ACC Basketball Tournament got the lion's share of attention in Atlanta the weekend of March 9-11, NC State junior outfielder Brian Wright put on a show of his own at Georgia Tech's Chandler Stadium.
Wright, an All-ACC outfielder as a sophomore a year ago, lit up Georgia Tech pitching in NC State's three-game ACC series with the then-No. 1-ranked Yellow Jackets, collecting eight hits and eight RBIs in the three games, and leading the Wolfpack to its first-ever series win over Georgia Tech in Atlanta. He made NC State history in the series finale, going 6-for-6 with two home runs, five runs scored and seven RBIs, each of which tied or established career highs, in a 16-8 rout for NC State.
Wright's six hits in a game tied a school record set by Brian Bark (1987-90) in the 1988 NCAA East Regional vs. Florida, which was ranked No. 4 nationally at the time.
Great feats deserve great rewards, and Wright was rewarded for his performance, earning ACC Player of the Week honors from the ACC office, and National Player of the Week from the National College Baseball Writers of America.
THE SEVEN-RBI MAN: On March 11 at Georgia Tech, junior outfielder Brian Wright went 6-for-6 with a pair of home runs and picked up seven RBIs, a career high.
On April 15 vs. Maryland at Doak Field, Wright drove in seven runs again, and this time he needed just four hits (4-for-4) and just one home run to get his seven RBIs.
FIVE RUNS VS. GEORGIA TECH: Maybe it's something about Georgia Tech's school colors, but on the subject of Brian Wright's 6-for-6 game against the Yellow Jackets, his five runs scored in that game tied his career high. The first time Wright scored five runs in a game was May 21, 1999, in the third round of the ACC Tournament against -- you guessed it -- Georgia Tech. Wright's five runs in that game set an ACC Tournament record.
