North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack's McKee Having Strong Summer In Coastal Plain League
7/31/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
July 31, 2001
RALEIGH, N.C. - Rising junior righthander Derek McKee, having a strong summer for the Asheboro Copperheads of the Coastal Plain League, retired the only three men he faced in one inning of work in the CPL All-Star game, held July 11 at Hicks Field in Edenton, N.C. McKee pitched the third inning for the South All-Stars, recording one strikeout and inducing a pair of groundouts.
For the 2001 CPL season, McKee has been a bellwether for the struggling Copperheads, posting a 4-2 record with a 2.13 ERA in eight starts. McKee had allowed 42 hits, walked 20 and struck out 44 in 52 innings for Asheboro, which had lost five of its last six games and seven of its last nine. McKee led the Asheboro staff in wins, innings pitched and strikeouts.
McKee is playing this summer with two NC State teammates in Asheboro. Rising junior infielder Jeremy Dutton was playing third base for the Copperheads and having a solid season, batting .265 with five doubles, 15 RBIs and seven stolen bases in 10 attempts. Dutton was second on the team in batting average and base hits. He had a positive ratio of walks to strikeouts, having drawn 24 walks to only 19 strikeouts in 43 games.
Rising sophomore infielder and lefthanded pitcher David Hicks was hitting .231 after a very slow start in the wooden-bat league. He had six doubles, a triple and two home runs, and had driven in 16 runs, which was tied for second on the team. Hicks had seen limited action on the mound for Asheboro. In four appearances, including one start, he was 1-1 with a 4.97 ERA. He had worked just 12 2/3 innings.
Asheboro was 5-18 in the second half of the CPL season and in last place in the Southern Division.
While Asheboro was struggling, the Durham Braves were surging. The first-half Southern Division champions, the Braves were 11-5 in the second half, one game out of first place, and had won seven of their last eight games. Daniel Caldwell, a rising junior for the Wolfpack, was pitching well for the Braves, with a 3-3 record and a 2.81 ERA. Caldwell had made a strong recovery after losing two of his first three decisions.
Caldwell had made nine appearances, including eight starts and a pair of complete games. He had worked 48 innings and allowed 39 hits, walked 18 and struck out 33. He was holding opponents to a .227 batting average.
Three of Caldwell's Wolfpack teammates also were playing for Durham, although the contributions of two of them had been limited by injuries. Outfielder Jamey Shearin, a rising senior who had a tremendous second half for the Pack during the 2001 college season, got injured early in the CPL season and was sidelined for a time. He has since returned to action and had lifted his average to .220 following a poor start. Shearin had two doubles and a home run in 18 games, including 11 starts.
Rising junior J.R. Riley was hitting .204 with seven doubles, three home runs and 12 RBIs for Durham. He had played in 36 games, starting 33 of them.
Rising senior lefthanded pitcher Kyle Stephenson's summer season ended after three appearances because of an injury. He was 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA. He had allowed six hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings.
At Wilson, rising sophomore outfielder Joe Gaetti also had rebounded from a slow start, raising his average to .240 with five doubles and a home run in 30 games. Wilson had won five of its last seven games and was 10-6 in the second half, a half-game behind first-place Edenton.
COMBS PITCHING WELL IN CAPE LEAGUE DESPITE NOT WINNING: Rising senior righthander Ryan Combs was NC State's only representative in the Cape Cod League after Mike Sollie left Hyannis in early July for personal reasons.
Combs, pitching for Cotuit, was 0-3 for the season, but had a solid 2.38 ERA in seven appearances, all of them starts. Combs had worked 41 2/3 innings, allowed 42 hits, walked 12 and struck out 23. Part of the reason for Combs' winless record was a lack of run support. The Kettleers were 15-19-4 and had a .208 team batting average. Only two teams in the Cape League had a worse team average. Cotuit was in fourth place in the five-team Western Division of the Cape League, 6 1/2 games behind first-place Wareham with just six games to play.
IN THE PRO RANKS: The Wolfpack currently has one former player in the major leagues, lefthander Dan Plesac (1981-83) with the Toronto Blue Jays. Plesac was 2-3 with a 3.90 ERA in 42 relief appearances for the Blue Jays. Workly mostly as a match-up pitcher vs. lefthanded hitters, Plesac had worked 30 innings, allowing 25 hits and 13 walks while striking out 44.
At the Triple-A level, first baseman Andy Barkett (1992-95) and shortstop Adam Everett (1996) were both in the Pacific Coast League. Barkett, who had a brief call-up to the parent Pittsburgh Pirates in June, was hitting .255 with 12 doubles, six home runs and 37 RBIs for the Nashville Sounds. Everett, the Boston Red Sox' first-round draft pick in 1998 and traded to Houston for outfielder Carl Everett prior to the 2000 season, was hitting .254 with 18 doubles, seven triples, four homers, 34 RBIs and 15 steals for the New Orleans Zephyrs.
At Double-A, two former Wolfpackers were playing in the Texas League. Lefthander Corey Lee (1994-96), a first-round pick of the Texas Rangers in 1996, was pitching for the Tulsa Drillers and having a solid season. Lee was 5-7 with a 4.36 ERA in 19 appearances. He had worked 99 innings, allowed 92 hits, walked 35 and struck out 85.
At San Anotonio, outfielder Jake Weber (1995-98) was hitting .299 with 24 doubles, 52 triples, four home runs, 51 RBIs and seven steals. Weber, the Seattle Mariners' sixth-round pick in the 1998 draft, is in his third year at Double-A. He spent the 1999 and 2000 seasons at New Haven of the Eastern League.
Former NC State infielders Mike Terhune (1996), Chris Combs and Brian Ward (1998-99) were playing at the Class A Advanced level, Terhune with St. Lucie of the Florida State League, Combs with Lynchburg of the Carolina League, and Ward with Fort Myers of the Florida State League.
Terhune, who signed with Atlanta as an undrafted free agent following the 1996 college season, signed with the New York Mets as a minor league free agent this past offseason. In limited action at St. Lucie, Terhune was hitting .244 with 11 doubles, one triple, one home run and 15 RBIs.
Combs, who returned to professional baseball this season after an absence of more than a year, was originally drafted as a pitcher in the fifth round of the 1997 June draft. After leaving professional baseball to finish his college degree in 1999, Combs went back to the Pirates organization this year as a first baseman and was hitting .244 with 16 doubles, three triples, eight home runs and 37 RBIs.
Ward, released by San Diego following the 2000 minor league season, signed with the Minnesota Twins in the offseason and was hitting .255 in limited action at Fort Myers.
At the lower Class A level, four ex-NC State players were working their way along. Matt Postell (1996-99), a former infielder converted to catcher, was hitting .297 with four doubles and two home runs for Kane County of the Midwest League. Postell was the Florida Marlins' 29th-round draft pick in 1999.
At Clinton of the Midwest League, righthander Grant Dorn (1997-99) was 4-1 with a 5.59 ERA and four saves. Dorn, Montreal's 10th-round pick in 1999, had worked 48 1/3 innings, walked 21 and struck out 33.
Righthander Rodney Ormond (1996-99) was 3-2 with a 3.67 ERA for Delmarva of the South Atlantic League. Drafted by the Orioles in the 27th round in 1999, Ormond is coming off of surgery last summer to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. He had worked 27 innings this season and had allowed 27 hits and six walks while striking out 23.
Catcher Dan Mooney (1999-2000) was at Augusta of the South Atlantic League. A free-agent signee of the Boston Red Sox following the 2000 college season, Mooney was hitting .286 with four doubles and two home runs in part-time action at Augusta.
In addition to Postell, Dorn, Ormond and Mooney, 2001 draftee Jason Blanton (200-01), a righthanded pitcher in the Chicago Cubs organization, was promoted to Lansing of the Midwest League after starting the season with Boise of the short-season Class A Northwest League. Blanton, the Cubs' 12th-round pick in this June's draft, had made four appearances for Lansing with no record and a 4.76 ERA. He had allowed 10 hits and walked two in 5 2/3 innings while striking out four. Blanton was 0-3 and 4.76 in his first six appearances with Boise before being promoted to Lansing.
THE DRAFT CLASS OF 2001: Four ex-Wolfpack players, all of them 2001 signees, are playing in the short-season New York-Penn League. Lefthander Dan D'Amato (1999-2001) was Pittsburgh's 27th-round pick this June and was off to a fast start in a relief role with Williamsport. In 11 appearances, D'Amato was 2-0 with a 1.20 ERA and two saves. He had worked 15 innings, allowed 12 hits, walked six and struck out 20.
Infielder Sean Walsh (2001) and righthanded pitcher Josh Miller (2000-01) were at Batavia of the NYP League. Miller, drafted by the Phillies in the 32nd round, was 2-1 with a 2.50 ERA in 10 appearances. He had allowed 19 hits in 18 innings of work, walking two and striking out 16. Walsh, who played third base for NC State this past spring, has moved to first base at Batavia and was hitting .256 with seven doubles, one home run and 10 RBIs in part-time action. Walsh was Philadelphia's 47th-round draft pick this past June.
At Augusta, N.J., righthander Corey Mattison (1998-2001) was pitching for the New Jersey Cardinals. Undrafted out of college, Mattison signed with St. Louis as a free agent and was 2-4 with a 3.57 ERA in eight starts at New Jersey. He had worked 40 1/3 innings, allowed 38 hits, walked 13 and struck out 31.
At the Rookie-level Appalachian League, first baseman Andy Baxter (1998-2000) had cooled considerably at Burlington after a red-hot start. Baxter, who at one time was fourth in the league in hitting, was hitting .261 with nine home runs and 27 RBIs. Baxter, Cleveland's 32nd-round pick this June, still led the league in home runs and was tied for the league lead in RBIs.
Two former NC State All-Americans were in the independent Northern League. Tom Sergio (1994-97), who played second base and center field in four years with the Wolfpack, was hitting .358 with seven doubles, two home runs and 15 RBIs for Allentown in the Northern League's East Division. Sergio signed with Allentown after being released in spring training by the Texas Rangers.
Righthander Clay Eason (1996-97) was at Lincoln in the Northern League's Central Division, where he was 6-2 with a 1.41 ERA. In 13 starts, Eason had allowed 54 hits in 76 2/3 innings. He had walked 19 and struck out 89. Eason led the league in ERA, strikeouts and shutouts.
