North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Baseball To Host Duke This Weekend
4/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 11, 2002
RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State will host Duke in a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference baseball series this weekend at Doak Field. Game times will be 7 p.m. on Friday, 1 p.m. on Saturday, and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. Saturday's game will be televised on Fox Sports South and will be carried on the Fox Sports Network.
NC STATE BASEBALL GAME NOTES
NC State (22-13/2-7) vs. Duke (17-17/0-6)
April 12-14, 2002
Doak Field * Raleigh, N.C.
THE STARTING ROTATION: Junior righthander Daniel Caldwell (5-4, 5.17) will start for the Wolfpack in the series opener on Friday. In his last start, April 7 at Clemson, Caldwell allowed eight runs, six of them earned, on 13 hits. He struck out three and did not issue a walk in 6 1/3 innings. Caldwell ran into trouble in the seventh inning. Through five innings, he had allowed just one run on six hits, and two of the three runs he allowed in the sixth were unearned. In his last three starts, Caldwell has allowed 15 runs on 32 hits in 19 2/3 innings. He walked four and struck out 12. For the season, Caldwell has made nine appearances, all of them starts, and has allowed 81 hits in 62 2/3 innings. He has walked 14 and struck out 49.
Junior righthander Derek McKee (2-3, 5.60) will start the middle game of the series on Saturday. McKee's last start was April 5 at Clemson, and he allowed six runs, five earned, on five hits in six solid innings. He walked five and struck out four. In his last three outings, all starts, McKee has allowed 13 earned runs on 23 hits in 21 innings. He has walked 13 and struck out 16. For the season, McKee has made eight appearances, seven of them starts, and has worked 45 innings, allowed 55 hits, walked 21 and struck out 45.
Sophomore lefthander Mike Prochaska (4-0, 2.27) will start the series finale on Sunday. In his last appearance, a start on April 6 at Clemson, Prochaska hurled a complete-game four-hit shutout against the No. 1-ranked Tigers. He walked four and struck out six. Prochaska allowed just one runner to reach scoring position as Clemson was shut out at home for only the second time in nine seasons under head coach Jack Leggett. In his last three outings, Prochaska has allowed five runs, only two of which were earned, on nine hits in 16 2/3 innings. He has walked 10 and struck out 13 in that time. For the season, Prochaska has made three starts and seven total appearances. He has worked 31 2/3 innings while allowing 21 hits and 14 walks. He has struck out 22.
THE SERIES VS. DUKE: Duke has proven to be a devil of an opponent for NC State in recent years. Although the Wolfpack holds a 130-115 lead in the overall series, the two teams have split 10 games over the last three years, and the Pack has won nine of 17 years since Elliott Avent became head coach in 1997. Over the past decade, NC State has won 20 and lost 13 against Duke.
A year ago, Duke defeated the Wolfpack twice in a three-game series April 27-29 at Jack Coombs Field in Durham. NC State won the opener 9-5 in 10 innings behind 2 2/3 innings of shutout relief from Josh Miller. Duke won a wild one in the middle game of the series, taking a 7-5 lead with a five-run sixth inning, falling behind 9-8 after the Wolfpack rallied for three runs in the top of the eighth, and then winning 11-10 with three runs in the bottom of the ninth. Duke won the series finale 10-6 by scoring four runs in the sixth, two in the seventh and one in the eighth against three Wolfpack pitchers.
The two teams met a fourth time on May 17 in the ACC Tournament at Knight's Stadium in Rock Hill, S.C., and the Wolfpack eliminated the Blue Devils 5-3 behind 6 2/3 strong innings from Daniel Caldwell, and 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief from Miller. Sean Walsh and Jamey Shearin homered for the Wolfpack, which went on to advance all the way to the tournament's championship game against Wake Forest.
PROCHASKA ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sophomore lefthander Mike Prochaska was named Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week on April 8 after his masterful pitching performance last Saturday at No. 1-ranked Clemson. Prochaska went the distance against the Tigers, shutting them out on just four hits. Only one Clemson batter reached scoring position. Prochaska, who now is 4-0 with a 2.27 ERA, walked four and struck out six, and became just the second pitcher to shut out the Tigers at home in nine seasons under head coach Jack Leggett.
DUTTON DEVILS DUKE: Talk about letting one get away. That's how Duke must feel about NC State junior third baseman Jeremy Dutton, a Durham native and a former star at Southern Durham High School.
In two seasons with the Wolfpack, Dutton has tormented his hometown team, batting .433 (13-for-30) in seven games against the Blue Devils. Dutton has hit safely in all seven games he has played against Duke, and has six doubles, two triples, two walks, 11 runs scored, and five RBIs. In five of Dutton's seven games against Duke, he has collected two hits or more, and has hit at least one double in five of the seven.
In the three-game series at Duke last season, Dutton went 7-for-14 with three doubles, two triples, two walks, and was hit by a pitch.
WRIGHT ALSO A DUKE KILLER: At least Brian Wright isn't from Durham. Not that that's any consolation for the way he has ripped Duke pitching in his three seasons at NC State. In 10 games against the Blue Devils, Wright has batted .488 (20-for-41) with six doubles, two home runs and 23 RBIs. He has had two or more hits in eight of the 10 games, and two or more RBIs in six of the 10, including three games with four RBIs, and two with three RBIs.
TUESDAY VS. WINTHROP: Shortstop Chad Orvella homered and drove in four runs, and the top four hitters in the NC State batting order had a combined 10 RBIs as the Wolfpack downed Winthrop 13-7 in a non-conference game at Doak Field.
NC State starter Phillip Davidson (4-3), the first of four Wolfpack pitchers in a prearranged split, picked up the win after hurling three innings and allowing two runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out four. Winthrop starter Jason Terry (1-3) took the loss after allowing nine runs, eight of them earned, on nine hits in five-plus innings. He walked two and struck out three.
Orvella and Brian Wright both hit home runs for NC State. Wright went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs, and Justin Riley went 3-for-5 and also had three RBIs.
ALL-WASHINGTON DP COMBO: Without question, NC State is a far better defensive team this season than in recent years, and the biggest reason for the defensive turnaround has been the play up the middle.
In particular, shortstop Chad Orvella and second baseman Adam Hargrave have made all the plays in the middle of the diamond. The two junior college transfers have committed just 11 errors between them and have a combined fielding percentage of .958 through the Pack's first 35 games.
NC State second basemen and shortstops combined to commit 43 errors a year ago with a combined fielding percentage of .931.
Hargrave has not committed an error in the last 17 games, handling 75 chances without a miscue during that time. He has made just one error in 89 chances over the last 23 games.
Orvella had a streak of 14 errorless game snapped on March 27 at Old Dominion. During that streak, he handled 49 consecutive chances without an error. He has made just four errors in 77 chances the last 23 games.
Aside from their defensive and offensive prowess (Hargrave is hitting .370, Orvella .336), the Wolfpack's keystone combo holds one other distinction: they may be the only Division I double-play combination in the country to hail from Washington state.
Hargrave is from Vancouver, Wash., and came to NC State from Tacoma Community College. Orvella is from Redmond, Wash., and came to Raleigh from Columbia Basin Community College.
There are three Division I schools in the state of Washington that have baseball teams, and of the three, only Gonzaga uses a double-play combo with two Washington natives, but the Zags use two different shortstops, and the one listed as their starter, Danny Evans, hails from Glendale, Ariz. Grant Zurmley has actually made more starts at shortstop than Evans, but neither has nailed down the starting job.
Interestingly, Zurmley is from Orvella's hometown, Redmond.
RILEY GOES ON A RIP: NC State backup catcher and first baseman Justin Riley has pretty much forced his way into the lineup with the way he has hit when given the chance. Riley, batting .342 with three doubles, five home runs and 31 RBIs, has had just 73 at-bats this season. He is averaging a home run every 14.6 at-bats, the best ratio on the team, and an RBI every 2.4 at-bats, also best on the team.
WRIGHT GETS 11 STRAIGHT HITS: Wolfpack senior left fielder Brian Wright set a school record March 15-17 against St. Joseph's by collecting 11 consecutive hits. Wright went 4-for-4 on Friday in the first game of the series, and then went 4-for-4 in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday to run his streak to eight consecutive hits. After hitting safely in his first three at-bats of the nightcap, Wright had his streak snapped when he lined a laser shot that the second baseman caught with a leaping grab.
During the streak, Wright also collected three walks and hit a sacrifice fly. He had one at-bat extended when the Hawks catcher dropped a pop-up in foul territory for an error.
Wright just missed tying the ACC record for consecutive hits by one (Tony Larioni, Maryland, 1980) and the NCAA Division I record by three (Larry Patterson, Gonzaga, 1977).
HITTING STREAKS: Senior outfielder Brian Wright had a 15-game hitting streak broken March 10 vs. Richmond. During his streak, Wright batted .456 (26-for-57) with eight doubles, three home runs and 23 RBIs. Wright's streak was the longest by an NC State player this season.
Sophomore first baseman David Hicks had a 14-game hitting streak snapped on March 5 vs. William & Mary, the longest hitting streak of Hicks's career. Hicks batted .508 (31-for-61) with 14 doubles, one homer and 20 RBIs during his streak. Hicks's streak was the second longest by a Pack player this season.
CURRENT HITTING STREAKS: Heading into play this weekend at Clemson, the longest active hitting streak on the team belongs to senior outfielder Brian Wright, who has hit safely in his last eight games. He has batted .357 (10-for-28) with two doubles, two home runs and 10 RBIs in that time.
TAKING A WALK: Through the first 35 games of the season, NC State hitters have shown exceptional strike-zone judgement, drawing 171 walks and striking out 173 times as a team. That's a strikeout to walk ratio of 1.01:1, and a marked improvement over a year ago when Wolfpack hitters drew 209 walks and struck out 349 times, for a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 1.67:1.
The most impressive K/BB ratio among NC State players belongs to, not surprisingly, senior outfielder Brian Wright, who was walked 28 times to just 11 strikeouts. Others with positive K/BB ratios through 35 games were freshman outfielder Marc Maynor (27 walks, 14 strikeouts), junior second baseman Adam Hargrave (17 and 11), junior shortstop Chad Orvella (24 and 19), and junior third baseman Jeremy Dutton (23 and 15).
NC State Hitters Recent Performances
Matt Butler: Went 2-for-4 on Tuesday vs. Winthrop ... Went 2-for-9 during the Clemson series ... Went 2-for-3 last Tuesday vs. North Carolina A&T ... Went 1-for-10 in the Georgia Tech series ... Is hitting .258 (8-for-31) with two doubles and one RBI in his last 10 games.
Tim Coffield: Went 0-for-1 on Tuesday vs. Winthrop ... Went 0-for-3 in the Clemson series ... Did not play last Tuesday vs. North Carolina A&T ... Went 1-for-5 in the Georgia Tech series ... Is hitting .300 (10-for-30) with one double and six RBIs in his last 10 games.
Jeremy Dutton: Went 0-for-3 on Tuesday vs. Winthrop ... Went 3-for-8 in the Clemson series ... Went 0-for-1 last Tuesday vs. North Carolina A&T ... Went 3-for-9 with a double and two RBIs in the Georgia Tech series ... Is hitting .333 (10-for-30) with a double and five RBIs in his last 10 games.
Joe Gaetti: Went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI on Tuesday vs. Winthrop ... Went 2-for-10 in the Clemson series ... Went 2-for-4 last Tuesday vs. North Carolina A&T ... Went 3-for-10 in the Georgia Tech series ... Is hitting .290 (9-for-31) with two RBIs his last 10 games.
Adam Hargrave: Did not play on Tuesday vs. Winthrop ... Went 0-for-3 in the Clemson series ... Missed the last three games with swelling in his knee ... Went 1-for-3 last Tuesday vs. North Carolina A&T ... Went 2-for-12 with a triple and two RBIs in the Georgia Tech series ... Is hitting .294 (10-for-34) with a double, a triple, six runs scored and three RBIs in his last 10 games.
David Hicks: Went 1-for-4 on Tuesday vs. Winthrop ... Went 2-for-12 vs. Clemson ... Went 1-for-4 last Tuesday vs. North Carolina A&T ... Went 3-for-11 with a double and an RBI in the Georgia Tech series ... Is hitting .289 (11-for-38) with two doubles and seven RBIs in his last 10 games.
Marc Maynor: Went 0-for-1 in the Clemson series, which was his only action since March 26 at UNCG because of tendinitis in his achilles tendon ... Is hitting .267 (8-for-30) with 13 walks, four stolen bases and 11 runs scored in his last 10 games.
Colt Morton: Went 1-for-1 with an RBI on Tuesday vs. Winthrop ... Went 5-for-12 in the Clemson series ... Did not have a plate appearance last Tuesday vs North Carolina A&T ... Went 0-for-9 in the Georgia Tech series ... Is hitting .242 (8-for-33) with one double, one home run and seven RBIs in his last 10 games.
Chad Orvella: Went 1-for-2 with a home run and four RBIs on Tuesday vs. Winthrop ... Went 1-for-11 in the Clemson series ... Went 3-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored and two RBIs last Tuesday vs. North Carolina A&T ... Went 3-for-10 in the Georgia Tech series ... Is hitting .250 (8-for-32) with seven RBIs and 10 runs scored in his last 10 games.
Justin Riley: Went 3-for-5 with three RBIs on Tuesday vs. Winthrop ... Went 0-for-8 in the Clemson series ... Went 0-for-5 with an RBI last Tuesday vs. North Carolina A&T ... Went 5-for-11 with a double, a homer and seven RBIs in the Georgia Tech series ... Is hitting .333 (13-for-39) with three doubles, one home run and 16 RBIs in his last 10 games.
Brian Wright: Has hit safely in his last eight games ... Went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs on Tuesday vs. Winthrop ... Went 4-for-9 with a double, three RBIs and four walks in the Clemson series ... Went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer and three total RBIs last Tuesday vs. North Carolina A&T ... Went 3-for-11 in the Georgia Tech series ... Is hitting .314 (11-for-35) with three doubles, two home runs and 12 RBIs in his last 10 games.
