North Carolina State University Athletics
Michael Rogers Hurls Cape League Gem
7/17/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
July 17, 2002
RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State Summer Baseball Notebook: Righthander Michael Rogers had seen only spot duty out of the bullpen this summer for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. Until July 16, that is.
Y-D head coach Scott Pickler handed Rogers the ball that evening, giving the Wolfpack freshman his first start in the Cape League, and Rogers made the most of the opportunity, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning and finishing with six shutout innings to lead Yarmouth-Dennis to a 1-0 victory over the Brewster Whitecaps.
Rogers, who improved to 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA with the victory, walked one and struck out eight. For the season, he had pitched 20 innings and allowed 14 hits, walked eight and struck out 22.
Rogers' start and subsequent sterling performance were encouraging news for NC State baseball. Rogers was off to an outstanding start for the Wolfpack this past spring before he was hit in the shin by a line drive on March 23 and had to miss the rest of the season with a fractured fibula. At the time of his injury, Rogers was arguably the Pack's best pitcher, sporting a 3-2 record with a 3.63 ERA. He made seven appearances, six of them starts, and allowed 37 hits and 18 walks in 39 2/3 innings. He allowed only seven extra-base hits, and only one home runs. He struck out 41. Rogers pitched two complete-game shutouts, and did so in back-to-back starts, the first Wolfpack pitcher to accomplish that feat since Terry Harvey in 1994.
Other Cape League News: NC State's other two Cape League players were at Chatham, and both catcher Colt Morton and shortstop Chad Orvella were fighting to stay above the Mendoza line. Orvella, a rising senior, was hitting .194, while Morton, a rising junior, was at .154, with three doubles, three home runs and 11 RBIs.
In fairness to both Orvella and Morton, the Chatham team average was just .201. Only three teams in the 10-team Cape League were hitting above .230 as a team, and six teams were hitting less than .220.
Coastal Plain League News: Several NC State players were active locally in the Coastal Plain League, including rising senior third baseman Jeremy Dutton, who was having a terrific summer with the Durham Americans.
In 31 games for the Americans, Dutton was hitting .282 with eight doubles, three home runs and 21 RBIs. Also at Durham, rising redshirt freshman Chas Pippitt was hitting .245 with four homers and 14 RBIs in 28 games played.
At Wilson, rising senior Adam Hargrave, a CPL All-Star, was hitting .239 with five doubles and 11 RBIs in 30 games played. He had drawn 19 walks, which was tied for third in the league, and led the CPL with five sacrifice flies.
Hargrave had a pair of NC State teammates at Wilson. Rising senior catcher/first baseman Justin Riley was hitting .227 with six doubles and 12 RBIs in 32 games played. Riley did not have any home runs, but Fleming Stadium in Wilson is a notoriously poor park for power hitters. As a team, Wilson had hit just four home runs all season.
On the mound, redshirt junior righthander Ben Hager was 3-3 with a 2.74 ERA for the Tobs. He had made seven appearances, all of them starts, and had allowed 40 hits, walked 14 and struck out 43 in 42 2/3 innings. Hager's performance this summer was still more encouraging news for NC State fans. Hager made just three appearances this past season before being sidelined for the year after being struck flush in the eye by a line drive on February 17. He had surgery a few weeks later to repair damage to his eye socket and took a medical hardship allowing him two more years of eligibility.
Elsewhere in the CPL, rising sophomore lefthander Brandon Shipwash was 1-4 with an 8.10 ERA for the Outer Banks Daredevils. In 12 outings, all in relief, Shipwash had worked 16 2/3 innings and allowed 20 hits, walked 12 and struck out 156.
Other Summer League News: Rising junior lefty Nate Cretarolo was pitching for Harrisonburg in the Shennandoah Valley League. Cretarolo was 1-0 with a 4.58 ERA. He had made four appearances, three of them starts. He had worked 17 2/3 innings, allowing 17 hits, walking 11 and striking out 16.
At West Warwick in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, rising junior David Hicks was hitting .221 with two doubles, a triple and nine RBIs in 24 games. Rising sophomore outfielder Tim Coffield was hitting just .164 in 25 games.
On the mound at West Warwick, rising sophomore righthander Phillip Davidson was 0-2 with a 2.79 ERA, but had mysteriously issued 24 walks in 29 innings of work. He had allowed 22 hits and struck out 17.
At St. Cloud of the Northwoods League, rising junior outfielder Joe Gaetti was hitting .250 with six doubles, five home runs and 23 RBIs in 32 games. Gaetti was leading the league in home runs and was among the league leaders in RBIs.
At Baltimore in the Clark Griffith League, rising sophomore catcher Conor Clougherty was hitting .301 with six doubles and 11 RBIs in 21 games.
(All stats in this story were through games of July 16.)
