North Carolina State University Athletics
Wright Tearing Up New York-Penn League
7/3/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
July 3, 2002
RALEIGH, N.C. - After a 2-for-13 start, former NC State All-America outfielder Brian Wright has adjusted to wood bats and professional pitching. Wright, who batted .418 as a senior this past spring for the Wolfpack, ranked fourth in the New York-Penn League batting race with a .340 mark through games of July 1.
Playing for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, the Cleveland Indians' affiliate in the short-season Class A league, Wright had gone 15-for-37 since his slow start, and had two doubles, two triples, two home runs and nine runs batted in. He led the team in batting, runs scored with 11, hits with 17, triples, and RBIs. Mahoning Valley was 8-6 after 14 games.
Hargrave Named CPL All-Star: Wolfpack second baseman Adam Hargrave was named to the North team for the Coastal Plain League All-Star Game, to be held at Fayetteville's J.P. Riddle Stadium on July 10. Hargrave, a rising senior, was hitting .242 (16-for-66) with four doubles and eight RBIs in 23 games for the Wilson Tobs (all stats through games of July 1).
Elsewhere In The CPL: Hargrave is one of three NC State players at Wilson this summer. Rising senior catcher-first baseman Justin Riley was hitting .222 (20-for-90) with five doubles and 10 RBIs. Righthanded pitcher Ben Hager, who will be a redshirt junior in 2003, was 3-3 with a 2.97 ERA for the Tobs. Hager had made six appearances, all starts, and had worked 36 1/3 innings while allowing 35 hits. He had walked 13 and struck out 35, and had held opposing hitters to a .243 batting average.
Three more Wolfpack players were at Durham in the CPL, although righthander Daniel Caldwell has been shut down for the summer. Rising senior third baseman Jeremy Dutton, a former CPL all-star, was hitting .295 (28-for-95) with eight doubles, a triple and 13 RBIs in 24 games. Outfielder Chas Pippett, who redshirted as a true freshman for the Pack this past season, was hitting .243 (18-for-74) with a double, two triples, two home runs and 12 RBIs.
At Outer Banks, rising sophomore lefthander Brandon Shipwash was 0-3 with an 8.31 ERA. Shipwash had made nine appearances, all in relief, and had worked 13 innings, allowing 15 hits, walking 10 and striking out 14.
Up On Old Cape Cod: Catcher Colt Morton, a rising junior, has turned some heads in the Cape Cod League, considered by many to be the top summer collegiate league. Playing for the Chatham A's, Morton was hitting .216 (11-for-51) with three doubles, three long home runs and nine RBIs in 16 games. All three of Morton's home runs were no-doubt-about-it blasts. He had his biggest game of the summer on June 28 at Brewster's Cape Tech High School, going 4-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs. His power surge helped lead Chatham to a 12-2 victory over the Brewster Whitecaps.
Rising senior shortstop Chad Orvella also was playing at Chatham, and although not hitting as well as Morton, he was playing sound defense for the A's. Morton was hitting .148 (8-for-54) in 15 games. Chatham was 6-9-1 and in fifth place in the Cape League's six-team Eastern Division.
The Wolfpack's third Cape Leaguer, freshman righthander Mike Rogers, was having a strong summer season for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. Pitching exclusively in relief, Rogers was 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in his first four appearances. He had worked 14 innings, allowed 10 hits, walked six and struck out 14. He picked up his first victory June 26 at Falmouth with four innings of two-hit, shutout relief. He struck out five and did not issue a walk. He got his second win four days later at Chatham, working 4 1/3 innings and allowing one run on one hit. He walked one and struck out six. Y-D was 7-8-1 and in fourth place in the Cape League's Eastern Division.
Rogers, who was injured March 23 vs. Wake Forest, is eligible for a medical hardship that will allow him to compete as a freshman again for NC State in 2003.
Other Summer Leaguers: Three NC State players are spending the summer with West Warwick (R.I.) in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. Rising sophomore righthander Phillip Davidson had made three starts, and while he had no decisions, he had a solid 2.70 ERA. Davidson had worked 13 1/3 innings, and had allowed eight hits while walking four and striking out 12.
Rising junior first baseman David Hicks and rising sophomore outfielder Tim Coffield also were at West Warwick. Hicks was hitting .213 (10-for-47) with two doubles and six RBIs in 12 games. Coffield was hitting .122 (5-for-41) in 14 games.
In the Northwoods League, rising junior Joe Gaetti was hitting .206 (13-for-63) with three doubles, three home runs and 14 RBIs in 19 games for the St. Cloud (Minn.) Riverbats. Gaetti was leading the league in home runs.
