North Carolina State University Athletics
Behind the Scenes With Tony Haynes: A Well-Kept Secret
5/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 1, 2003
By Tony Haynes
When turning to the local sports radio station here in Raleigh, it's not unusual for one to hear discussions about a wide range of topics. One hour, you'll find a host chatting about who looked good in spring football. Then there are the occasional assessments of Major League Baseball, the NBA playoffs and NASCAR. And like sports radio, the newspapers produce stories about the events and issues that will interest their readers the most, which makes perfect sense. But if you live here in Raleigh and don't follow NC State athletics very closely, you probably don't know that the Wolfpack baseball team is authoring one of the best sports stories of the year.
If it sounds like I'm complaining about the lack of coverage, that's not the intent. Having worked in the media business for nearly 20 years now, I completely understand what the deal is. The print people must sell newspapers and the radio stations must garner ratings. It just so happens that large numbers of people in this area don't seem to be terribly interested in college baseball. If you happen to be a member of that particular club, let me tell you about what you're missing.
NC State, a team that finished 10 games below .500 in the ACC last year; a team that lost its best hitter and top three starters from that squad; a team that didn't have a home ballpark to play in for most of this season; and a team that watched its pitching coach resign at the beginning of the campaign, is now the 5th ranked team in the country. In other words, the Pack has gone from nowhere to somewhere, and has done so in relative anonymity in its own backyard.
If you're wondering if there might be some divine intervention involved in this whole scenario, you may not be that far off base, sort of speak. But then again, when you have a machine of a bullpen closer named Joey Devine, then anything is possible.
Devine's numbers, which include a 4-1 record with 13 saves and a miniscule 1.88 ERA, speak for themselves. Then there are starters Michael Rogers and Vern Sterry, who are a combined 20-1 on the season. With a win over Maryland this weekend, Sterry, a transfer from Cypress Junior College in California, will become the first pitcher in school history to win his first 11 decisions.
Four players-Colt Morton, J.R. Riley, Joe Gaetti and Jeremy Dutton-have reached double figures in homers. Four more-Marc Maynor, Matt Camp, Dutton and Gaetti-have double figure stolen base totals.
But above the many individual accomplishments that grab your attention, this is a team that seems to have an uncanny knack for producing something special almost every time it takes the field. Wednesday night's game against East Carolina was a perfect case in point. After jumping out ahead 4-0 and 5-2, the Wolfpack allowed the Pirates to tie the game with two outs in the ninth when Devine uncorked a wild pitch with a runner at third.
One inning later, ECU put runners at the corners with no outs against Chad Orvella, who had taken over on the mound after playing the first nine innings at shortstop. Naturally, after getting into a big league jam, Orvella did some big league pitching by striking out the side to keep the game tied. And of course, it was Orvella-he of two homers all season-who crushed a bomb over the wall in left to give NC State yet another dramatic win.
Perhaps Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent should become a scriptwriter if he ever decides to give up baseball.
The script that details NC State's run to the league's regular season title in a powerhouse conference like the ACC is more implausible than the life story of Forrest Gump. But you know what? It could happen. With just six regular season games remaining, the Wolfpack (37-10, 13-5) is in a virtual dead heat with Georgia Tech and Florida State in the standings. And while the Seminoles and Jackets are beating up on each other this weekend, State will host a struggling Maryland team that will come in with a 4-13 mark in league play.
Then comes a season-ending three game series that could be for all the marbles when NC State visits Georgia Tech May 15-17.
Perhaps by then, the Wolfpack won't be such a well-kept secret.
