North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State's Morton Diagnosed With Sprained Knee
5/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 6, 2003
RALEIGH, N.C. - The ninth-ranked NC State baseball team got good news Tuesday when the magnetic resonance imaging test done on catcher Colt Morton's left knee revealed only that he had a sprain and nothing worse.
Morton injured the knee in a collision at home plate with Maryland's Daryl Whitmer in the top of the ninth inning on Saturday, May 3, in the Wolfpack's 8-7 loss to the Terps. Morton was shaken up on the play and was tended to by trainer Darren DeReu, but stayed in the lineup and finished the game. He was held out of action the following day, Sunday, and the MRI was done on Monday night.
Morton will have to wear a brace on the knee, but thanks to final exams he may not miss any further action. The Wolfpack does not play again until Thursday, May 15, in a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series at Georgia Tech.
"He sprained his knee, but he's going to be fine," Charlie Rozanski, NC State's Director of Sports Medicine, said. "We're going to take advantage of the time we have off now to try and get him ready for Georgia Tech."
Morton was injured while stretching towards the right side of the field to take a relay throw from right field. He kept his left knee extended behind him across the base line while awaiting the throw. Whitmer arrived at home plate just ahead of the ball and crashed into Morton's knee as he went to touch home plate with the game-tying run.
Morton, who leads the Wolfpack with 15 home runs and has driven in 40 runs, has started at catcher for 42 of NC State's 50 games this season, and has been the Wolfpack's starting catcher since the beginning of his freshman season two years ago. Unlike most college catchers, he calls all of the pitches for the Wolfpack pitching staff. His value to the team is almost impossible to measure.
"Depth is a big issue with any team, especially at this time of the year, and Colt is one player we couldn't afford to lose," Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent said. "To see him go down on Saturday was extremely disappointing for our entire team, but he picked us all up the next day by the way he handled himself in the dugout when he wasn't playing. We all know what a terrific player Colt is, but that showed us what a great person he is. To have him back and to know that he isn't seriously injured is not only a big pick-me-up for our club, but a great reward for a guy who gives so much of himself to our team."
