North Carolina State University Athletics
Baseball Hosts Valparaiso to Doak For Midweek Series
3/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. — After dropping two of three in its Atlantic Coast Conference opening series, NC State will play midweek games on Tuesday and Wednesday against Valparaiso at Doak Field at Dail Park. Game times are 3 p.m. for both games.
The Wolfpack, 12-6 overall, is looking to right its ship after a rough stretch. The Pack has four of its last six games and six of its last 10, batting .259 (86-for-332) with 14 doubles, three triples and four home runs. The Pack has scored 59 runs in those 10 games, but that figure includes the 20 scored on Sunday against Maryland. NC State scored just 39 runs in the nine games leading up to Sunday (4.3 per game).
WELCOME BACK: The Valpo series will mark the return to the Doak of former Wolfpack All-American Tracy Woodson (1982-84). Woodson was the 1984 ACC Player of the Year after batting .373 with 25 home runs and 77 RBIs in 40 games. He is still the NC State co-holder of the single-season record for home runs, and still holds the record for slugging percentage in a season with a staggering .913. The Los Angeles Dodgers drafted Woodson in the third round of the 1984 draft. He played for the Dodgers for parts of four seasons (1987-90) and for the St. Louis Cardinals for parts of two more (1992-93). He played with the Dodgers in the 1988 World Series and had the game-winning RBI in the third game of that series. After retiring as a player in 1996, Woodson joined the Florida Marlins organization as a batting instructor, eventually moving into the managing ranks. He worked his way all the way up to Triple-A Albuquerque. In 2003 he managed the Carolina Mudcats to the Southern League championship. This is Woodson’s first season at Valparaiso.
THE MIDWEEK STARTERS: NC State will send two of its heralded freshmen to the mound for the Valparaiso series. Nate Karns (0-1, 4.50) will get the start on Tuesday. A native of Dallas, Texas, Karns will be making only his second college appearance. In his debut last Tuesday at UNC Greensboro, Karns started and allowed three runs, two of them earned, on three hits in four innings. He walked three and struck out three. Karns cruised through the first two innings against the Spartans before tiring in the third and fourth. Karns was a 10th-round draft pick of the Houston Astros last June.
Raleigh native Sam Brown (0-0, 8.59) will get the start for NC State on Wednesday. Brown has made six appearances thus far in 2007. Wednesday will be his second start. He has pitched 7 1/3 innings and allowed eight runs, seven earned, on 11 hits. He has struck out six without issuing a walk. Take away last Tuesday’s disastrous appearance at UNC Greensboro and Brown would have a 2.57 ERA. The Spartans roughed Brown up for five runs in just 1/3 of an inning. The Washington Nationals drafted Brown in the seventh round last June.
THE OTHER PRIZED FRESHMAN PITCHER: While Karns and Brown garnered attention last year as draft picks, lefthander Jimmy Gillheeney was a high school All-American at Bishop Hendricken High School in Providence, R.I. Through the first third of a season, Gillheeney has given ample evidence of how he earned All-America honors a year ago. In six appearances, including one start, Gillheeney is 1-1 with a 1.71 ERA. He has worked 21 innings and allowed five runs, four earned, on 17 hits. He has walked five and struck out 16. Gillheeney has settled in as a key relief pitcher during weekend series.He has retired 66 of the 89 men he has faced and has held opposing hitters to a .215 batting average.
STARTER/RELIEVER BREAKDOWN: NC State’s starting pitchers are 8-3 with a 2.98 ERA. The have worked 90 2/3 innings and allowed 35 runs, 30 earned, on 78 hits. They have walked 28 and struck out 87.
The bullpen is 4-3 with a 2.60 ERA and six saves. Relievers have made 45 appearances and worked 69 1/3 innings while allowing 26 runs, 20 earned, on 51 hits. Relievers have walked 23 and struck out 47. Wolfpack relievers have inherited 19 baserunners and stranded all but five.
NOT AS EASY AS 1-2-3: NC State is still struggling to get production from the top three spots in the batting order, although Sunday’s 8-for-13 performance by the top three was a big step in the right direction. For the season, the 1-2-3 spots in the order are batting .230 (46-for-200), and in the last 13 games, the top third of the order is hitting .214 (31-for-145).
STREAKING: Junior right fielder Ryan Pond comes into the week riding a five-game hitting streak, while senior catcher Caleb Mangum and sophomore infielder deluxe Drew Martin both are on four-game streaks. Pond is batting .421 (8-for-19) with a double, a triple and two RBIs in his five-game streak. Mangum is batting .471 (8-for-17) with two doubles, a home run and eight RBIs in his streak. Martin is hitting .500 (7-for-14) with three doubles and three RBIs in his four-game streak.
BIG INNING: NC State’s 13-run fifth inning Sunday against Maryland was the Wolfpack’s biggest inning since a 14-run inning against Coppin State on February 24, 2002. Earlier this season, the Wolfpack had a 12-run first inning vs. William & Mary.
SPEAKING OF BIG INNINGS: Prior to Sunday’s 20-3 victory over Maryland, catcher Caleb Mangum’s career high for RBIs in a game was three, which he had done several times, most recently last April 28 against Miami. Mangum surpassed that total in one inning on Sunday, driving in five runs during NC State’s 13-run fifth inning. Mangum drove in the third run of the inning with a single off the glove of the shortstop, then finished off the inning with a grand-slam homer to right field.
Mangum’s five RBIs for the game matched the five that Ramon Corona drove in February 10 vs. William & Mary, and his grand slam was the Wolfpack’s second of the season. Corona hit one in that game vs. the Tribe.
A FEW RANDOM PITCHING NOTES: While the Wolfpack has struggled to get the bats started the last few weeks, the pitching staff has continued to flourish, with just one poor performance all season — the 10-8 loss March 6 at UNC Greensboro.
• NC State pitching has allowed 10 or more hits in a game just three times all season, and has allowed less than three walks 11 times in 18 games.
• Wolfpack pitchers have struck out 134 and walked 51, a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.6-to-1. The school record for staff K/BB ratio is 2.8, set in 2004.
• While Andrew Brackman was charged with five runs, four of them earned, in the third inning against Maryland, anyone who thinks he pitched poorly is very much mistaken. Take away the first six hitters in the third inning and Brackman retired 26 of 30 batters faced, including 16 in a row from the third through the eighth innings. In that third inning, he gave up four hits, including a grounder up the middle, a Texas Leaguer to left field, and a dunker over the third baseman’s head. Six consecutive batters reached base to start the third inning. Brackman retired all six men he faced prior to that, and he set down the next 16 men after those six batters, and 18 of the next 19. The one he did not retired reached on an error. Maryland scored a run in the ninth without hitting a ball out of the infield.
• On Saturday against the Terps, Eric Surkamp picked right up where Brackman left off, retiring 19 of the first 21 men he faced. Surkamp allowed only a solo homer in the second and a leadoff walk in the fifth. Through the first 17 innings of the Maryland series, the Terrapins had 14 baserunners, two of them on errors and six of them in that third inning against Brackman. Maryland went down in order, 1-2-3, in 11 of the 17 innings.
UP NEXT: NC State will wrap up the homestand with a three-game ACC series this coming weekend against Virginia Tech. The Pack will spend most of the next five weeks on the road, including ACC series at Wake Forest (March 23-25), Boston College (March 30-April 1), Miami (March 13-15) and Georgia Tech (April 20-22). NC State’s only home games during that stretch will be March 28 vs. UNC Greensboro, April 4 vs. East Carolina, April 6-7-8 vs. Florida State, and April 18 vs. Davidson.
The Wolfpack, 12-6 overall, is looking to right its ship after a rough stretch. The Pack has four of its last six games and six of its last 10, batting .259 (86-for-332) with 14 doubles, three triples and four home runs. The Pack has scored 59 runs in those 10 games, but that figure includes the 20 scored on Sunday against Maryland. NC State scored just 39 runs in the nine games leading up to Sunday (4.3 per game).
WELCOME BACK: The Valpo series will mark the return to the Doak of former Wolfpack All-American Tracy Woodson (1982-84). Woodson was the 1984 ACC Player of the Year after batting .373 with 25 home runs and 77 RBIs in 40 games. He is still the NC State co-holder of the single-season record for home runs, and still holds the record for slugging percentage in a season with a staggering .913. The Los Angeles Dodgers drafted Woodson in the third round of the 1984 draft. He played for the Dodgers for parts of four seasons (1987-90) and for the St. Louis Cardinals for parts of two more (1992-93). He played with the Dodgers in the 1988 World Series and had the game-winning RBI in the third game of that series. After retiring as a player in 1996, Woodson joined the Florida Marlins organization as a batting instructor, eventually moving into the managing ranks. He worked his way all the way up to Triple-A Albuquerque. In 2003 he managed the Carolina Mudcats to the Southern League championship. This is Woodson’s first season at Valparaiso.
THE MIDWEEK STARTERS: NC State will send two of its heralded freshmen to the mound for the Valparaiso series. Nate Karns (0-1, 4.50) will get the start on Tuesday. A native of Dallas, Texas, Karns will be making only his second college appearance. In his debut last Tuesday at UNC Greensboro, Karns started and allowed three runs, two of them earned, on three hits in four innings. He walked three and struck out three. Karns cruised through the first two innings against the Spartans before tiring in the third and fourth. Karns was a 10th-round draft pick of the Houston Astros last June.
Raleigh native Sam Brown (0-0, 8.59) will get the start for NC State on Wednesday. Brown has made six appearances thus far in 2007. Wednesday will be his second start. He has pitched 7 1/3 innings and allowed eight runs, seven earned, on 11 hits. He has struck out six without issuing a walk. Take away last Tuesday’s disastrous appearance at UNC Greensboro and Brown would have a 2.57 ERA. The Spartans roughed Brown up for five runs in just 1/3 of an inning. The Washington Nationals drafted Brown in the seventh round last June.
THE OTHER PRIZED FRESHMAN PITCHER: While Karns and Brown garnered attention last year as draft picks, lefthander Jimmy Gillheeney was a high school All-American at Bishop Hendricken High School in Providence, R.I. Through the first third of a season, Gillheeney has given ample evidence of how he earned All-America honors a year ago. In six appearances, including one start, Gillheeney is 1-1 with a 1.71 ERA. He has worked 21 innings and allowed five runs, four earned, on 17 hits. He has walked five and struck out 16. Gillheeney has settled in as a key relief pitcher during weekend series.He has retired 66 of the 89 men he has faced and has held opposing hitters to a .215 batting average.
STARTER/RELIEVER BREAKDOWN: NC State’s starting pitchers are 8-3 with a 2.98 ERA. The have worked 90 2/3 innings and allowed 35 runs, 30 earned, on 78 hits. They have walked 28 and struck out 87.
The bullpen is 4-3 with a 2.60 ERA and six saves. Relievers have made 45 appearances and worked 69 1/3 innings while allowing 26 runs, 20 earned, on 51 hits. Relievers have walked 23 and struck out 47. Wolfpack relievers have inherited 19 baserunners and stranded all but five.
NOT AS EASY AS 1-2-3: NC State is still struggling to get production from the top three spots in the batting order, although Sunday’s 8-for-13 performance by the top three was a big step in the right direction. For the season, the 1-2-3 spots in the order are batting .230 (46-for-200), and in the last 13 games, the top third of the order is hitting .214 (31-for-145).
STREAKING: Junior right fielder Ryan Pond comes into the week riding a five-game hitting streak, while senior catcher Caleb Mangum and sophomore infielder deluxe Drew Martin both are on four-game streaks. Pond is batting .421 (8-for-19) with a double, a triple and two RBIs in his five-game streak. Mangum is batting .471 (8-for-17) with two doubles, a home run and eight RBIs in his streak. Martin is hitting .500 (7-for-14) with three doubles and three RBIs in his four-game streak.
BIG INNING: NC State’s 13-run fifth inning Sunday against Maryland was the Wolfpack’s biggest inning since a 14-run inning against Coppin State on February 24, 2002. Earlier this season, the Wolfpack had a 12-run first inning vs. William & Mary.
SPEAKING OF BIG INNINGS: Prior to Sunday’s 20-3 victory over Maryland, catcher Caleb Mangum’s career high for RBIs in a game was three, which he had done several times, most recently last April 28 against Miami. Mangum surpassed that total in one inning on Sunday, driving in five runs during NC State’s 13-run fifth inning. Mangum drove in the third run of the inning with a single off the glove of the shortstop, then finished off the inning with a grand-slam homer to right field.
Mangum’s five RBIs for the game matched the five that Ramon Corona drove in February 10 vs. William & Mary, and his grand slam was the Wolfpack’s second of the season. Corona hit one in that game vs. the Tribe.
A FEW RANDOM PITCHING NOTES: While the Wolfpack has struggled to get the bats started the last few weeks, the pitching staff has continued to flourish, with just one poor performance all season — the 10-8 loss March 6 at UNC Greensboro.
• NC State pitching has allowed 10 or more hits in a game just three times all season, and has allowed less than three walks 11 times in 18 games.
• Wolfpack pitchers have struck out 134 and walked 51, a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.6-to-1. The school record for staff K/BB ratio is 2.8, set in 2004.
• While Andrew Brackman was charged with five runs, four of them earned, in the third inning against Maryland, anyone who thinks he pitched poorly is very much mistaken. Take away the first six hitters in the third inning and Brackman retired 26 of 30 batters faced, including 16 in a row from the third through the eighth innings. In that third inning, he gave up four hits, including a grounder up the middle, a Texas Leaguer to left field, and a dunker over the third baseman’s head. Six consecutive batters reached base to start the third inning. Brackman retired all six men he faced prior to that, and he set down the next 16 men after those six batters, and 18 of the next 19. The one he did not retired reached on an error. Maryland scored a run in the ninth without hitting a ball out of the infield.
• On Saturday against the Terps, Eric Surkamp picked right up where Brackman left off, retiring 19 of the first 21 men he faced. Surkamp allowed only a solo homer in the second and a leadoff walk in the fifth. Through the first 17 innings of the Maryland series, the Terrapins had 14 baserunners, two of them on errors and six of them in that third inning against Brackman. Maryland went down in order, 1-2-3, in 11 of the 17 innings.
UP NEXT: NC State will wrap up the homestand with a three-game ACC series this coming weekend against Virginia Tech. The Pack will spend most of the next five weeks on the road, including ACC series at Wake Forest (March 23-25), Boston College (March 30-April 1), Miami (March 13-15) and Georgia Tech (April 20-22). NC State’s only home games during that stretch will be March 28 vs. UNC Greensboro, April 4 vs. East Carolina, April 6-7-8 vs. Florida State, and April 18 vs. Davidson.
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