North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Buchanan Hits Stride on Mound for Pack
5/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BY TIM PEELER
Over the last two months, the freshman from
Associate head coach Tom Holliday has not announced a starter for today’s 1 p.m. contest against
Buchanan, who pitched a complete-game, five-hitter against
For Buchanan, his excellent numbers over the last two months are consistent with the way he pitched before coming to NC State.
“When I pitch, I get stronger as I go along,” Buchanan said. “In high school, I would start and by the sixth or seventh inning, I would be throwing my best.”
That’s certainly been the case as this season goes along. In his 10 appearances in April and May, Buchanan has compiled a 2-1 record with one save and a 2.45 earned run average. In his last seven appearances, he has a 1.93 ERA, with 21 hits and walks and 20 strikeouts in 28 innings. That included the masterful 12-1 victory over the Terrapins on May 10.
Until junior Clayton Shunick pitched all seven innings of Thursday’s win over Clemson in the second round of the ACC Tournament, it was the Wolfpack’s only complete-game of the season and Buchanan's only start of the season.
Buchanan is used to excelling as a starter. As a junior and senior in high school, he won 26 games and recorded 280 strikeouts.
But he’s been pretty good as a reliever for the Wolfpack. In 36 2/3 innings of relief work this year, he has allowed only nine walks, struck out 28 batters and allowed opposing hitters to notch just a .188 batting average.
“Jake has been good for us all year, as we brought him along slowly,” Avent said. “You don’t want to throw a freshman out there too early. Coach Holliday has used him in situations to give him confidence and prepare him for where we are right now. He brought him along slowly and gradually.
“He is pitching his best baseball of the year.”
Buchanan said he gained confidence earlier this season when he retired all nine batters he faced against
“I knew we were playing one of the best teams in the country, so I figured if I could get them out, I had a pretty good chance of getting just about anybody I faced out,” Buchanan said. “Confidence is the key thing.”
Buchanan began developing that confidence as a high school freshman, when he was asked to pitch against defending state champion Ashbrook, featuring future teammate Drew Martin. He did well enough in that game to know he could succeed.
As a junior, he was one of the best pitchers in the state, with a 12-1 record and an 0.99 ERA. Soon thereafter, he caught the attention of Avent and Holliday while pitching in a summer tournament in
“He had a competitiveness about him that I really liked,” Avent said. “We really liked what we saw and decided that day we wanted to sign him.”
That was fine with Buchanan, who wanted to stay close to home and pitch in the ACC. His confidence was soaring when he enrolled at NC State last July, coming off a senior season in which he was tied for the second most wins in the state. He was 14-1 with a 0.39 ERA, leading
He came to
“It’s a pitch I believe I can throw for strikes early in the count,” Buchanan said. “That’s a key for me. Getting ahead of batters is something I do pretty well.”
Buchanan relishes the opportunity to pitch in the ACC Tournament, which he used to attend as a kid with his father, Buck, when it was played near
“It’s a pretty exciting chance,” Buchanan said.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
