North Carolina State University Athletics
Mathews Breaks Homer Mark; Overman An All-Star
7/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
July 29, 2011
(Note: This is the sixth in a series of weekly reports on NC State players playing in summer collegiate leagues. This story was updated on July 30.)
RALEIGH, N.C. — Ryan Mathews certainly has had a summer to remember for the Wilson Tobs. He is hopeful that his success this summer will be a springboard into fall practice and beyond with the Wolfpack come October.
Mathews, NC State’s rising senior outfielder, belted his 13th home run of the Coastal Plain League season June 20, breaking the Wilson franchise record for homers in a season. He hit No. 14 two nights later, pulling him to within three of the Coastal Plain League mark of 17, set by Jason Dubois in 1998 for Rocky Mount.
“It was a great honor to be able to do something like that for the [Wilson] franchise,” Mathews said. “I wasn’t really thinking much about the record at all, and I haven’t really thought about the league record. I’ve just been going out there every day and trying to have fun playing the game.”
Suffice it to say that Mathews had his fun this summer. He was one of three Tobs chosen to play in the CPL All-Star Game, and finished third in the All-Star Game Home-Run Derby. With five regular-season games remaining, he figures to be Wilson’s 2011 MVP.
Mathews is hitting .286 with the aforementioned 14 long balls. He also leads the team with 38 RBIs, which is two shy of tying the franchise record and ranks fourth in the CPL this season. He leads the team and is fourth in the league with 102 total bases, and also leads the team with 32 runs scored, nine stolen bases, and a .634 slugging percentage.
Mathews has had three hits in a game four times, including back-to-back games July 19-20 at Edenton and vs. Peninsula at Fleming Stadium in Wilson. He’s driven in three runs or more in a game six times, with a high of five RBIs on July 19. He’s had two extra-base hits in a game five times, including a pair of two-homer games.
The summer actually began quietly for Mathews. He joined the Tobs on June 8 following NC State’s trip to the NCAA Columbia Regional. By the time he joined the Tobs, the CPL season was eight games old, and he didn’t exactly hit the ground running. Mathews batted .219 the first nine games he was in Wilson.
The season turned around for Mathews on June 18 at Outer Banks. In a 10-3 victory that night, he went 2-for-4 with a double, home run and three RBIs, sparking a 13-game hitting streak that saw him tear up the CPL for two solid weeks. During the streak, Mathews batted .408 (20-for-49) with five doubles, nine home runs, 19 runs scored, 20 RBIs and three steals.
“When I first got here, I really just wanted a chance to play every day and get back to enjoying the game of baseball again,” Mathews said. “Obviously things started going really well for me during the hitting streak, but it wasn’t so much a matter of being locked in as just enjoying the game and having fun. It had been a while.”
Originally from Orlando, Fla., Mathews came to NC State by a circuitous route. He originally enrolled at the University of Florida in the fall of 2007, but a coaching change in Gainesville prompted him to transfer to Western Carolina for the 2008 season. After a solid season in Cullowhee, he went back to Gainesville, this time to Santa Fe Community College, where he batted .356 with 16 doubles, 15 home runs and 70 RBIs in 56 games.
He came to NC State for the 2010 season, but an abdominal injury that March cut his season short after six games and 13 at-bats. By the time he came back for fall practice 2010, he was well down the depth chart and saw only limited playing time during the 2011 campaign.
Based on what he’s done this summer, Mathews should go into fall practice with a newfound confidence as he vies for playing time in 2012.
“I just want to keep it going,” Mathews said. “I think I got a chance this summer to show a little of what I can do. I look at this fall as a great opportunity. I think the playing time is there. It’s up to me to keep it going.”
Overman Chosen To Play In Cape League All-Star Game
Sometimes it’s tough for a pitcher to earn recognition out of the bullpen, especially when he’s not his team’s closer. Rising junior righthander Chris Overman has taken care of that this summer by being one of the Cape Cod League’s most dominant pitchers, starter, closer or what-have-you, while pitching for the Harwich Mariners.
The league’s managers certainly noticed, and selected Overman to the Eastern Division team for Friday’s Cape Cod League All-Star Game at Fenway Park. Overman is the second Wolfpack player selected for the Cape League All-Star Game the last two years. Catcher Pratt Maynard started for the Eastern team a year ago.
“I’m really honored to be selected,” Overman said. “There are so many great players in this league, so it’s a tremendous honor. I’m really looking forward to the game.”
Overman earned his spot on the All-Star Team with a dominant season for Harwich. He began the season by making 13 consecutive appearances without allowing a run. On July 19, Cotuit reached him for an unearned run in a 2-1 loss for the Mariners, but that is the only run Overman has allowed all summer. He has made three appearances since then, and through 17 appearances and 25 2/3 innings pitched, Overman is 2-0 with a save and a 0.00 ERA. He has allowed just nine hits and six walks for a 0.58 WHIP (walks + hits per inning). He has struck out 24. Opposing batters are hitting just .114 against him.
Earlier this season, Harwich pitching coach and former Wolfpack standout Jason Blanton moved Overman from the back end of the bullpen and put him in middle relief to fill a void on the M’s pitching staff. The move went seamlessly. Overman has pitched more than one inning in seven of his last 10 appearances, and has pitched two or more innings in five of them. He has barely noticed the change.
“Pitching is pitching,” Overman said. “I approach it the same way no matter what my role is and just try to make my pitches. The hitters are so good up here that it’s a challenge no matter what part of the game it is. I’ve had success and I’m really happy with the way I’ve pitched.”
Predictably, Overman pitched a perfect 1-2-3 sixth inning and struck out two in the East's 4-1 victory in the Cape League All-Star Game.
As the Cape League takes a two-day respite for its all-star game, Harwich is clinging to a slim lead in the Eastern Division race. The CCBL uses a point system similar to the one used by the National Hockey League for its standings. Harwich was 22-17-1 for 45 points, two points ahead of Orleans, which was 20-17-3 for 43 points. The top four teams in each division earn a spot in the leauge playoffs, and Harwich is assured of a playoff spot.
Easley Also Enjoying Strong Summer On The Cape
While Overman has been almost unhittable for Harwich, rising junior Josh Easley has been excellent out of the pen for the Falmouth Commodores. With a pair of scoreless outings this past week, July 23 vs. Brewster and July 26 at Chatham, Easley now is 1-1 with three saves and a 1.54 ERA. He has worked 11 2/3 innings in nine appearances, allowing 11 hits, striking out 13 and walking just one. Opposing hitters are batting .239 against him, and his WHIP is a sterling 1.09. He is averaging more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings.
Canela Heats Up At Forest City
After a slow start (and a late start), rising junior catcher Danny Canela began to swing a hot bat for the Forest City Owls with a 5-for-5 game July 20 at Thomasville. In his last nine games, Canela is hitting .351 (13-for-37) with a double, two home runs, seven runs scored and seven RBIs. That lifted Canela’s average for the summer to .283. He has six doubles, three home runs and 13 RBIs in 29 games, including 24 starts. Forest City won the first-half pennant in the CPL’s West Division and is in second place, two games behind Thomasville, in the second-half standings.
